Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:02 pm Post subject: The People Versus Corporate Scientology
Quote:
There is an internet phenomenon which could very well be the first major
mass case of the People using the communications power of the Internet
to take on ruthless corporate power. For that is precisely what Scientology
represents, stripped of all it's pretense of religion.
It's a story which is inextricably bound up with Tom Cruise.
Cruise is effectively the #2 in Scientology, and his demise is closely
bound to the downfall of Scientology. It all started here with Cruise on
Oprah talking about love at first publicity:
Following which Scientology made legal moves to suppress the video,
prompting a backlash from hackers and others who have already been
long on the trail of the pseudo-religious con that is Scientology. Under
the banner of "Project Chanology," the hackers took down Scientology
websites and longer-term activists announced a global day of protest:
Quote:
Hackers declare Scientology D-day
Leo Shanahan, February 7, 2008
New videos claiming to be from Anonymous have been posted on YouTube, naming February 10 as an international day of protest against Scientology.
Anonymous internet users who have previously crashed Church of Scientology websites have named February 10 as a worldwide day of protest in a bid to "destroy" the controversial religion.
The group - called Anonymous - which includes skilled computer hackers, has posted a message on YouTube declaring war on Scientology, accusing it of trying to censor the internet and conducting "campaigns of misinformation".
The apparent catalyst for the attack was YouTube's decision to remove a video of Hollywood star Tom Cruise - one of Scientology's most high-profile recruits - espousing the religion's virtues after the church asked that it be pulled.
"Anonymous has therefore decided that your organisation should be destroyed, for the good of your followers, for the good of mankind, and for our own enjoyment," the statement says.
"We shall proceed to expel you from the internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form," it continues.
The message, read by a computerised voice and set against a grey cityscape, finishes with the ominous statement: "We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us."
Last week several major Scientology websites crashed in the United States and Britain. The FBI was asked to investigate after envelopes of white powder were sent to 19 Scientology churches in the Los Angeles area....
Over the years, we have been watching you. Your campaigns of misinformation; suppression of dissent; your litigious nature, all of these things have caught our eye.
With the leakage of your latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of your malign influence over those who trust you, who call you leader, has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided that your organization should be destroyed. For the good of your followers, for the good of mankind--for the laughs--we shall expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form. We acknowledge you as a serious opponent, and we are prepared for a long, long campaign. You will not prevail forever against the angry masses of the body politic. Your methods, hypocrisy, and the artlessness of your organization have sounded its death knell.
You cannot hide; we are everywhere.
We cannot die; we are forever. We're getting bigger every day--and solely by the force of our ideas, malicious and hostile as they often are. If you want another name for your opponent, then call us Legion, for we are many.
Yet for all that we are not as monstrous as you are; still our methods are a parallel to your own. Doubtless you will use the Anon's actions as an example of the persecution you have so long warned your followers would come; this is acceptable. In fact, it is encouraged. We are your SPs.
Gradually as we merge our pulse with that of your "Church", the suppression of your followers will become increasingly difficult to maintain. Believers will wake, and see that salvation has no price. They will know that the stress, the frustration that they feel is not something that may be blamed upon Anonymous. No--they will see that it stems from a source far closer to each. Yes, we are SPs. But the sum of suppression we could ever muster is eclipsed by that of the RTC.
Knowledge is free.
We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
WE DO NOT FORGET.
Expect us
Quote:
"We are the collective masses of the Internet....."
Anonymous has tried to clear up some misconceptions about it:
Quote:
It has come to the attention of Anonymous that there are a number of you out there who do not clearly understand what we are or why we have undertaken our present course of action. Contrary to the assumptions of the media, Anonymous is not "a group of super hackers".
Anonymous is a collective of individuals united by an awareness that someone must do the right thing, that someone must bring light to the darkness, that someone must open the eyes of a public that has slumbered for far too long, that someone must counter assholes with great lulz.
Among our numbers you will find individuals from all walks of life - lawyers, parents, IT professionals, members of law enforcement, college and graduate students, veterinary technicians and more. Anonymous is everyone and everywhere. We have no leaders, no single entity directing us - only the collective outrage of individuals, guiding our hand in the current efforts to bring awareness.
We want you to be aware of the very real dangers of Scientology. We want you to know about the gross human rights violations committed by this cult. We want you to know about Lisa McPhearson. We want you to know about former members of Scientology's private navy, SeaOrg, who were forced to have abortions so that they could continue in service to the church. We want you to know about Scientology's use of child labor and their gulags. We want you to know about Operation Freakout and Paulette Cooper. We want you to know about Operation Snow White and Scientology's efforts to infiltrate the government of the United States of America.
