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In a recent "raid", one Scientologist was upset by masked videographers lying down in the street to take pictures her from below as she stood outside her church. “I found it quite frightening and intimidating,” she complained. “I’ve never been subjected to treatment like that. It made me feel unsafe.” Another Scientologist was repeatedly confronted by a masked woman who taunted him with a challenge to join the picket. “If this happened at the temple down the block I’ll bet the ADL would be out in force demanding warrants for their arrest.”
“I respect the rights of people to protest peacefully” said another Scientologist. “But these guys were out there with bullhorns, yelling abuse, interrupting counseling sessions. And when we tried to point it out they just turned up the volume.”
Although most Scientologists surveyed thought the masked protesters were just bored kids with nothing to do, some were concerned when they read about picketers bragging about them getting their “fun” from disrupting Scientology churches. They call it “lulz”. According to the Urban Dictionary, “Lulz is the one good reason to do anything, from trolling to rape. After every action taken, you must make the epilogic dubious disclaimer: ‘I did it for the lulz’.”
“I can’t take these kids seriously,” said one Scientologist about a recent flash raid.” Less than a mile from here there are homeless people who could really use some help, anywhere you look there are folks who can’t kick drug or alcohol dependence, people are really suffering from marriage problems, kids are dropping out of school. In the peaceful protests of the 1960s there was real purpose to the activity and it resulted in so much reform that the odds are that next President of the United States will be a Black man. I’d like to see someone harness the energy of these college students to do some good in the world. I’d like to invite them to help in our community programs, where a Saturday afternoon at one of our tutoring centers can make a real difference in a kid’s life.”
Posted June 11th, 2008 by luana1980
Of course Scientologists feel harrassed. Because the misdeeds of their "church" are getting the most exposure in years. Many of these Scientologists may not know about what their leaders have done because they have no access to the internet. Nothing, however, is going to stop the free flow of information.
That is quite ironic. I have seen multiple instances of Scientologists muttering death threats, perverted comments, physical threats, along with stalking, theft, and even multiple cases of PHYSICAL ASSAULT (in which Scions WERE ARRESTED) against these protester; all caught on tape; all posted on youtube. What I am saying is fact because the evidence is there to be viewed by all.
However, I have not heard of one instance or seen once shred of evidences that validates what these Scientologists are saying about Anonymous. I have; however, seen multiple videos and documents which prove Scions lie and do whatever necessary to paint their critics in a bad light.
I smell hypocrisy, you in particular.
It should be pointed out that the above is not actually a news article, but rather a carefully crafted bit of "black PR" posted by one of the Cult of $cientology's followers (check out her other drivel and real agenda here: http://luana1980.wordpress.com/).
So once again when faced with the light of truth and critical public opinion the Cult of $cientology resorts to their old tactics of deceipt and "Fair Game". Just google "Operation Snow White", "Operation Freakout", or "Why are they dead" to see he real face of this "Religion"...
Is the following comment is not displayed, it just shows the hypocracy of Scientology/Luna.
1) The author (luana1980) is a Scientologist herself, so it's biased. Read http://luana1980.wordpress.com/
2) "Lulz" means for the fun of it.
3) That members of anonymous are filming is sadly neccessary 'cause members of Scientology have used violence (even against disabled persons), stolen signs, thrown things against peaceful protestors, etc. We do it to proof for the police that it's not us that are violent. In addition it's an age old method of Scientology to take photos and videos of their opponents. Look up "Fair-Game" policy. (Despite what Scientology claims is this rule still in place and is used)
BTW : youtube.com is your friend.
4) Almost ALL Anon members are adults. I'm over 30...
5) You don't know nothing what we do else to help the people and the planet. Unlike Scientology who just wants to get more money. ("Make money, make more money, make people making money" - quote by Hubbard)
and finally the reasons why we protest :
www.whyweprotest.net
Oh yeah, the FBI already dismissed the claims and fairy tales by Scientology that Anonymous is dangerous. Just another Black PR try.
