London Indymedia

The war on scientology.

Anonymous | 26.01.2008 19:40 | Repression | Social Struggles | Technology | London

You may have heard in some of the news outlets that a group of "Hackers" have declared war on Scientology. Firstly, we're not hackers. We are an autonomus group of individuals who have come together to fight a common cause. It is our aim to make people aware of the wrongdoings and cult-like nature of this organisation, and ultimately reduce their ability to take and destroy lives. We are known as Anonymous.

When and Where
When and Where


This began when the now notorious Tom Cruise video was leaked. When the scientologists attempted to have the video removed, it created a back lash within several large Internet communities who value free speech. Projet Chanology was formed. As a part of our new, and ongoing operation UK members are organising a protest at the scientology offices in London.

While I have attended Mayday and the G8, and so have some past experience, many of us are geeks, not activists. I am writing to you to request any help or presence you can offer. We believe that the media attention we have received is enough to validate our effectiveness and numbers. Thousands of Anonymous have already been engaged in direct action against the church.

I am anonymous, and I speak only for anonymous - but any help would be greatly appreciated. Our plans are publicly available, and there is much information to be found online.. an outline of our plan currently exists here:
 http://beatarod.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32

You may also find our open messages to scientology here:
 http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ
 http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ujR3DJ308

See the attached image for details of when and where.

I thank you kindly for your time.

We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget.

Expect us.

Anonymous.

Anonymous

Comments

Hide the following 23 comments

Something´s gone very wrong here.

26.01.2008 20:39


And, what is it that the Scientologists are doing wrong? Giving money to the poor, like Chavez, or something. Tell us!

HH


A quick link, or several.

26.01.2008 21:38

Anonymous


..One more link

26.01.2008 21:55

Here's a page of discussion and debate.
 http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/24/1311252

Anonymous


Saving Tom Cruises soul ?!

27.01.2008 07:42

Scientology is an obviously fraudulent cult that targets idiotic rich kids. So fair enough, have a go at them but don't pretened you are protecting us with this pathetic script-kiddie attack.

The cult that targets most IM readers is the fascistic Larouche cult, they often post here for example.. If you are playing the part of great hackitvists then maybe you'd like to step up to a cult that can fight back without lawyers. Or else save your self-promotion for the red tops cos you are just a bunch of tabloid wannabes pretending this has anything to do with activism.

Danny


I don't get it

27.01.2008 10:13

"Calling all London fags"? What does this mean?

Confused


culture clash

27.01.2008 12:38

Putting fag on the end of a name is like putting man or person on the end. Fireman, policeman, etc. It means both male and female, and does not mean gay. I think it started being used because a lot of anonymous find people taking offence at it to be funny. I don't use it and I don't find it funny or offensive.

You can't choose who helps you in leaderless resistance.

Anonymous
- Homepage: http://www.whyaretheydead.net


By way of explanation

27.01.2008 13:38

4chan is an image-based forum/bulletin board. There are a number of sub-forums for different topics but the over-arching theme is idiocy and boobs. Imagine if ABC was staffed entirely by 12 year olds who delight in the childish and offensive.

Usually their collective Anonymous actions amount to petty revenge on organisations that have annoyed them and consist of site raids or sending a thousand pizzas to the organisations head office. This is actually pretty grown up by their standards so it could be the start of them paying attention to some genuine issues.

However for any serious campaign group to get involved with them would be like playing frisbee with a landmine.

If anyone wants to know about scientology, check out the Operation Clambake FAQ at www.xenu.net.

MonkeyBot


Indeed!

27.01.2008 14:11

Well, Danny is broadly right. Though Scientology also targets the poor too- they just don't parade them around like trophies. Like all cults (Christian too) they don't give a fuck who they scam, but Scientology does like the rich an awful lot.

The German government banned Scientology as a cult. Which initially upset me. But then I thought for a while and actually agreed with the principal. Unfortunately they stopped at this one cult and didn't roll out the idea to even more dangerous cults like Catholicism.

But Danny is right about targets. There are far better targets than those fuckers who largely get the vulnerable and gullible to come to them. If religion is your thing why not target the Vatican?

There was a anonymous FTP warez server established in the Vatican domain by some joker a few years back. It guess it was just manna from Heaven, your Honour!

Besides Scientology is so fucking rich that you'd probably need a botnet incorporating the whole of a continent to dent their bandwidth contingency expenditure. You'd do more logistical damage gluing their locks every few days. Or better still tying up the vultures they deploy on Tottenham Court Road with fake interest in joining. Soak up their protein bandwidth!

If you have the skills and you are at a loose end, why not hook up with some of the issues already here that desperately need 'technical support' and may need to know how to change their webserver without all the hassle of re-registering it.

The Military Industrial Complex is far more dangerous than some loopy cult.

Nietzche's Syphilis


what fag stands for is

27.01.2008 14:17

film actors guild. see also:  http://www.teamamerica.com

peoples republic of southwark


Re: Indeed!