We want you to know about all of these things that have been swept under the rug for far too long. The information is out there. It is yours for the taking. Arm yourself with knowledge.
Be very wary of the 10th of February. Anonymous invites you to join us in an act of solidarity. Anonymous invites you to take up the banner of free speech, of human rights, of family and freedom. Join us in protest outside of Scientology centers world wide. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. We will be heard. Expect us.
Cruise has been a potent force in the recent spread of Scientology.
Quote:
Appearing before the International Association of Scientologists to accept its "Freedom Medal of Valor," the actor laid bare his heart. His speech, peppered with attacks on psychiatry and oaths to "church" founder L. Ron Hubbard, was delivered to a multitude of followers listening to a live global simulcast. "It's a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist, and it's something that you have to earn," he told a rapt audience. "That's what drives me. I know that we have an opportunity to really help...change people's lives, and I am dedicated to that. I'm absolutely, uncompromisingly dedicated to that."
http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/radar-the-passion-tom-cruise.htm
From the get-go, Scientology had handled Cruise with diamond-studded
kid gloves. He and Miscavige had a lot of one-on-one.... A lot:
Quote:
Image from a video at a party thrown by Scientology Leader David Miscavige for his pal Tom Cruise. The image captures from the video have NOT been manipulated in any way. The source for this image claimed that Mr. Miscavige spent $300,000 for his pal's birthday party out of Scientology's deep pockets....
http://www.lermanet.com/cos/tom.htm
Here's details of the Coup in Scientology which saw Miscavige take over:
Quote:
A major Sunday Times Magazine investigation into the activities of the cult in America and Britain has uncovered a disturbing and extraordinary story - the takeover of the organisation by a small band of youthful fanatics following the disappearance of the Church's founder and inspiration, L. Ron Hubbard. ...
But a further question is: how much cover does Scientology have from
the establishment? Why is it alowed tax-emption. And is/was the CIA
involved in the Miscavige era of Scientology?
By the way, there are some interesting links between Scientology
and Charles Manson:
Quote:
The following is text of an actual internal memo, recovered from scientology during the 1977 raid by the the FBI of Scientology's headquarters at that time in Los Angeles
.....Raimer was auditing in prison at that time and in one 10 man cell had managed to gather a group of about 7, all in Scientology. Charles Manson entered later and studied, did TRO etc. along with his cell-mates and received approximately 150 hours of auditing from Raimer...... Rainer kept records of his auditing. Manson got super-energetic & flipped out when he'd been audited and would, for a time, talk about nothing but Scientology to the extent that people avoided his company. After a while, however, Manson was screaming to get away from his auditor (in Raul's opinion, he'd been severely over-run or something). He eventually managed to get put in solitary confi- nement to get away from his auditor. Eventually prison officials got suspicious of the groups strange activities and broke up the group....
"I read whatever books I could find (and understand) that dealt with mind
development. A cell partner turned me on to Scientology. With him and another guy I got pretty heavy into Dianetics and Scientology. Through this and by other studies, I came out of my state of depression. I was understanding myself better, had a positive outlook on life, and knew how
to direct my energies to each day and each task"
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:49 pm Post subject: an act of sabotage that this kind of linkage can occur
Isn't it revealing, reviling how corporations appropriate magical symbols. As if through absorption, a symbol could be defiled. Take for instance Shell oil. How is it that a symbol for transformation is used as a corporate identity?
It seems like an act of sabotage that this kind of linkage can occur.
This may be one of many ways, how corporate elites control society by fucking with their symbols. Fintan we do agree that the essence of myth reflects the subconscious mind expressing itself through the archetypes. Do we not?
While a corporation may brand itself with symbols through absorption, it cannot however through adsorption{ metaphorically speaking}.
The phenomenon/hysteria against scientology seems like another psyop/distraction in itself. Similar to Bush and other media icons being brought up as hate figures, except this involves an entire organization. It's not hard to find people around me everyday who have an intense loathing for scientology. Nothing healthy about that! PSYOP!!!!! I have seen numerous cable tv specials of why scientology is terrible while they keep flashing L. Ron Hubbards fat face every other scene. Who gives a fuck... no need to fight, we already won.
The phenomenon/hysteria against scientology seems like another psyop/distraction in itself. Similar to Bush and other media icons being brought up as hate figures, except this involves an entire organization. It's not hard to find people around me everyday who have an intense loathing for scientology. Nothing healthy about that! PSYOP!!!!! I have seen numerous cable tv specials of why scientology is terrible while they keep flashing L. Ron Hubbards fat face every other scene. Who gives a fuck... no need to fight, we already won.
