midnight marauder
12th February 2008, 01:33
If you guys are interested in this you can check out the press release Missouri Anonymous put out the morning of Feb 10. It's pretty good, and we're getting a lot of recognition on YouTube and Digg.
Ladies and gentlemen of the public and the press,
Today, working in concert with concerned citizens from all over the world, Anonymous has staged a large number of simultaneous public demonstrations at Church of Scientology centers around the globe. Now that we have made evident the sincerity of our intentions and the strength of our dedication, we would like to take this opportunity to clarify our objectives to the press and to the public. There have been a number of myths and misconceptions surrounding the nature of our means and intentions. Among these is the idea that our declaration of war is to be interpreted as a threat of physical harm against individuals affiliated with the Church of Scientology.
Allegations that Anonymous wishes to physically harm any human being as a part of our campaign against the cult of Scientology are patently untrue. As stated in one of our productions, the intention of Anonymous is to 'systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form'. Our struggle is directed against the toxic ideals and behavior of the corrupt, violent, and abusive leadership of the Church of Scientology, not against the lives of those who have become entangled with it. Know this: though we oppose all that they stand for, even the highest officers of this cult will not be harmed physically by Anonymous. Our battle is one of ideas. As we speak, it is being fought and won in the hearts and minds of the worlds honest citizenry and their leaders. The ideological nature of our struggle brings us to another common misconception regarding the objectives of Anonymous in this campaign.
Although many of us are put off by L. Ron Hubbard's religious doctrine, we do not oppose the right of individuals to follow beliefs of their choice. As set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion". Anonymous, as a whole, honors the spirit of this declaration. We fight against the atrocities - not the beliefs - of the brainwashing cult known as the Church of Scientology. The acts of defamation, intimidation and murder perpetrated by this criminal organization galvanize our resolve to fight against it. Our righteous indignation is directed against the hypocrisy of this institution, not against the faith of its members. As an illustrative example of our stance, we would like to draw your attention toward a group of individuals who practice L. Ron Hubbard's teachings, but have disaffiliated themselves from the Church of Scientology. They are known as the Freezone. Anonymous bears no animosity toward an organization such as this one.
Many of you may wonder how Anonymous plans on launching into the task of dissolving the Church of Scientology. As a fundamentalist, totalitarian organization that seeks control of information and manipulation through fear, the Church of Scientology possesses inherent flaws. Anonymous is studying these flaws, and has made them the basis of a long-term strategy.
Our first major objective is the revocation of this cult's tax-exempt status wherever it has managed to obtain one. Indeed, the privileges awarded to the Church of Scientology under US law are significantly more generous than those enjoyed by major religions. As set out by the appellants in Sklar v. Commissioner, training offered through the Church of Scientology is tax deductible, while that obtained through legitimate religious institutions is not. The status of the Church of Scientology as a tax exempt religion is an affront to honest religious organizations. However, its special status with the US IRS which places it above and beyond other religions is not merely an affront, but a slap in the face.
Other objectives set out by Anonymous at the present time include - but are not limited to - exposing the criminal practices of the Church to public scrutiny, neutralization of its fraudulently obtained assets and corresponding operations, the liberation of members coerced and blackmailed to work for the Church in illegitimate ways, declaration of the Church and its shell corporations as prohibited criminal organizations and the criminal prosecution of the persons responsible for particularly heinous acts performed in the name of this Church.
Throughout our struggle, we maintain the following thesis: that the Church of Scientology was founded for purposes incompatible with a society holding dear a respect for human rights and the rule of law. These nefarious purposes can only be achieved through criminal enterprise, and remain objectives of the Church to this day. We further maintain that this criminal enterprise is operated by its leaders knowingly and willingly, and that the true extent and tone of the Church's activity is outrageous and sickening. These statements are not contrived, but based on conclusions derived from extensive study of Church history. Our sources include its own documents, the testimonies of its victims, the words of those who have escaped it and educational materials that the Church would keep secret for fear of exposure. We therefore consider the Church of Scientology a despicable criminal organization which, through the indoctrination of its members, predation upon those in need, the dissemination of lies regarding its nature, by way of sadistic retaliatory practices against its critics and through its cynical abuse of civil liberties has forfeit any right it had to exist.