27.01.2008 14:58

"The German government banned Scientology as a cult. Which initially upset me. But then I thought for a while and actually agreed with the principal. Unfortunately they stopped at this one cult and didn't roll out the idea to even more dangerous cults like Catholicism."

Probably because, unlike Catholicism, Scientology specifically trains people to infiltrate government agencies to gather intelligence to be used to harass people.

It is a doctrine of Scientology that anyone who speaks out against the can be declared a Suppresive Person and become, in their own parlance, "fair game". This means that all Scientologists should use whatever means necessary to destroy that person's life. This can be in the form of picketting their homes, leafleting their neighbourhood accusing them of being peadophiles and threatening violence.

MonkeyBot


Middle Eastern Death Cult

27.01.2008 16:25

I think you'll find that Catholicism has killed more people than Scientology, and continues to do so in the 3rd World with its stance on contraception.

You are also obviously unfamiliar with the Opus Dei organisation.

Quite frankly I mistrust Christians more than I do the Scientology whackos.

Nietzche's Syphilis


Missing the point.

27.01.2008 17:18

I am not unfamiliar with Opus Dei and the conduct of the Catholic Church is not in dispute. However, the Catholic church has not overtly broken German law whereas Scientologists clearly have done. That is why the German courts have made a judgement against one but not the other.

While Opus Dei may aim to get it's members into positions of power, they do not openly harass and intimidate opponents in the way that Scientology does.

I fail to see how condemnation of Scienotology automatically translates as condoning the Catholic Church.

You seem to be suggesting that people going after Scientology should be condemned/ignored until they have first taken down the Catholic church - a little like saying that we shouldn't bother going after muggers until we've caught all the murderers.

These guys would normally be directing their skills at utterley pointless crusades. If they can cut their teeth going against Scientology, then don't discourage them - next time they might choose a bigger target. I'd like to see both organisations come down, but I'm not going to attack someone for going after one but not the other.

MonkeyBot


God isn't dead; he just smells bad

27.01.2008 18:26

Fair comment there mostly. Except...

I wasn't equating anything to condoning the papacy. That would be just completely stupid. I was merely highlighting how much more of a threat they are. And wondering why they are bothering going after minor offenders. Who to my knowledge aren't currently fleecing the African poor and condemning them to be born into a slow and agonising death.

I think the phrase you wanted is that the Catholics do not persecute critics ANYMORE. Though the American Christian Right certainly does- and it's gaining popularity and serious backing here. Even a basic understanding of the history of the church would acknowledge the horrific persecutions it ordered and committed.

And yes, you are right about them being encouraged, so long as they really don't become a single issue group. Who would take me seriously if I tasked myself with going after corporate criminals and all I came up with was harassing my local minicab drivers for not declaring their tips?

Well, the German constitution has a human rights clause in it, so it's open to debate whether Vatican conduct constitutes a breach of the constitution. They have obviously decided that banning cults squares with the Universal Declaration, so I can't see why the case couldn't be argued.

But given the German constitution enshrines the ability to impose a tax on people to support either protestant or catholic churches, you can draw your own conclusions on how seriously open their constitutional court is to protecting the individual from the more popular cults.

And given that the human transubstantiation of God is currently German I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any successful prosecutions.

Nietzche's Syphilis


Be more open-minded!

27.01.2008 18:38

A member of my family is a part of Scientology and it is her right to freely express her beliefs just as it is our right to freely express ours. According to Scientology ‘fair game’ policy simply means that an individual leaving the organisation will no longer has recourse under the internal Scientology ‘justice system’.

Religions all have good and bad point/interpretations but when they are a personal thing they are simply a matter of free expression. It is bigoted to suggest that you have the right to stop anyone from peacefully believing anything that does not evoke hate for others.

Freedom of expression is a basic human right.

On the other hand, there are many things that are being done to harm other people and animals on this earth, both by religious and non-religious people alike, we should focus are attention on them.

Us indymedia types should be open minded, research what the Scientologists actually believe instead of believe everything you hear in the mainstream press and anti- Scientology websites.

Animal Liberation - Human Rights!


The pot

27.01.2008 19:04

I don't know anything of the inside organisation of Scientology, hardly anything of the outside. But a cult or even the term itself is something inspiring the darkest imagination in the ignoramus, and he exploits it as it frightens him indeed, but still less, he feels, than the common, even more crazy, 'man of the street' who is always tending towards superstition and a conspiracy theory to hold on to. I would be more practical. The Nazi Germany top was a kind of cult in this sense, and that is why Germany today is maybe so obsessed with Scientology, as a form of psychological compensation. It is projection: the pot calling the kettle black, perhaps from a sense of guilt which is a also a bit supicious today. If anything at all there is a very simple motive behind the ban on Scientology in Germany: they are a church, for taxpaying (evasion) reasons. They don't have to pay ordinary taxes as a church, which they call themselves but likely are not. It is no religion but a contemporary form of psychotherapy, with the same kind of effects of the latter but unprotected by the State. Issues of money and tax were a paramount appeal to the middle class supporting the cult of Hitler as well. But If anything negative, today such people are just superficial and greedy, still not to be underestimated in mass formation.
No, this appeal sounds a bit like medieval paranoia and superstition.
In the very worst case it is of a dark kind trying to feed fear, written by a modern cartoonist who cannot think of a text, probably a German with some student friends from the bar with a limited knowledge of English who calls himself a group from the audience of his own subconscious mind. If indeed there is any deceit in a 'cult' or 'occult', it is only in creating unnecessary fears, especially of the archetypal kind.

