Time Magazine article on "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" link.
Many of you have probably seen this before, but it's got some decent Operation Reconnect relevant info.
And in addition, The Road to March 15, link courtesy of cultlord.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Some New Links
This is one of the links that roj commented with on our last post -- I don't think this has been discussed on the blog yet, so I'm giving it a post of its own.
The injunction against Anons in Florida
The injunction against Anons in Florida
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saying Thank You
I mentioned before putting together a letter on behalf of Anonymous to send to the South Side police precinct thanking them for fair treatment, but then I got a better idea, partly inspired by my suggestion that we each contact the media as average citizens.
Anyone with an interest in thanking the police for their fair treatment, try this: get a thank you card, or even just paper and an envelope, and write your own personal note expressing gratitude. It can be Anonymous. I think a larger influx of brief, grateful notes will have more impact that a big boring letter.
I'm going to be writing my note this week.
Here's a mailing address I found for the South Side police station, the place of employment for any officers who have covered our protests:
Pittsburgh Police
Zone Three (South Side)
1725 Mary Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Edit: I encourage everyone to post the text of their note in the comments in case anyone's having trouble coming up with something to say. I will post mine sometime this week.
Anyone with an interest in thanking the police for their fair treatment, try this: get a thank you card, or even just paper and an envelope, and write your own personal note expressing gratitude. It can be Anonymous. I think a larger influx of brief, grateful notes will have more impact that a big boring letter.
I'm going to be writing my note this week.
Here's a mailing address I found for the South Side police station, the place of employment for any officers who have covered our protests:
Pittsburgh Police
Zone Three (South Side)
1725 Mary Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Edit: I encourage everyone to post the text of their note in the comments in case anyone's having trouble coming up with something to say. I will post mine sometime this week.
Fair Gaming Anonymous
Not sure if everyone's keeping up with all the Anonymous happenings outside of Pittsburgh, but this is probably one of the most significant I've read since the arrests of the Atlanta Anons.
Ath's Story
Basically, a few Anons were outed in SoCal, and this document details the alleged Fair Game attempts. Following by a minivan, possibly poisoned outdoor cat, various instances of gaslighting trickery, and so on.
Moral of the story: be careful. This fellow seems to have pinpointed the instances where he went out, unmasked, in situations where he could be identified as a member of Anonymous.
Ath's Story
Basically, a few Anons were outed in SoCal, and this document details the alleged Fair Game attempts. Following by a minivan, possibly poisoned outdoor cat, various instances of gaslighting trickery, and so on.
Moral of the story: be careful. This fellow seems to have pinpointed the instances where he went out, unmasked, in situations where he could be identified as a member of Anonymous.
In the Spirit of Operation Reconnect
A video from Tory about Scientology, disconnection, Fair Game, and Anonymous. Specifically directed at the parents of young Anons who don't understand what we're doing, but still has a lot of great information. Enjoy.
Video Message to Parents of Anonymous
Video Message to Parents of Anonymous
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Temporary (?) IRC Channel for Pittsburgh Anons
Those of you who visited our channel on partyvan might have noticed that it's been somewhat inaccessible. free was kind enough to set up an interim channel for us on irc.freeshell.org, the channel is #anonpgh.
I still don't know what the deal is with partyvan's IRC servers and when or if they'll be back up, so for now, I'll be hanging out in #anonpgh.
I still don't know what the deal is with partyvan's IRC servers and when or if they'll be back up, so for now, I'll be hanging out in #anonpgh.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Enturbulation Forums Are Back Up
Edited: Xenu and I are both back on enturbulation now. You may have to change your password to access old accounts, but you should all be able to get back on there. Pittsburgh thread's been started for April 12.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Intro to Operation Reconnect
Since someone commented asking about Reconnect, I figured I'd put up the few details I have thus far.
It will occur on Saturday, April 12th, at 11:00am. The location will be the same: sidewalk across from the Scientology bookstore at 1906 E. Carson Street on the South Side.
This protest is supposed to focus on the Church of Scientology's policy of forced disconnection from family members and friends who refuse to convert to Scientology or who criticize the organization. This policy is designed to lead to isolation of new members from support outside the Church, making it easier to control them and forcing them to become dependent on the cult for socialization and emotional support.
Regarding signs and media for Reconnect: while the typical "Honk if you think Scientology is a cult" fare will still be useful, propaganda should lean more toward exposing how Scientology tears apart family and friends, which is a standard cult practice designed to seize control over a victim's life. It is also an effective recruitment technique, forcing new members to either bring their loved ones into the organization or to cut off all contact with them.
Media coverage, as I had begun to expect a few days ago, is going to be somewhat less for Partyhard than it was for the 2/10 protest. Why? Well, I contacted all the same media outlets as before, spoke to the same people, etc., but this time, it was St. Patrick's Day, there was a huge parade, and the Clintons were in town, with Hillary Clinton marching alongside Governor Rendell and Mayor Ravenstahl at the same time as our protest, whereas 2/10 was a comparatively slow news day, and the only article that trumped us on the PPG front page was one covering a mass wedding ceremony.
So, we need to start working early on perfecting our coverage for Reconnect, and start honing our message to focus on the theme of the 4/12 protests. One idea is, in addition to me contacting the media as Anonymous media representative, for all willing Pittsburgh Anons to pick a station or paper or two, give them a call as an average citizen who happened to hear about these protests and would love to see them given more attention in the media, since you've come to feel strongly about educating the public about Scientology.