On several occasions, figures within the media have casually dismissed Anonymous as nothing more than a gaggle of restless youth. We remain entirely undeterred by their remarks. Virtually all age groups, creeds and professions are represented within our ranks. Many who are not affiliated with Anonymous have expressed support for our campaign. Their words serve to further underscore the broad demographic base of our initiative. If you remain doubtful of our strength and resolve, we invite you to observe them for yourselves.
Actions speak louder than words. In the name of those who have been silenced by the criminal organization that is the Church of Scientology, Anonymous will be heard. Our cause is just. We shall prevail.
We are Anonymous.
We have Awoken.
We stand as One.
The video for this can be found here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SQKbHBqDwSI
The Kansas City demo went very well, we had about 70 of us out protesting in front of the Church of Scientology center. I'm actually pretty impressed with our area: Wichita, KS had about 30 protesters and the St. Louis folks were about 80 strong.
We got national media attention but the issue was totally whitewashed in the local media, at least for KC. We called the press like 24/7 a week up to the event and had another press release just for the KC demo, but they never came. There was at least one Scientologist taking pictures and video of us, I guess. :lol:
It went very well. We coverd three corners and tuns of cars driving by were honking in support, it was great. Here's some pictures:
http://img405.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc001313jn9.jpg
http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc001111fq3.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc004949gw8.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc006363ct6.jpg
Here's an (incomplete) running head count:
Asia and Oceania:
200-300 in Sydney, Australia
150 in Adelaide, Australia
150 in Melbourne, Australia
100 in Perth, Australia
100 in Brisbane, Australia
5 in Canberra, Australia
15-20 in Auckland, New Zealand
15-20 in Christchurch, New Zealand
6 in Tel Aviv, Israel
1 in Tokyo, Japan
Total: 10 raids, 4 countries, 742-852 people
Europe:
500 in London, United Kingdom
150 in Manchester, United Kingdom
130 in Edinburgh, United Kindom
50 in Birmingham, United Kingdom
20 in Plymouth, United Kingdom
20 in York, United Kingdom
15 in Sunderland, United Kindom
5 in Brighton, United Kingdom
50 in Stockholm, Sweden
25 in Gothenburg, Sweden
12-13 in Malmö, Sweden
25 in Berlin, Germany
20-25 in Duesseldorf, Germany
15-25 in Hamburg, Germany
50 in Copehagen, Denmark
3 in Aarhus. Denmark
6 in Zürich, Switzerland
5 in Geneve, Switzerland
80 in Dublin, Ireland
42-60 in Oslo, Norway
40-60 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
30 in Brussels, Belgium
20-30 in Paris, France
12 in Vienna, Austria
Total: 24 raids, 11 countries, 1325-1389 people
North America:
500 in Los Angeles, California
200-250 in San Francisco, California
100 in Sacramento, California
65-70 in San Diego, California
40 in Mountain View, California
25 in Santa Barbara, California
13 in Chico, California
10 in San Jose, California
8 in Santa Cruz, California
320 in New York City, New York
50 in Buffalo, New York
40 in Albany, New York
10-15 in Ontario, New York
25 in Rochester, New York
160 in Austin, Texas
115 in Dallas, Texas
100-150 in Houston, Texas
8 in San Antonio, Texas
200 in Clearwater, Florida
200 in Orlando, Florida
100-110 in Miami, Florida
3-5 in Broward County, Florida
80 in Colombus, Ohio
75 in Cincinnati, Ohio
15 in Cleveland, Ohio
200 in Seattle, Washington
18 in Bellingham, Washington
65-150 in Chicago, Illinois
30 in Champaign, Illinois
135 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
30-40 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
80 in St. Louis, Missouri
65-70 in Kansas City, Missouri
150 in Detroit, Michigan
20 in Battle Creek, Michigan
60 in Phoenix, Arizona
50 in Tucson, Arizona
90 in Denver, Colorado
12-15 in Boulder, Colorado
45 in Nashville, Tennessee
40 in Memphis, Tennessee
45 in Las Vegas, Nevada
15 in Reno, Nevada
20 in New Orleans, Louisiana
20 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
270 in Boston, Massachusetts
200 in Washington, D.C.