Jaap den Haan


The pot

27.01.2008 19:46

I don't know anything of the inside organisation of Scientology, hardly anything of the outside. But a cult or even the term itself is something inspiring the darkest imagination in the ignoramus, and he exploits it as it frightens him indeed, but still less, he feels, than the common, even more crazy, 'man in the street' who is always tending towards superstition and a conspiracy theory to hold on to. I would be more practical. The Nazi Germany top was a kind of cult in this sense, and that is why Germany today is maybe so obsessed with Scientology, as a form of psychological compensation. It is projection: the pot calling the kettle black, perhaps from a sense of guilt, which is a also a bit supicious today. If anything at all there is a very simple motive behind the ban on Scientology in Germany: they are a church, for taxpaying (evasion) reasons. They don't have to pay ordinary taxes as a church, which they call themselves but likely are not. It is no religion but a contemporary form of psychotherapy, with the same kind of effects of the latter but unprotected by the State. Issues of money and tax were of paramount appeal to the middle class supporting the cult of Hitler as well. But If anything negative, today such people are just superficial and greedy, still not to be underestimated in mass formation.
No, this appeal sounds a bit like medieval paranoia and superstition.
In the very worst case it is of a dark kind trying to breed fear, written by a modern cartoonist who cannot think of a text, probably a German with some student friends from the bar with a limited knowledge of English who calls himself a group from the audience of his own subconscious mind. If indeed there is any deceit in a 'cult' or 'occult', it is only in creating unnecessary fears, especially of the archetypal kind.

Jaap den Haan


religion is never a personal thing

27.01.2008 20:24

faith is. faith has nothing to do with religions.

peoples republic of southwark


nothing to do with belief

28.01.2008 05:58

To respond to a comment above:

Speaking personally, my issues with the Church of Scientology have nothing whatsoever to do with their beliefs. People are free to believe whatever they want - I might be interested but I'm not going to oppose someone for having different beliefs to me.

The Church of Scientology is not a problem because of their belief in a 75-trillion-year-old galactic dictator called Xenu, but because of the actions of the organisation, including:

- Operation Freakout ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Freakout): attempts by the CoS to silence one of their critics through escalating harassment aimed at having her sectioned.

- Operation Snow White ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Snow_White): single-largest domestic espionage incident in US history, carried out by the CoS trying to whitewash their members and organisation.

- Lisa McPherson ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_McPherson): killed by the CoS through neglect.

There's plenty more, do some digging. Check out  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_controversies for some examples.

Yes, it is true that other religious (and non-religious) organisations, such as the various Churches of the world, have been responsible for massive suffering. And when - such as defending reproductive freedom or opposing homophobia - the reaction to the activities of these Churches has burst into public protest, anarchists and other radicals have been more than willing to get involved. I hope that in tackling this "church" this tradition remains strong.

rasputin


mad hatters etc

28.01.2008 09:50

what i meant was personal belief is the personal element. i think that all religions (save for perhaps buddhism) are not really about personal belief, but rather economic and political power. i find it sad and quite distressing at times when people are still hiding behind mythologies/delusions, whatever its name.



peoples republic of southwark


Sub

28.01.2008 14:37

Sup-icious is slang for shady, and is something else than sus-picious.
Suspicious can only apply in a case of possible loss of face, supicious applies in a case of complete absence of a face or identity; sometimes that is masked as well. But that doesn't make the emptiness suspicious.
During the Carnival of Venice a mask is worn as a symbol of freedom, for only when a face is known there can be social control, which is the reason people behave unnaturally, it is believed - from fear of repercussions; sometimes the latter aspect of society is confused with society itself, but then we are dealing with repression - however common that may be. Common is again something else than a standard.

Jaap den Haan


Have you enslaved an entire population?

28.01.2008 15:33

Project Chanology is marvellous and uplifting news IMHO. This is real activism although not of the automatically Indymedia-approved variety. For all the adolescent desire to shock and puerile obsessions of the /b/tards, that scene has always had a none-more-fierce opposition to censorship of all kinds - which is what this issue is about.

Parents try to abort you?
- Homepage: http://www.xenu.net/archive/HCOB/FU-HCOB-610921.html


This is good:

28.01.2008 19:17

Cult information from cult expert Steve Hassan:

 http://www.freedomofmind.com/

Free Thinker
- Homepage: http://www.myspace.com/stopchemtrailsuk


serious business?

30.01.2008 14:24

ON MY INTERNETS?

its more likely than you think.

see there b/rothers

then back to ebaumsworld.com for milk an cookies

anarchist_anonymous


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