Give a name when you call, for the sake of sounding more normal and approachable and average-Joe-like, but it doesn't need to be your own. Just make up a reasonable pseudonym, even just a first name. They shouldn't need any further contact info. Emails can be sent with a throwaway gmail address that uses your fake name. If you're really paranoid and you don't have an unlisted number, there are these nifty things called payphones that actually still exist.
I've compiled a list of media contact information for this purpose, to simplify things. I'll post it here, so you can all start when you're ready. If you'd like to contact people sooner rather than later, one approach would be to state that you saw an interesting slideshow about this on the WPXI site, and you've heard there's another protest planned for next month, and you'd appreciate more coverage of this issue. One or two calls like this might get ignored, but a few dozen would have an impact. If you have too much time on your hands, make up multiple pseudonyms, mix up your story a little, and repeat as many times as you like (well, within reason).
If I've missed any important contact info, please leave it in the comments.
Love,
Miss Anonymous
Pittsburgh Media Contact Info
WPXI (telephone): 412-237-1100
WPXI (email): assignments@wpxi.com
WTAE (telephone): 412-244-4444
WTAE (email): newsroom@thepittsburghchannel.com
KDKA (telephone): 412-575-2245
KDKA (email): Submit via form on this page
Post-Gazette (telephone): 412-263-1100
Post-Gazette (email): localnews@post-gazette.com
Post-Gazette reporter who covered 2/10, Jerome Sherman: jsherman@post-gazette.com
Tribune Review (telephone): 412-321-6460
Tribune Review (email): opinion@tribweb.com (for letters to the editor and giving your opinion -- they don't really have a more appropriate avenue for directing emails listed on their site).
Local University Press
CMU, The Tartan (telephone): 412-268-2111
CMU, The Tartan (email): contact@thetartan.org
CMU TV (email): cmutv@andrew.cmu.edu
CMU, WRCT Radio (email): info@wrct.org
The Pitt News (telephone): 412-648-7980
The Pitt News (email): pittnews@pitt.edu
Pitt TV (telephone): 717-475-2848
Pitt TV (email): pitttv@pitt.edu
The Duquesne Duke (telephone): 412-396-6629
The Duquesne Duke (email, editor): leonee@duq.edu
Point Park, The Globe (telephone): 412-392-4740
Point Park, The Globe (email): globe@pointpark.edu
CCAC Student Newspapers:
Allegheny Campus (telephone): 412-237-4632
Boyce Campus (telephone): 724-325-6730
North Campus (telephone): 412-369-3698
South Campus (telephone): 412-469-6352
It will occur on Saturday, April 12th, at 11:00am. The location will be the same: sidewalk across from the Scientology bookstore at 1906 E. Carson Street on the South Side.
This protest is supposed to focus on the Church of Scientology's policy of forced disconnection from family members and friends who refuse to convert to Scientology or who criticize the organization. This policy is designed to lead to isolation of new members from support outside the Church, making it easier to control them and forcing them to become dependent on the cult for socialization and emotional support.
Regarding signs and media for Reconnect: while the typical "Honk if you think Scientology is a cult" fare will still be useful, propaganda should lean more toward exposing how Scientology tears apart family and friends, which is a standard cult practice designed to seize control over a victim's life. It is also an effective recruitment technique, forcing new members to either bring their loved ones into the organization or to cut off all contact with them.
Media coverage, as I had begun to expect a few days ago, is going to be somewhat less for Partyhard than it was for the 2/10 protest. Why? Well, I contacted all the same media outlets as before, spoke to the same people, etc., but this time, it was St. Patrick's Day, there was a huge parade, and the Clintons were in town, with Hillary Clinton marching alongside Governor Rendell and Mayor Ravenstahl at the same time as our protest, whereas 2/10 was a comparatively slow news day, and the only article that trumped us on the PPG front page was one covering a mass wedding ceremony.
So, we need to start working early on perfecting our coverage for Reconnect, and start honing our message to focus on the theme of the 4/12 protests. One idea is, in addition to me contacting the media as Anonymous media representative, for all willing Pittsburgh Anons to pick a station or paper or two, give them a call as an average citizen who happened to hear about these protests and would love to see them given more attention in the media, since you've come to feel strongly about educating the public about Scientology.
Give a name when you call, for the sake of sounding more normal and approachable and average-Joe-like, but it doesn't need to be your own. Just make up a reasonable pseudonym, even just a first name. They shouldn't need any further contact info. Emails can be sent with a throwaway gmail address that uses your fake name. If you're really paranoid and you don't have an unlisted number, there are these nifty things called payphones that actually still exist.
I've compiled a list of media contact information for this purpose, to simplify things. I'll post it here, so you can all start when you're ready. If you'd like to contact people sooner rather than later, one approach would be to state that you saw an interesting slideshow about this on the WPXI site, and you've heard there's another protest planned for next month, and you'd appreciate more coverage of this issue. One or two calls like this might get ignored, but a few dozen would have an impact. If you have too much time on your hands, make up multiple pseudonyms, mix up your story a little, and repeat as many times as you like (well, within reason).
If I've missed any important contact info, please leave it in the comments.
Love,
Miss Anonymous
Pittsburgh Media Contact Info
WPXI (telephone): 412-237-1100
WPXI (email): assignments@wpxi.com
WTAE (telephone): 412-244-4444
WTAE (email): newsroom@thepittsburghchannel.com
KDKA (telephone): 412-575-2245
KDKA (email): Submit via form on this page
Post-Gazette (telephone): 412-263-1100
Post-Gazette (email): localnews@post-gazette.com
Post-Gazette reporter who covered 2/10, Jerome Sherman: jsherman@post-gazette.com
Tribune Review (telephone): 412-321-6460
Tribune Review (email): opinion@tribweb.com (for letters to the editor and giving your opinion -- they don't really have a more appropriate avenue for directing emails listed on their site).
Local University Press
CMU, The Tartan (telephone): 412-268-2111
CMU, The Tartan (email): contact@thetartan.org
CMU TV (email): cmutv@andrew.cmu.edu
CMU, WRCT Radio (email): info@wrct.org
The Pitt News (telephone): 412-648-7980
The Pitt News (email): pittnews@pitt.edu
Pitt TV (telephone): 717-475-2848
Pitt TV (email): pitttv@pitt.edu
The Duquesne Duke (telephone): 412-396-6629
The Duquesne Duke (email, editor): leonee@duq.edu
Point Park, The Globe (telephone): 412-392-4740
Point Park, The Globe (email): globe@pointpark.edu
CCAC Student Newspapers:
Allegheny Campus (telephone): 412-237-4632
Boyce Campus (telephone): 724-325-6730
North Campus (telephone): 412-369-3698
South Campus (telephone): 412-469-6352
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Co$ Reacts
They like us! They really like us!
Also seems to be experiencing server overload issues, but it comes up for me after a few refreshes. Enjoy.
I especially enjoy how their idea of not interacting involves slander.
In addition, are any of these alleged threats involving nitroglycerin explosives or the gunshots fired at the churches verifiable? I know there was a benign white powder mailed at some point, but I can't recall anything about the other stuff they claim happened.
Also seems to be experiencing server overload issues, but it comes up for me after a few refreshes. Enjoy.
I especially enjoy how their idea of not interacting involves slander.
In addition, are any of these alleged threats involving nitroglycerin explosives or the gunshots fired at the churches verifiable? I know there was a benign white powder mailed at some point, but I can't recall anything about the other stuff they claim happened.
Servers Down at Partyvan and Enturbulation
For the past few days, myself and a few other Anons I've spoken to have been unable to access the Pittsburgh IRC channel hosted on the partyvan.info servers. The original Project Chanology wiki at partyvan's site has been suffering frequent downtime as well. Xenu and I are working to establish an interim IRC channel on another server, and we will post information as it becomes available. I am unsure whether there was foul play involved here, but there's a good chance it was just overloaded as a result of the influx of information being edited regarding the March 15th raids.
Also, enturbulation appears to be in the process of upgrading server hardware to account for the growing number of anons using the forums there. Yesterday, there was a barebones forum available after the raids, and today, the site appears to be altogether inaccessible. Enturbulation, to my knowledge, should be up again soon.
In the meantime, I'll keep this blog as updated as possible, and feel free to dialogue with one another in the comments section while the enturb forums are down.
Also, enturbulation appears to be in the process of upgrading server hardware to account for the growing number of anons using the forums there. Yesterday, there was a barebones forum available after the raids, and today, the site appears to be altogether inaccessible. Enturbulation, to my knowledge, should be up again soon.
In the meantime, I'll keep this blog as updated as possible, and feel free to dialogue with one another in the comments section while the enturb forums are down.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
A Quick Word Regarding the Police
So, you know that lone officer who was posted outside the CoS store today? Apparently, he was there (with his own non-police vehicle, as well) because, even though it was supposed to be his day off, the Scientologists called the precinct four times this morning begging for assistance -- and this was very early in the day, likely before Anon even began gathering at eleven, because the officer arrived before noon. And in spite of the lousy circumstances, he wasn't at all unpleasant to have there (at least for Anonymous) and even honked for us when he left.
And of course, last time was a similar deal, except they apparently had two officers there. I'm guessing the South Side can't spare much in the way of law enforcement on St. Patrick's Day.
Especially in light of what went down in Atlanta today, I think it's important that Anonymous acknowledge how fair and respectful our police officers have been to us here in Pittsburgh, and give our support to the Atlanta anons who were arrested for what so far appears to be a petty noise ordinance violation.
And of course, last time was a similar deal, except they apparently had two officers there. I'm guessing the South Side can't spare much in the way of law enforcement on St. Patrick's Day.
Especially in light of what went down in Atlanta today, I think it's important that Anonymous acknowledge how fair and respectful our police officers have been to us here in Pittsburgh, and give our support to the Atlanta anons who were arrested for what so far appears to be a petty noise ordinance violation.
Post-Game: March 15th Protest
For great justice: if anyone has links to photo or video of the event in Pittsburgh, please leave comments on this post and I will add your links to the list at the end of this recap.
Well, the weather was somewhat better this time, thankfully. We peaked at around 35 anons, though some were coming and going throughout the day so its hard to say if there were 35 or more unique participants in total.
We got off to a bit of a rough start, as the owner of a shop near the sidewalk where we were gathering called the police to report a disturbance, and she accused us of blocking the sidewalk. A police officer showed up and Xenu and I spoke to him - he was really nice about it and basically didn't even make us move, although we did spread out down the street just to avoid future problems.
And, of course, there were drunks. We got there at 11 in the morning, and the drunks beat us there. For most the day, the drunks just found us amusing and screamed obscenities about Tom Cruise to the crowd. We saw a few of them stagger into the Scientology bookstore briefly, and I'm not sure what exactly came of that.
We had 30+ Anons sing "Happy Birthday" to L. Ron on video, which I assume will be found on YouTube by nightfall.