Oh Luna, do you know what happened to Lisa McPherson? http://www.whyaretheydead.net/
Ooh! Yes! Let us all tutor young children in Elron's "study Tech" so that their little minds are more accepting of the peculiar language and thought processes of the Co$! The programs of which the Scilon speaks serve two purposes. First to bring income into the organization, as nothing, and I mean NOTHING except the "personality test" and the cheesy movies they show are for free. NarCONon is a very expensive, dubious drug program, and people pay licensing fee's for the study tech crap. Second, the main purpose of all these wonderful programs is to RECRUIT PEOPLE INTO SCIENTOLOGY> let me be more clear. RUN, do not walk to the nearest exit unless you want to be robbed of your critical thinking skills, your friends and family, and your bank balance! The Co$ does NOTHING for free, and NOTHING that does not benefit David Miscavidges retirement fund.
Despit what your own feelings are on the current protests; to say that the protests of the 1960's had a purpose and these do not is foolish. Just because you disagree does not make someone wrong, and expressing your opinion should never be deemed as a waste of energy. Obviously these "bored kids" feel that there is a problem here that needs to be brought to light and fixed. If the gentleman quoted here feels that helping the homeless or drug addicted is important then by all means he should be out helping them. But let other do what they feel is important.
Hopefully, as with the protests of the past, reform is brought about although this time in less than 50 years.
Methinks the Scientology cult doth protest too much about feeling harassed. Considering its core policy of "fair game," Scientology doesn't really have a leg to stand on here. According to Scientology's founder, critics of the cult may be treated as follows:
"ENEMY: SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed." — HCO Policy Letter of 18 October 1967, Issue IV, L. RON HUBBARD
Scientologists always object that "fair game was canceled," but in fact only the TERM "fair game" was canceled. "It causes bad PR," said Hubbard.
In addition, Hubbard wrote in the "Technical Bulletin of Dianetcs and Scientology" (1976), "The purpose of a lawsuit is to harass and discourage rather to win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway, well knowing that he is not authorized, will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly."
There are literally thousands of well-documented and proven examples of Scientology "fair-gaming" its critics in many kinds of ways. To begin with, just type "Paulette Cooper" into Google. This lady wrote a book that was critical of Scientology. In retaliation, Scientology made her the target not only of litigation but of several harassment campaigns including a campaign known as Operation Freakout, the goal of which was to deter Cooper from criticizing Scientology by having her "incarcerated in a mental institution or jail or at least to hit her so hard that she drops her attacks." In a previous campaign titled Operation Dynamite the church sent itself forged bomb threats, purportedly from Cooper, using her typewriter and paper with her fingerprints on it; further plans included bomb threats to be sent to Henry Kissinger. The cult's campaign was discovered when the FBI raided Scientology offices in 1977 and recovered documents relating to the operation.
This is consistent with the statement of a former high-level cult official, Hannah Eltringham:
"Hubbard once spoke about his strategies for "handling" his enemies. The best way was to, literally, drive them crazy, to use all one's resources to find their weaknesses and hit them hardest where it hurt the most."
Many Judges have weighed in on Scientology harassment. Among them, Judge Paul Breckenridge of Los Angeles Superior Court:
"In addition to violating and abusing its own members' civil rights, the organization over the years with its 'fair game' doctrine has harassed and abused those persons not in the church whom it perceives as enemies."
Meanwhile, in the current Anonymous protests against Scientology, hundreds of people have reported being stalked and extensively photographed by Scientology agents; several private investigators employed by Scientology have been confronted; Scientology has had attorneys send threatening letters to people who in protesting had merely been expressing their First Amendment rights to free speech; Scientologists have tried to press charges against a protester for "terrorist threats," but this charge was literally laughed out of court; In sum, there are many, many sworn statements, judicial opinions, and other extremely reliable sources of information about Scientology's ongoing and usually criminal "fair game" practices against critics.
For the cult to whine about being photographed is like a Shark complaining that the other fish are being mean.
tl;dr one word summary of Luana's article: "BAWWWW."