CC, you are correct in your high level analysis of the subject. I think Fintan may be pointing out that we are witnessing the birth of a new "focused" entity that uses the internet to coordinate their actions. There have been many attempts to organize people on the internet, but sadly the process always seems to lose focus through endless counter-insurgency, ultimately getting diluted to the point of no impact. This new tactic being practiced and pointed against (s)CIENTOLOGY may be the power brokers biggest fear of the internet being realized? Faceless resistance ... priceless.
Thanks for the post Fintan!
- Hawk _________________ "Look up here, I'm in heaven. I've got scars that can't be seen. I've got drama, can't be stolen. Everybody knows me now." - David Bowie
Last edited by hawkwind on Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 2950 Location: 36� 3'N x 86�40'W
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject:
Yeah, I never quite understood the recent Scientology issue, to be honest.
All I saw was Tom Cruise painted as a loon, while he used some really bad debate techniques to make points to Matt Lauer that psychology was riddled with sham science and overdosing people on the behalf of Big Pharma. Something I didn't disagree with. I chalked it up to a bad spokesman, but... I would have to assume now that he was intentionally chosen as the "evil crazy person" who would stand up to the beneficent drug cartels.
So, yeah... Tom Cruise looks permanently crazy. Which makes him the perfect guy to espouse obviously flawed personal philosophies mixed with some real truth that will be 100% discarded as lies by the masses. _________________ "No matter what happens, ever... there's ALWAYS at least one reason. And the top reason is ALWAYS money."
zak247: Hey Fintan, why pick on one little bad apple in a
garden of rotten trees. The entire garden must be uprooted.
Is the whole garden of rotten trees just going to fall over all by itself?
Or will we have to uproot it... tree, by rotten tree?
Should we just let Scientology continue to victimize and then intimidate
people in the U.S. and across the world, powered on by the doggedly
maniacial Tom Cruise, and the wealth and ruthless power of Scientology?
I don't think so.
Quote:
Rumpl4skn: I would have to assume now that he was intentionally chosen
as the "evil crazy person" who would stand up to the beneficent drug cartels.
Or is it simply that Scientology picked a couple of winner issues to get
involved in as a way of leveraging themselves favorable publicity?
One was the 9/11 Firefighters issue, which they have craftily exploited,
by providing free treatment to the affected individuals to show how much
they care.
The other has been the clear abuses of pharma-drugging of children,
where Scientology paints itself as the solution to our educational needs.
In this case they have also funded education of children to show how
much they care and to tout Scientology's education ideas. The attack on
psychiatry/ritalin etc. was a win-win for Scientology, given the abuses
of the profession and it's reliance on Pharma drugs.
Yeah, we don't need to drug children, we need Scientology programs
in schols! Cute eh? Slick marketing, which hit easy targets and pushed
emotional buttons.
They are milking both areas hard in their promo material. When I say
milking these issues, I MEAN milking 'em! Watch and puke:
Quote:
9/11 Firefighters at 0:40 into video
Child Education at 4:00 into video
Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 2950 Location: 36� 3'N x 86�40'W
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:12 pm Post subject:
FD - I didn't mean to infer that Scientology was being wrongly bashed, re the psychology issue. I meant that it was most likely predetermined that - of all the people espousing that drugs were over-prescribed, which they are - Tom Cruise was the MSM choice of preference, because he already had a fistful of tickets to Crazytown. The PTB knew his take on it, and he was the perfect tainted messenger to associate this accurate assessment with lunacy.
Then, all that was needed to drive the nail in was a publicized tabloid dispute with a "normal" person, such as the beautiful Brooke Sheilds, who stood up against this awful "bashing" of the psychology and drug industry.
As I always say, sometimes the best way to sell a lie is to have someone you hate tell you the truth. _________________ "No matter what happens, ever... there's ALWAYS at least one reason. And the top reason is ALWAYS money."
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:34 pm Post subject: the Baptist
Fintan wrote:
Quote:
zak247: Hey Fintan, why pick on one little bad apple in a
garden of rotten trees. The entire garden must be uprooted.
Is the whole garden of rotten trees just going to fall over all by itself?
And would anyone hear it. Should we lay the ax to the root?
Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Rumpl4skn: sometimes the best way to sell a lie is
to have someone you hate tell you the truth.
I agree that the Cruise tirades were a win-win for them.
Scientology used this to push their own agenda.
Mainstream got a performing flea who made criticism
of Big Pharma and psychiatrists look totally goofy. _________________ Minds are like parachutes.
They only function when open.
All times are GMT - 5 Hours Goto page 1, 2, 3 ... 18, 19, 20Next
Page 1 of 20
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum