
By: LARRY SITES
Re: Re: Scientology protest 5-6

PICKET SCIENTOLOGY MAY 6

   The Church of Scientology has attacked the internet;

1) rmgrouped alt.religion.scientology (a.r.s.)
2) threatened remailers who allow posts to a.r.s.
3) threatened administrators who keep a.r.s. active
4) raided the home of an a.r.s. user
5) raided anon.penet.fi and got the name of a remailer user
6) attempted to overwhelm a.r.s. with off-topic and mega-postings.
7) sent a private investigator to harass an a.r.s. user
8) attempted to hack the phone bills of a.r.s. users
9) cancelled dozens of posts from a.r.s.
10) posted untrue, hurtful material against church critics on a.r.s.

All the above is well documented in alt.religion.scientology and
elsewhere.

   This is a *worldwide* call to picket the Church of Scientology
Saturday May 6 (May 9 is Dianetics' birthday, a big holiday in
Scientology) at your nearest Scientology or Dianetics center.  Do
so in a legal, safe and orderly manner to protest the church's
blatant and continuing attacks against the internet.  Contact your
local police for guidelines on how to legally picket and to notify
them as to the times you will be picketing.  Notify your local
media about the picket and the reason for your picketing.  Provide
the media with copies of posts from a.r.s. as evidence.  You can
get copies of documentation at the rnewman web page listed in my
sig.

Scientology is threatening the existence of a whole newsgroup
because they don't like what their critics are saying there.
Scientology threatens the ability of anonymous remailers to keep
their users safe.  Now is the time to let the Church of
Scientology know that they can't mess with the internet.



Scottsdale [Arizona] Tribune 3/18/95

"Scientologists, Internet users square off over computer
missives"  by Kelly Ettenborough

   A small skirmish in the ongoing fight between Internet
users and the Church of Scientology International erupted in
the Valley this week.
   Five local Internet users picketed the Church of
Scientology of Arizona, in Mesa, earlier this week to protest
the international church's efforts to close down their
"newsgroup" on the Internet.
   The Internet, accessed by computer and modem, contains
about 6,000 newsgroups on different topics in which people
leave messages and information.  The newsgroup in question is
alt.religion.scientology, also known as a.r.s.  Earlier this
year, Scientology church officials requested it be eliminated
after copyrighted church documents were posted on the
Internet.  The protesters also said the church doesn't want
any critical messages about the church posted on the
newsgroup.
   "Basically it's a freedom of speech issue where the church
decides that critics on the Internet should not have a voice,
therefore they tried to close our newsgroup down," said Jeff
Jacobsen, a Scottsdale resident and one of the protesters.
   About 60 percent of the users of the newsgroup are critics
of the church, Jacobsen said.
   Lisa Goodman, media relations director for the Los
Angeles-based Church of Scientology International, said
copyright infringement, not freedom of speech, is the issue.
The church filed suit against Dennis Erlich of Glendale,
Calif. after he continued posting church materials on the
Internet.
   In asking for the newsgroup to be shut down, a church
attorney cited the use of the church trademark "Scientology"
in its name, the release of "copyright and trade secret
violations" and "flamers" who use the forum to attack the
church.
   "They are posting illegally obtained, copyrighted church
scriptures.  They don't really care about who is affected or
anything else," Goodman said.  "The problem with the Internet
is it is open to abuse, and they violate the laws of the
land."
   Goodman called the messages posted by flamers a form of
hate crime.  "It's not a matter of global freedom of
expression.  It's cyber terrorism," she said.
   Jacobsen is a local contact for Cults [sic] Awareness
Network, a group that considers Scientology a cult, but he
said the protest at the Mesa church wasn't about the church's
beliefs or teachings.
   "The whole point of the Internet is the idea that freedom
of speech is the ultimate important thing.  When one
newsgroup is attacked, then everyone gets upset," he said.
"It obviously goes from the Internet to the real world."
   The newsgroup had not been shut down, and the response
from Internet administrators was to invite church members to
post their own messages in response to critics.
   John DeNero, director of special affairs of the Church of
Scientology of Arizona, 2311 [actually 2111] W. University
Drive, Mesa, called the demonstration a curiosity.  "It's not
really a local issue," he said.  "It really has nothing to do
with our local church so I ask, why are they here to cause
disruption to the local church?... You have to wonder what
their real concern is."
   One protester shouted at cars during the demonstration,
DeNero said, so the church called the police, who came down
and talked to them.
   The protesters met on the Internet, and not all are users
of alt.religion.scientology.  Internationally, the church has
about 8 million members, Goodman said.  Several thousand
people in Arizona are members of the church, DeNero said.
------------
cultxpt@primenet.com  Jeff Jacobsen  PO Box 3541  Scottsdale AZ  85271
For Info on Scientology anonymous ftp.primenet.com /users/c/cultxpt OR
http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/rnewman/scientology/home.html  OR
http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~sloth/sci/sci_index.html


 Larry Sites <LGSites@connectnet.com> JC's Fireman: Luke 12:49
 Freq FORGERY.ZIP, Falisfy Fundi father fakery
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