I think it only fair to point out that luana1980, as a quick Google query will show, is clearly a scientologist, as well as gibber60, who seems to be the original author of this. This is a small example of the kind of defamation that the "church" slings at any critics. The scariest examples are of course the false bomb threats of which this organization is so fond. Luckily, the very behavior that the anonymous are protesting is necessarily provoked by the act of protest, and thus throws it into the light easily. For a worst-case-scenario example of what this "church" does to people, look up "Paulette Cooper." It's a long story but it's important.
That's some compelling hearsay.
Hey, I heard that if I reach Level 4 in Scientology, I'll be immune to Cancer! That's what my Stress Test recruiter told me, at least. Is that true? Will I really be "at cause" over cancer? Are there any OT7 or OT8 who actually die of cancer?
If there are, then I think Scientologists may have lied to both of us.
Oh you looked up "lulz" in the urban dictionary and considererd it as a trustworthy source. The urban dictionary is indeed to be taken very seriously.
This is what it says about "Scientology":
'See sham, fraud, fake, or any word adjacent to those.
Basically its a falsetto 'religion' in which eternal happiness is attained by donating all of your money to the leaders.
Founded by L. Ron Hubbard as a way to scheme money and make a fast buck off his books. One of the 'holiest' days in this religion is Hubbard's birthday.
Because most celebrites such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta are too stupid to realize it, they belong to this group.
If you even THINK of joining scientology, you should be kicked in the balls...hard. '
don't they bother to read he signs and actually hear what people are saying? are they deaf and blind?
More "I'm noy a Scientologist, but...", eh? It's strange how quick Scientologists are to deny what they are.
To see the other side of the story, visit www.youfoundthecard.com
"I was curious about how Scientologists feel about it, so I asked a few of them for their reactions"
This is typical Scientology deception. The author is, in fact, a Scientologist and this is, in fact, propaganda from the church. Simply google the author luana1980 to see for yourself.
Also: Why is the author posting under a pseudonym when she has such a problem with the concept of anonymous?
I would like to thank huliq.com for being more than willing to put out a press-release on behalf of an organisation as dangerous and evil as scientology. For those who don't know, the Cult of Scientology is a combination of a pyramid scheme, cult and business. They don't mess around, and have killed people in the past. I can quote two deaths just for the last two years - Shawn Lonsdale and Ken Ogger, both successfully harrassed to the point of suicide by the cult. This from an organisation that runs a front group names "The Citizens Commission for Human Rights". Their hipocracy would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous.
"Luana" is a known Scientology propagandist. what she forgets to mention is that it is Scientologists who stand outside the orgs with cameras, taking thousands of pictures, following protesters home, and making threats. No scientologists have been harmed in any way, yet there are numerous documented cases of Scientologists threatening, harassing, and assaulting protesters. they've even assaulted and stolen signs from a disabled protester in a wheelchair.
But they certainly have one advantage: a 24 hour a day seven day a week propaganda department. it's nice what millions of dollars can buy, even if you're an abusive, murderous cult.
Firstly: This article is an example of Ad Hominem, a logical fallacy. “X claims Y, but in the past has done Z – therefore Y is not true”. This article does nothing to prove Anonymous’ arguments wrong or respond to their criticism; it just attempts to discredit them by accusing them of harassing people.
Secondly: The things said in this article are simply not things Anonymous does. If anyone did it, they certainly lost the respect of their fellow Anons.
I’ve been to a few protests myself, and seen videos on Youtube of a lot of the other protests, and nothing like this has ever happened. In fact, Scientologists have come out to harass, challenge and provoke us. Look at the youtube video of Scientology “reverend” John Carmicheal following the protesters after they’d left, even after a police officer had told them to leave them alone, then trying to get one Anon to tell him his name and address, and calling him a “pussy” when he refuses.