Again, they had a police officer stationed outside their store for the entire day. He seemed to like us, though. One Anon went over to offer him a piece of our birthday cake we dedicated to L. Ron after our song. He declined, but was very nice and told us to "have fun."
Also, when he left in his car toward the end of the protest, he honked for our signs (as did many others throughout the day). Epic win there.
There were two figures defending CoS that appeared and spoke to Anon during the day. Both were ostensibly on the South Side to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, based on the way they were dressed.
The first one was extremely polite and strongly defended Scientology's beliefs and said they helped him clear his mind and such. I spoke to him extensively, and I urged him to check out the Free Zone. He didn't outright the deny the cases I brought up, like Lisa McPherson's, though he did say they were only "mistakes." By the end of our talk, he said he would look into the Free Zone. I asked him if he'd be willing to divulge whether he was a member of the Church of Scientology or just a supporter of some of their beliefs, and he said that he was not a member, and he enjoyed learning about all kinds of beliefs. We shook hands before he left and he said I seemed very smart.
The other man who came and debated with members of Anon was not quite so polite as the first, though I mainly just listened to this one from the sidelines, since a small group had already gathered around him and started a dialogue. He seemed as though he was more interested in criticizing us for being there than he was in convincing us of the merits of Scientology, and again, he may or may not have been involved with them. He was with a friend dressed up in festive St. Patty's day stuff, so he may just have been a legit passerby. He didn't leave us on the best terms, and I saw a lot of frustration going on in that conversation. I'll leave further explanation to some of the Anons who actually spoke with this man extensively, and post here once I get details from them. (Edit: this guy confirmed unaffiliated with CoS; just looking for an argument.)
A woman stopped to talk to me and a few others when she saw the protest, and said that when she was living in Boston, her husband got involved with Scientology and they attempted to pressure her into joining and she couldn't stand it. We gave her some of our handouts and the URL for enturbulation's forums, and she said she'd be interested in writing up something about her experience and posting it there, so I'll be keeping an eye out for that. She told us she definitely supported us, as well.
Also, we had a very popular dancing Anon with speakers strapped to his belt. The drunks just loved that guy. He definitely kept morale up.
We pretty much ran out of fliers by around 4-4:30, and cleared out shortly thereafter, because the drunks were starting to get belligerent and curse at the protesters for no apparent reason.
One of our Anons went over to the CoS building when we heard they might be handing out DVDs about our hate crimes. They gave him a DVD, The Way to Happiness (not a hate crime one), and an amusing pamphlet about drugs that referred to Ritalin as "kiddie cocaine" and "Skittles." An Anon then went to Rite Aid and purchased Skittles for everyone.
The YouTube reporter who's been covering this, giv3m3truth, went over to the CoS building as well, after he taped interviews with us, and asked them if they'd like to make a statement about their stance on the protest. They refused, said something to the effect of "their actions speak for themselves" and shooed him out of there. Way to go, Scientology.
If anyone's got experiences to share that I missed here, comment please.
Media Coverage and Other Documentation of Great Justice:
WPXI Main Page slideshow
This is Pittsburgh
Brief (friendly) encounter with police after a storeowner complaint.
giv3m3truth's coverage
Well, the weather was somewhat better this time, thankfully. We peaked at around 35 anons, though some were coming and going throughout the day so its hard to say if there were 35 or more unique participants in total.
We got off to a bit of a rough start, as the owner of a shop near the sidewalk where we were gathering called the police to report a disturbance, and she accused us of blocking the sidewalk. A police officer showed up and Xenu and I spoke to him - he was really nice about it and basically didn't even make us move, although we did spread out down the street just to avoid future problems.
And, of course, there were drunks. We got there at 11 in the morning, and the drunks beat us there. For most the day, the drunks just found us amusing and screamed obscenities about Tom Cruise to the crowd. We saw a few of them stagger into the Scientology bookstore briefly, and I'm not sure what exactly came of that.
We had 30+ Anons sing "Happy Birthday" to L. Ron on video, which I assume will be found on YouTube by nightfall.
Again, they had a police officer stationed outside their store for the entire day. He seemed to like us, though. One Anon went over to offer him a piece of our birthday cake we dedicated to L. Ron after our song. He declined, but was very nice and told us to "have fun."
Also, when he left in his car toward the end of the protest, he honked for our signs (as did many others throughout the day). Epic win there.
There were two figures defending CoS that appeared and spoke to Anon during the day. Both were ostensibly on the South Side to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, based on the way they were dressed.
The first one was extremely polite and strongly defended Scientology's beliefs and said they helped him clear his mind and such. I spoke to him extensively, and I urged him to check out the Free Zone. He didn't outright the deny the cases I brought up, like Lisa McPherson's, though he did say they were only "mistakes." By the end of our talk, he said he would look into the Free Zone. I asked him if he'd be willing to divulge whether he was a member of the Church of Scientology or just a supporter of some of their beliefs, and he said that he was not a member, and he enjoyed learning about all kinds of beliefs. We shook hands before he left and he said I seemed very smart.
The other man who came and debated with members of Anon was not quite so polite as the first, though I mainly just listened to this one from the sidelines, since a small group had already gathered around him and started a dialogue. He seemed as though he was more interested in criticizing us for being there than he was in convincing us of the merits of Scientology, and again, he may or may not have been involved with them. He was with a friend dressed up in festive St. Patty's day stuff, so he may just have been a legit passerby. He didn't leave us on the best terms, and I saw a lot of frustration going on in that conversation. I'll leave further explanation to some of the Anons who actually spoke with this man extensively, and post here once I get details from them. (Edit: this guy confirmed unaffiliated with CoS; just looking for an argument.)