150-200 in Atlanta, Georgia
150-200 in Portland, Oregon
100 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
70 in Salt Lake City, Utah
50 in Charlotte, North Carolina
40 in Louisville, Kentucky
35 in New Haven, Connecticut
35 in Richmond, Virginia
25-30 in Indianapolis, Indiana
25 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
25 in Wichita, Kansas
20 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
17-20 in Honolulu, Hawaii
16 in Anchorage, Alaska
9 in Boise, Idaho
5 in Brunswick, Maine
1 in Biloxi, Mississippi
200-250 in Toronto, Ontario
30 in Ottawa, Ontario
20 in Kitchener, Ontario
3 in London, Ontario
140-200 in Vancouver, British Columbia
80 in Montreal, Quebec
40 in Edmonton, Alberta
30 in Winnipeg, Manitoba
30 in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Total: 71 raids, 2 countries, 5318-6909 people
Overall Total: 106 raids, 17 countries, 7625-8150 people For some general information about it, check out http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews_international_report:_%22Anonymous%22_hol ds_anti-Scientology_protests_worldwide
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_chanology
The next worldwide day of demonstration is March 15, 2008, although different local protests may change that date. The significance of this day is that it's the closest weekend to L. Ron Hubbard's birthday as well of the Ides of March.
February 10 marked the birthday of Lisa McPherson, who was a young woman who needed psychological care but was made to refuse it by the Church. She passed away while under the care of the Church of Scientology due to negligence and pseudoscientific medical treatment.
midnight marauder
12th February 2008, 01:47
Also stay away from any known Scientology members, and if any of them come up and start hassling you I hear you're supposed to start reciting the story of Xenu which will make them go away (that sounds so ridiculous though I'm not sure if it's true).
There were lots of Scientology members out among the crowds. Many Church centers even had vans out taping the event, some disguised as ice trucks (seriously (http://www.rob-sheridan.com/tourist/scientology/pages/_MG_2736.html)). From what I've read from former Scientologists, members are not allowed to know about Xenu, Body Thetans, or other aspects of the religion until they have reached a sufficient level within Scientology which typically takes many years to obtain. They're supposed to disavow any knowledge of these concepts and deny their existence, and when they reach the appropriate Operating Thetan level they must sign an agreement saying that they will not disclose information concerning these matters to anyone below their level.
Coprolal1an
15th February 2008, 03:28
lol, no?
For one thing the majority of planning was done on partyvan IRC, and not on the chans. The planning that *was* done on the chans was done on 711cha's /i/ and now /xenu/ boards, as threads in 420chan/4chan automatically get baleeted. A great deal of it was also done on the partyvan wiki.
As far as action goes, most of the people doing this are quite the newfags, and only recently heard about all this. Many think that 'anonymous' was created for this one raid, and know nothing about the chans.
This raid was truly decentralized--it was done on irc, via email, wikis, chans, even the mainstream news reported on it (A LOT).
EDIT: lol, I thought I saw a couple red/black flags at the protests..
RaiseYourVoice
24th February 2008, 12:01
oh noes, itz people that aren't in every little antifa demonstration since 1958???!!?? we cant trust them! i mean what would happen if like, normal people would join protests? people that maybe dont know much about politics yet, people that jack of at cartoon porn instead of the last ANDIFAAAA RIIOOT?
seriously, they do attacks on scientology, they organise demonstrations. Even if they do it for "lulz" which i doubt, it still attracts attention and is a great opportunity to join in and maybe get some people into more radical ideas.
RedRich
24th February 2008, 12:11
What do you base your doubt on? I'm a long time user of the all of the *chan websites, and these are not the sort of people you're going to see reading anti-globalisation essays and protesting against nuclear arms. Generally, they're the complete opposite. It's purely entertainment and black humour - and in regards to these demonstrations, not everyone was in favour of them, precisely because of all the misguided publicity (as you see right now) it would give them, completely destroying the concept of being Anonymous.
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