At the Sydney, Australia protests in May a Scientologist named Timmy came out and told us he could “take us all on” and attempted to provoke the Anons into doing something that could make them look bad. At the April protests a teenage Scientologist came to the protests and began angrily asking protesters “Have you even read Dianetics?” When told that they were protesting against the Church of Scientology’s fraud and abuse and not the actual beliefs of Scientologists, he changed his method and began yelling “fuck off” at everyone. Luckily, the Anons were prepared for this and didn’t do anything stupid. I’m sure you’ll be able to find video of this in Youtube as well.
All Anonymous protests are organised on the internet on websites that anyone can access for free. Anonymous is unable to have secrets. Here is a list of rules suggested for protestors on the site Enturbulation.org, one of the biggest sites used to organise Anonymous protests:
http://forums.enturbulation.org/16-introduction-activism/anon-before-you-protest-read-updated-208/
Take note of:
“Rule #1: Stay cool. Rule #2: Stay cool, especially when harassed. You are an ambassador of Anonymous. Although individuals trying to disrupt your demonstration will get on your nerves, you must not lose your temper. Doing so will harm the protest and tarnish the reputation of Anonymous.”
“Rule #3: Comply with the orders of law enforcement officers above all else. Doing otherwise is harmful the demonstration as a whole and may compromise your performance as a human being. Do not request badge numbers unless you are being treated in a very abusive manner, as doing so will anger officers.”
“Rule #11: NO graffiti, destruction, or vandalism. Rule #12: If you want to do something stupid, pick another day. These should be self explanatory. Violation of these rules during a demonstration will tarnish the reputation of Anonymous, harm the demonstration itself and leave you vulnerable to attention from law enforcement.”
If you want you can watch the protests being planned and look at all the ideas people have proposed for them. Anonymous protesters are encouraged to video the protests and upload them on youtube – watch the videos and decide for yourself whether it’s Anonymous or the Church Of Scientology doing the harassing. Please don’t just take this article’s word for it – see what’s happening for yourself.
Wow, for calling on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for support, someone sure isn't up on current events. For example, how the ADL was investigating the Co$ and whether the claims Anonymous was making were true or false. With stuff like Operation Freakout and Paulette Cooper, Operation Snow White and the largest infiltration of the F.B.I. in the history of the U.S. - which included Hubbard's own wife in the list of $cientologists that were arrested there - the $cieno you were talking to must not have done their research. Of course, with their Clam Sitter internet filtering software, it IS a bit hard to get to the facts when the Co$ is filtering everything that a $cientologist is able to see.
As for lulz, lulz, as described by Fox11 in LA, is a corruption of LOL, which stands for Laugh Out Loud. Anonymous gets BIG lulz from raids and spoiling famous children's novels.
As to respecting someone's right to protest, that $cientologist must not have been in Philadelphia, where the Co$ has obtained protest permits to prevent Anonymous from protesting. The only problem with this? They weren't protesting anything, and when called on it they put up a table with a banner that said "drugs" on it and said they were protesting drugs. Considering they only had the table out for two hours before taking it back inside and their permit was for the whole day, Philly decided to refuse their more recent applications for protest permits, citing the fact that when they apply for them they do not protest so much as stand around for a few hours before returning inside.
As to helping the world, why doesn't he get a group of like-minded people to set up a protest of his own if he's so keen against the war in Iraq? Or if he wants to help the people of Sichuan, China, why doesn't he do something about it? the Co$ has always said how it wants to help in any way it can, why not go over there and do some good rather than having a big pity party?
Actions speak louder than words, and so far the only actions the Co$ has taken were shutting down their offices and leaving for the day early rather than talk to the peaceful protesters. They also ask those protesting "What are your crimes?", automatically accusing someone whose identity they have no verifiable means of obtaining and therefor no real basis for asking such a question.
However, when it comes to the Co$'s crimes, things like Operation Freakout and Operation Snow White are easily verified in legitimate, peer-reviewed sources. People like Lisa McPherson and Shawn Lonsdale that have died due to the scandal of $cientology. More others have been kidnapped, tortured, hypnotized, beaten, attacked, crushed, and damaged in general by those that believe they are doing the right thing in "handling" those that are regarded as SPs, or Suppressive Persons. This is blatantly wrong and needs to stop NOW.