A woman stopped to talk to me and a few others when she saw the protest, and said that when she was living in Boston, her husband got involved with Scientology and they attempted to pressure her into joining and she couldn't stand it. We gave her some of our handouts and the URL for enturbulation's forums, and she said she'd be interested in writing up something about her experience and posting it there, so I'll be keeping an eye out for that. She told us she definitely supported us, as well.
Also, we had a very popular dancing Anon with speakers strapped to his belt. The drunks just loved that guy. He definitely kept morale up.
We pretty much ran out of fliers by around 4-4:30, and cleared out shortly thereafter, because the drunks were starting to get belligerent and curse at the protesters for no apparent reason.
One of our Anons went over to the CoS building when we heard they might be handing out DVDs about our hate crimes. They gave him a DVD, The Way to Happiness (not a hate crime one), and an amusing pamphlet about drugs that referred to Ritalin as "kiddie cocaine" and "Skittles." An Anon then went to Rite Aid and purchased Skittles for everyone.
The YouTube reporter who's been covering this, giv3m3truth, went over to the CoS building as well, after he taped interviews with us, and asked them if they'd like to make a statement about their stance on the protest. They refused, said something to the effect of "their actions speak for themselves" and shooed him out of there. Way to go, Scientology.
If anyone's got experiences to share that I missed here, comment please.
Media Coverage and Other Documentation of Great Justice:
WPXI Main Page slideshow
This is Pittsburgh
Brief (friendly) encounter with police after a storeowner complaint.
giv3m3truth's coverage
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Bullbaiting
So, cultlord posted a comment on the last post that I think merits a post of its own. Everyone should take a look at this Enturb post:
http://forums.enturbulation.org/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6849
While I don't think it's likely that something like that will happen here, we should be on our guard once again for attempted bullbaiting by Scientologists. Like last time, we will be doing our protesting across the street from them, which creates a barrier between us and them. In addition, if last time was any indication, we will far outnumber them, which is a help to us in the event of any bullbaiting attempts. The police will most likely be there again, which should provide another buffer between us and them. For those of you who weren't there on 2/10, the police pretty much sat inside the Scientology building the whole time, except to come out once to warn us about stepping onto the street.
However, another known strategy employed by the CoS is to plant members in protest groups, who will try to incite the group to perform illegal acts. The same policy as last time will apply to this: if anyone in the group tries to get you to do anything illegal, report them to one of the media reps, and we'll dissociate the group from them. If anyone in the group does anything illegal, we will call the police on you ourselves. Basically, just keep it legal and peaceful. It's really not that hard.
That said, everyone did a great job keeping it completely civil and peaceful last time, and I have no reason to suspect otherwise this time, unless there are infiltrators. Even in that case, I trust everyone to deal with them properly.
See you guys on Saturday!
-Xenu
http://forums.enturbulation.org/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6849
While I don't think it's likely that something like that will happen here, we should be on our guard once again for attempted bullbaiting by Scientologists. Like last time, we will be doing our protesting across the street from them, which creates a barrier between us and them. In addition, if last time was any indication, we will far outnumber them, which is a help to us in the event of any bullbaiting attempts. The police will most likely be there again, which should provide another buffer between us and them. For those of you who weren't there on 2/10, the police pretty much sat inside the Scientology building the whole time, except to come out once to warn us about stepping onto the street.
However, another known strategy employed by the CoS is to plant members in protest groups, who will try to incite the group to perform illegal acts. The same policy as last time will apply to this: if anyone in the group tries to get you to do anything illegal, report them to one of the media reps, and we'll dissociate the group from them. If anyone in the group does anything illegal, we will call the police on you ourselves. Basically, just keep it legal and peaceful. It's really not that hard.
That said, everyone did a great job keeping it completely civil and peaceful last time, and I have no reason to suspect otherwise this time, unless there are infiltrators. Even in that case, I trust everyone to deal with them properly.
See you guys on Saturday!
-Xenu
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Watch out for the drunks...
So, miss_anon just informed me that she called the police about the 3/15 protest (on her break, even - so committed...) and they were generally nice about it, but did warn her to watch out for the drunks, since 3/15 is kinda St. Patrick's Day. In case you either weren't there for the 2/10 protest or didn't notice, there are a lot of bars/clubs in the vicinity of the Scientology building down there (I believe there's even one right next to it), so this is definitely a concern.
I think the best idea might be to disperse before it gets dark (not like we're doing much good after dark anyway). Seems to me like somewhere around 6 PM might be an optimal time to finish up, though I'd figure on clearing out earlier if the drunks show up earlier.
Oh also, remember, we're celebrating a birthday here! Anyone who can bake ought to make cake (I'm going to, because I'm just that awesome). If you can't bake but have money, buy one! Also, wear party hats and all that. We might have some extra if people don't have them, and we will make you wear them. Also we will be singing happy birthday for dear Elron. This is also non-negotiable.
Oh and I guess if we have cake we need paper plates and plastic forks and stuff, so if you have extra or feel like picking some up, that'd be cool, too.
More updates if I think of anything more. I guess miss_anon covered most of it in her last post.
-Xenu
I think the best idea might be to disperse before it gets dark (not like we're doing much good after dark anyway). Seems to me like somewhere around 6 PM might be an optimal time to finish up, though I'd figure on clearing out earlier if the drunks show up earlier.