If you really want to learn about the Cult of $cientology, the information is freely available. Look for news on the internet. Look for Hubbard's books and flip through them yourself, and see how truly insane this man is. Look for "The Scandal of Scientology", written by Paulette Cooper. Look for people that can explain to you how the Co$ nearly ruined their lives, and have ruined the lives of their families through the vicious policy of Disconnection at ExScientologyKids.com. Look at the information located at xenu.net. Watch the Jason Beghe interview recorded by Mark Bunker, long-time activist against the Church of $cientology. Look at Mark Bunker's site, which contains mountains of information at xenutv.com.
In the end, informing yourself about the Cult's crimes and their past is the best weapon against injustice that Anonymous has in it's arsenal. Defend yourself against ignorance, cowardice and hatred. Learn. Learn, learn, and learn some more, and when you think you can't handle any more, when you think you know everything, go out and learn again. Re-learn about Lisa McPherson. Re-learn about Shawn Lonsdale. Re-learn about those people whose lives have been ruined and those people whose lives are currently being destroyed by the Cult of $cientology.
Thank you.
"Scientologists Complain of Stalking and Harassment"
That's ironic, considering that the Church of Scientology has been stalking and harassing critics for decades. They hire PI's to get the identities of members of Anonymous, and then send threatening letters to their houses, in a pitiful attempt to intimidate them. There is nothing illegal about the protests, and there are plenty of perfectly legitimate reasons for them to oppose the dangerous Cult. A quick internet search would have revealed that, if the author wanted to get more than the same BS that is regurgitated by every Scientologist. They believe exactly what they are told by their manipulative leader(s), and those lies are all you are going to get if you try to talk to them.
Scientologists complaining about stalking and harassment... Paradox is paradoxical.
Or are they secretly calling for their church to end the abuses?
Please note, the author of this article is a confirmed scientologist. Every word contained within the article has been engineered specifically to manipulate your opinion.
This was not journalistic curiosity. This is propaganda.
While admittedly lulz makes everything worthwhile, we are not protesting Scientology because we think it's fun. We are protesting them because we have legitimate grievance with how the church function, how it treats it's members, and how it deceives the general public about it's true nature
The use of Cameras and masks for example, is so we can protect ourselves from the well documented Church of Scientology Fair Game policy. If any of us are identified, we could face harassment, litigation, and threats from the church. Lawsuits according to L. Ron hubbar himself are designed to harass, not to win any form of justice. Additionally, the cameras provide evidence when Scientology calls the police and attempts to fabricate criminal activity. More then once we have used our cameras to show that Scientology has willfully and deliberatly lied to Law Enforcement in an effort to shut down our protests.
The aims of Anonymous are well set forth for the general public in our Declaration of War. If you are curious, look it up on Youtube, and go to www.xenu.net for more information.
"Less than a mile from here there are homeless people who could really use some help"
seems that the church of scientology might be able to offer some help. what with their obscene bankroll and their "millions" of members, they might be better equipped to cure the world of its ills than a group of "kids" simply doing it for the "lulz". clearly, scientologists don't believe in helping people, just whining about their own trivial problems on PR websites with user-submitted content (of which there is no verification i might add).
and to the OSA (office if special affairs, scientology's answer to the CIA) who wrote this bit of drivel, know this: anonymous will free you. scientology will only continue to abuse you.
The cultists from scientlogy darte to pretend they are harrassed? That's not true. What is criticized is their criminal cult. Or its criminally convicted guru Hubbard (who got 4 years for fraud in France, and three other sentences in USA).
luana1980, if these allegations of protesting really bother you as a human being, then why on earth do you support the COS which destroys families and kills people for profit? I mean, come on-- you discuss certain COS agents being "disturbed" by the protestors, and those allegations are not even true, yet on the other side you have verified facts showing the COS destroys lives and famililes for profit, as its core directive. Who the heck do you think you are fooling? The internet?