Oh also, remember, we're celebrating a birthday here! Anyone who can bake ought to make cake (I'm going to, because I'm just that awesome). If you can't bake but have money, buy one! Also, wear party hats and all that. We might have some extra if people don't have them, and we will make you wear them. Also we will be singing happy birthday for dear Elron. This is also non-negotiable.
Oh and I guess if we have cake we need paper plates and plastic forks and stuff, so if you have extra or feel like picking some up, that'd be cool, too.
More updates if I think of anything more. I guess miss_anon covered most of it in her last post.
-Xenu
Friday, March 7, 2008
Details for the 3/15 Protest: It's Party Time!
Details have been requested for the 3/15 protest, so here they are.
Date: 3/15/2008
Time: 11:00am-? (Let's stay as long as we can)
Place: The sidewalk across the street from the Scientology bookstore at 1906 E. Carson Street on the South Side.
Masks are legal, so wear them, along with whatever other implements of disguise you deem necessary.
It is very important that we stay on the sidewalk and off of the road. While on the sidewalk, make every effort possible not to block passersby. It's a pretty wide sidewalk, so this shouldn't be difficult. By doing these things, we can avoid having to apply for a permit. The police who were present at the CoS building last time were fine with us being there as long as we followed these rules.
Additionally, and this is pretty obvious, do not litter. If you bring leaflets or signs, take what hasn't been handed out with you when you go, or make sure they find their way into a trash can. I will be bringing some garbage bags in case we need them.
Noise ordinances in Pittsburgh prohibit us from having boomboxes, so please do not bring them.
Any member of Anonymous who persists in violating local laws applying to our protest, threatening or harassing the Scientologists, or otherwise disrupting the protest will be asked to leave. If a major problem occurs, the police will be summoned. Let's keep this legal and give them nothing to get us in trouble over.
Please check the weather forecasts before 3/15. I know it's been warming up recently, but I've heard rumors of impending snow, and if we want to stay longer, appropriate dress will be important.
If you have cameras or camcorders, bring them. Last time, a strange fellow took pictures of us from outside the CoS building, and it's important for us to keep our own photo records. Plus, we need something to post online afterward for great justice.
Bring signs to hold. Large foamboard ones worked best for cheap and easy-to-make ones. Just don't try and tape stuff to other stuff, because the wind wrecked those last time. Markers do just fine.
Regarding signs: Do not use the word "hate" on them. At all. This happened last time and drew some criticism from a reporter because it conflicted with our overall message.
"Honk if" signs were excellent, and got an awesome response from passing cars. However, since there can be no more "honk if you hate Scientology," here are a few other suggestions:
*Honk if you think Scientology is a cult*
*Honk if Scientology should pay taxes*
*Honk if religion should be free of charge*
Of course, non-honking signs are great too, and again, no "hate."
If you have other sign ideas you'd like to share, please comment! The more the better. Just steer clear of attacking their beliefs or anything generally profane.
Bring some snacks and drinks for yourself. I've heard stories of businesses refusing to serve protesters, especially those who won't take off their Guy Fawkes masks, although we did not have problems with this last time.
We recommend that you not drive your car to the protest, as early raids in Orlando led to some of the protesters being followed home in their vehicles, and license plate numbers are a great way to give up your identity. Most of the Anons took a bus to the South Side. If this is not an option for you, consider parking your car in one of the public garages outside the South Side Works shopping area. The rates are affordable, and it's about eight blocks from the CoS building -- far enough for them not to find your car easily, close enough to be a reasonable walk.
Although this did not happen last time, since the police were present at the CoS building for the duration of the protest, should you be bullbaited or harassed by a Scientologist handler, do not respond in kind. Either completely ignore them, or respond civilly and politely. I recommend silence, since their behavior may make civility difficult at times. The most they did last time was have a creepy guy who came out of a white van snap some pictures from across the street, and most of us just waved and gave him peace signs.
I will be alerting the local news stations and newspapers again, along with giving the South Side police a heads up (though I'm assuming that the Scientologists will be taking care of this for us). However, if any of you have contacts within the local media, PLEASE do not hesitate to use them -- university press would be great too! Last time, we got televised coverage from WTAE, online coverage from WPXI, and print/online coverage from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
We have two Anons who are prepared to greet the media representatives with statements and information regarding the protest. After that, the media is free to interview any member of Anonymous who is willing to speak with them. Naturally, most of you will want to remain anonymous, but you may give the press a more specific pseudonym, rather than just "Anon," if you choose. Just make sure to clarify that it is an assumed name, and if necessary, give an explanation of why it is important that your identity remain secret. Backed up with a solid argument, this can be pretty powerful in itself.
And, of course, have fun out there!
See you all in a week or so.
Love,
Miss Anonymous.
Date: 3/15/2008
Time: 11:00am-? (Let's stay as long as we can)
Place: The sidewalk across the street from the Scientology bookstore at 1906 E. Carson Street on the South Side.
Masks are legal, so wear them, along with whatever other implements of disguise you deem necessary.
It is very important that we stay on the sidewalk and off of the road. While on the sidewalk, make every effort possible not to block passersby. It's a pretty wide sidewalk, so this shouldn't be difficult. By doing these things, we can avoid having to apply for a permit. The police who were present at the CoS building last time were fine with us being there as long as we followed these rules.
Additionally, and this is pretty obvious, do not litter. If you bring leaflets or signs, take what hasn't been handed out with you when you go, or make sure they find their way into a trash can. I will be bringing some garbage bags in case we need them.
Noise ordinances in Pittsburgh prohibit us from having boomboxes, so please do not bring them.
Any member of Anonymous who persists in violating local laws applying to our protest, threatening or harassing the Scientologists, or otherwise disrupting the protest will be asked to leave. If a major problem occurs, the police will be summoned. Let's keep this legal and give them nothing to get us in trouble over.
Please check the weather forecasts before 3/15. I know it's been warming up recently, but I've heard rumors of impending snow, and if we want to stay longer, appropriate dress will be important.
If you have cameras or camcorders, bring them. Last time, a strange fellow took pictures of us from outside the CoS building, and it's important for us to keep our own photo records. Plus, we need something to post online afterward for great justice.
Bring signs to hold. Large foamboard ones worked best for cheap and easy-to-make ones. Just don't try and tape stuff to other stuff, because the wind wrecked those last time. Markers do just fine.
Regarding signs: Do not use the word "hate" on them. At all. This happened last time and drew some criticism from a reporter because it conflicted with our overall message.
"Honk if" signs were excellent, and got an awesome response from passing cars. However, since there can be no more "honk if you hate Scientology," here are a few other suggestions:
*Honk if you think Scientology is a cult*
*Honk if Scientology should pay taxes*
*Honk if religion should be free of charge*
Of course, non-honking signs are great too, and again, no "hate."
If you have other sign ideas you'd like to share, please comment! The more the better. Just steer clear of attacking their beliefs or anything generally profane.
Bring some snacks and drinks for yourself. I've heard stories of businesses refusing to serve protesters, especially those who won't take off their Guy Fawkes masks, although we did not have problems with this last time.
We recommend that you not drive your car to the protest, as early raids in Orlando led to some of the protesters being followed home in their vehicles, and license plate numbers are a great way to give up your identity. Most of the Anons took a bus to the South Side. If this is not an option for you, consider parking your car in one of the public garages outside the South Side Works shopping area. The rates are affordable, and it's about eight blocks from the CoS building -- far enough for them not to find your car easily, close enough to be a reasonable walk.
Although this did not happen last time, since the police were present at the CoS building for the duration of the protest, should you be bullbaited or harassed by a Scientologist handler, do not respond in kind. Either completely ignore them, or respond civilly and politely. I recommend silence, since their behavior may make civility difficult at times. The most they did last time was have a creepy guy who came out of a white van snap some pictures from across the street, and most of us just waved and gave him peace signs.
I will be alerting the local news stations and newspapers again, along with giving the South Side police a heads up (though I'm assuming that the Scientologists will be taking care of this for us). However, if any of you have contacts within the local media, PLEASE do not hesitate to use them -- university press would be great too! Last time, we got televised coverage from WTAE, online coverage from WPXI, and print/online coverage from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
We have two Anons who are prepared to greet the media representatives with statements and information regarding the protest. After that, the media is free to interview any member of Anonymous who is willing to speak with them. Naturally, most of you will want to remain anonymous, but you may give the press a more specific pseudonym, rather than just "Anon," if you choose. Just make sure to clarify that it is an assumed name, and if necessary, give an explanation of why it is important that your identity remain secret. Backed up with a solid argument, this can be pretty powerful in itself.
And, of course, have fun out there!
See you all in a week or so.
Love,
Miss Anonymous.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
General Information: Scientology in Pittsburgh
Requests were made on enturbulation.org's forums for some information specific to Scientology's presence in Pittsburgh, and this post should deliver. As a note, this is mostly a primer on basic stuff, but newcomers to the protests should find it informative. If anyone has a fact that they think should be added, feel free to comment on the post and I'll see if we can incorporate it.
********************************************************
The only current CoS facility in Pittsburgh, which is where the protests have been and will be held, is a bookstore located at 1906 East Carson Street in the South Side of Pittsburgh. This is not a full Scientology Church. It is a small facility, and it appears to have only one or two workers inside at a time, with the exception of when protests occur, at which point there seem to be three or four employees/members, joined by members of the Pittsburgh Police. The storefront offers written works like Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard, and they advertise the ubiquitous "Free Personality Test" on a sign outside.
Although you can go inside for the personality test and presumably be subject to recruitment attempts and financial solicitation, this facility does not offer the courses required for a new member to become Clear. In order to become Clear, Scientologists must go out of town to a larger, full Church location that offers the full course catalog. Because of this, it can be inferred that the Pittsburgh location is primarily a recruitment center to pull in new members that can be shipped elsewhere for training and service, and an outpost to keep in touch with the handful of members who live in the Pittsburgh area.
There was a rumor going around prior to 2/10 that Scientology had already purchased a new building on East Carson Street to be renovated and converted to a full Church. However, this no longer appears to be case. The cause of the confusion appears to have been a Pittsburgh Bizjournal article that, despite having a URL with "Pittsburgh" in it, was actually referring to a CoS building purchase in Portland.
The bookstore they currently have is relatively new, and there appear to be plans in place to make improvements to it, but any renovations currently being undergone are at 1906 E. Carson Street, not a separate building. There do not appear to be plans at present for them to build a full Church in Pittsburgh. It is not listed on the official Church of Scientology website as a Church, but a more extensive search will yield the address and number, etc.
As some of you likely already know, Scientology publishes a business directory, and it indicates at least a few professionals in the area are adherents of CoS, so their presence among the general public here is limited, but it does exist. And I apologize for the dated link, but the directory appears to be somewhat private and the only copy I could find was on a protest site that had an old copy up -- if anyone finds a more recent copy, please comment on this post and I will update the link with it.