To believe the words of a COS agent, you would have to believe everyone in the world is lying and only members of the COS are telling the truth. Luna is an agent of OSA, the office of special affairs. It is OSA's jobs to commit crimes in order to destroy all critics of scientology. of course, no true religion has stormtroopers such as this. Her post is an insane attempt of the pot calling the kettle black. If an OSA agent shoots a gun at a citizen, and the citizen somehow dodges the bullet, OSA would call the dodging of the bullet an attack on the COS. IT IS REALLY THAT INSANE. google scientology and see for yourself. This is a criminal organization and must be stopped.
This fake news written by A Scientology zombie.
Oh man, the irony. The Scientology crime syndicate's "Fair Game" policy reads like the Gambino Mafia's operating handbook on how to handle cops, lawyers, Judges, and human rights activists. The mass irony of Scientology crime bosses pretending the human rights activists and police officers, lawyers, doctors et al. that expose Scientology crimes and its human rights abuses are some how frightening the crime bosses is absolutely insane. Scientology is organized crime. Period. It drives dome of its customers absolutely bugshit insane, too. Operation Snow White, the cr5ime syndicate's deliberate RICO predicate acts at "ground zero" in the aftermath of the September 11'th terrorist attacks, its "NarCONno" quack medical frauds... It's all testable, verifiable, and freely documented all over the Internet.
Hi Lou, Louanne, Luanna et al. I'm curious to know why, if this is a bunch of kids out for 'lulz,' why they have sustained protests for months on end, risking arrest, harassment assault, and nuisance lawsuits from your criminal 'church.' Seems there are more fun things to do than spend ten hours roasting in the hot sun pointing out Scientology's human rights abuses.
the author seems to be confusing "anonymous" with the "Marcabians" (the true enemy of Scilontology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcab_Confederacy
Anonymous is simply trying to point out the fact that the "secrets" of this UFO cult are widely avaiable on the interwebs - FOR FREE!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu
Unbelieveable. The only true and verifiable information on this whole page is in the comments.
Really, Luana. Find out what your so called church does to critics. Find out how it uses their pets and kids to intimidate them into silence. You have no right to claim harrassment, Fair Game is alive and well. Anonymous is peaceful and legal. Scientology uses illegal means and hides them in the veil of "religious practice". Lying cult LIES.
Love to see the cult doing it's usual attempt at black PR.
Immediately one should be suspicious any member of a 'church' who will not admit openly they are a member before they start writing an OPINION piece. How many other proud members of a religion would hide the fact? And why?
Simply because the article is pure fluff, as many have already pointed out.
This cult is insidious and cannot remain to operate as it has in the past.
It's always hilarious when Scientology front groups such as this website tries to paint Scientology as the victim.
You fail.
Interesting, isn't it, that not one of her sources is identified by name?
These protests do have a purpose; to mitigate and expose the actions of a coercive, dangerous cult.
Regarding the individual who claims they're uncomfortable, that's nothing compared to what the church does to it's critics; following them, going to their neighborhoods, passing out flyers about them with false allegations, complaining to their employers, killing their pets and so on.
STUDY your materials Luana. You are wrong targeting.
You need to read the "knowledge reports" out in societies COURTS OF LAW.
Then, notice how thick the COS ethics file is, and realize that a leadership of your organization WAS known and prosecuted, around the world, for it's HIGH CRIMES.FLUNK
Clean up your own leadership first, then complain about us having to put your and your organizations ethics in FOR YOU. There will be Justice. Society has had enough of your organizations' "pin pricks". The GO went to jail and so can OSA. Are you planning to go visit them?
Luana1980's baseless propaganda
All one needs to do is Google "luana + scientology" to get a quick read on how believable Luana's reports are.
Couldn't help but notice the COMPLETE lack of any attributable information in this latest "story." Where are the names, dates and places?
As usual -- not ONE verifiable fact that can be checked by a third party. Pure propaganda.