That being said, the presence of Scientology critics in the area seems to overwhelm the presence of their adherents. In addition to the 40+ valiant Anons who participated in the 2/10 and those who will be joining us on 3/15 for more great justice, we have several higher profile non-Anonymous critics in our city.
First of all, there is Professor Dave Touretzky of CMU, who many of you have probably heard of already, due to his highly-publicized efforts to spread the truth about the CoS via his website (scroll down for most of the Scientology-relevant links) and various interviews he has conducted regarding Scientology. And we can also consider him proof positive that even in cities like Pittsburgh where Scientology appears to have minimal influence, revealing one's identity can lead to Fair Game harassment.
We were lucky enough to have Professor Touretzky join us on our IRC channel prior to 2/10, and he mentioned a few other harassment attempts made by Scientology as a result of his constant protests of the CoS, including calling his parents at home to denounce him and make false accusations. He also noted that he will be supporting us from the sidelines, but that he would not attend the protests themselves out of fear that his presence would attract too negative/violent a reaction from CoS and put the rest of us at heightened risk.
Pittsburgh is also currently home to former CoS member and Scientology critic Chuck Beatty, who spent 27 years serving in the Sea Org.
Though there have been examples of Fair Game harassment here, there have been no Scientology-related deaths like Lisa McPherson's in the area, which is unsurprising given the limited number of people involved in Scientology here and their limited facilities in the area.
So what can we take away from this information? In my opinion, the goal of Pittsburgh's protests should be to inform the public and to contain the influence of the CoS. If we can show them that Pittsburgh is unreceptive to their practices, they will be less likely to make the multi-million dollar investment that bringing in a full Church will entail, as we will have gotten to the public first and ruined their potential recruitment base with the truth about Scientology.
Love to my Anons,
Miss Anonymous
********************************************************
The only current CoS facility in Pittsburgh, which is where the protests have been and will be held, is a bookstore located at 1906 East Carson Street in the South Side of Pittsburgh. This is not a full Scientology Church. It is a small facility, and it appears to have only one or two workers inside at a time, with the exception of when protests occur, at which point there seem to be three or four employees/members, joined by members of the Pittsburgh Police. The storefront offers written works like Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard, and they advertise the ubiquitous "Free Personality Test" on a sign outside.
Although you can go inside for the personality test and presumably be subject to recruitment attempts and financial solicitation, this facility does not offer the courses required for a new member to become Clear. In order to become Clear, Scientologists must go out of town to a larger, full Church location that offers the full course catalog. Because of this, it can be inferred that the Pittsburgh location is primarily a recruitment center to pull in new members that can be shipped elsewhere for training and service, and an outpost to keep in touch with the handful of members who live in the Pittsburgh area.
There was a rumor going around prior to 2/10 that Scientology had already purchased a new building on East Carson Street to be renovated and converted to a full Church. However, this no longer appears to be case. The cause of the confusion appears to have been a Pittsburgh Bizjournal article that, despite having a URL with "Pittsburgh" in it, was actually referring to a CoS building purchase in Portland.
The bookstore they currently have is relatively new, and there appear to be plans in place to make improvements to it, but any renovations currently being undergone are at 1906 E. Carson Street, not a separate building. There do not appear to be plans at present for them to build a full Church in Pittsburgh. It is not listed on the official Church of Scientology website as a Church, but a more extensive search will yield the address and number, etc.
As some of you likely already know, Scientology publishes a business directory, and it indicates at least a few professionals in the area are adherents of CoS, so their presence among the general public here is limited, but it does exist. And I apologize for the dated link, but the directory appears to be somewhat private and the only copy I could find was on a protest site that had an old copy up -- if anyone finds a more recent copy, please comment on this post and I will update the link with it.
That being said, the presence of Scientology critics in the area seems to overwhelm the presence of their adherents. In addition to the 40+ valiant Anons who participated in the 2/10 and those who will be joining us on 3/15 for more great justice, we have several higher profile non-Anonymous critics in our city.
First of all, there is Professor Dave Touretzky of CMU, who many of you have probably heard of already, due to his highly-publicized efforts to spread the truth about the CoS via his website (scroll down for most of the Scientology-relevant links) and various interviews he has conducted regarding Scientology. And we can also consider him proof positive that even in cities like Pittsburgh where Scientology appears to have minimal influence, revealing one's identity can lead to Fair Game harassment.
We were lucky enough to have Professor Touretzky join us on our IRC channel prior to 2/10, and he mentioned a few other harassment attempts made by Scientology as a result of his constant protests of the CoS, including calling his parents at home to denounce him and make false accusations. He also noted that he will be supporting us from the sidelines, but that he would not attend the protests themselves out of fear that his presence would attract too negative/violent a reaction from CoS and put the rest of us at heightened risk.
Pittsburgh is also currently home to former CoS member and Scientology critic Chuck Beatty, who spent 27 years serving in the Sea Org.
Though there have been examples of Fair Game harassment here, there have been no Scientology-related deaths like Lisa McPherson's in the area, which is unsurprising given the limited number of people involved in Scientology here and their limited facilities in the area.
So what can we take away from this information? In my opinion, the goal of Pittsburgh's protests should be to inform the public and to contain the influence of the CoS. If we can show them that Pittsburgh is unreceptive to their practices, they will be less likely to make the multi-million dollar investment that bringing in a full Church will entail, as we will have gotten to the public first and ruined their potential recruitment base with the truth about Scientology.
Love to my Anons,
Miss Anonymous
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