Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Related stories
More information on Scientology:
The Internet-based group "Anonymous" released a new video on
YouTube
Monday, announcing international protests outside
Church of Scientology
centers set for February 10. The video "Call to Action" uses the same computer synthesized voice as a previous video titled "Message to Scientology", which was posted to YouTube last Monday. The "Message to Scientology" video has been viewed over 1,400,000 times, and the "Call to Action" video has already been viewed over 237,000 times.
Anonymous is taking action against the Church of Scientology in response to what it sees as suppression of
freedom of speech
on the
Internet
. The group was first motivated after the Church of Scientology issued a copyright infringement claim to YouTube regarding a promotional video of Scientologist
Tom Cruise
speaking about his beliefs and using Scientology
jargon
. The Church of Scientology also issued a legal complaint to the website
Gawker.com
which is also hosting the video, but Gawker has stated it will not take the video down because it is newsworthy.
Anonymous set up a movement called "
Project Chanology
" to coordinate their efforts, and took down several Church of Scientology websites through
denial-of-service attacks
. Members of Anonymous have also participated in prank calls to Church of Scientology centers, as well as protests or "raids" outside Scientology buildings, and have posted some of their exploits to YouTube.
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Anonymous is a collective of individuals united by an awareness that someone must do the right thing.
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?Anonymous,
"Call to Action"
.
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In the "Call to Action" video, Anonymous denies that they are composed solely of "super hackers", stating "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." The video goes on to state "We want you to be aware of the very real dangers of Scientology," citing what they term "gross human rights violations".
Specific controversial events in Scientology history are cited in the video, including
Operation Freakout
and
Paulette Cooper
, and
Operation Snow White
. Operation Freakout was the name of a Church of Scientology operation whose goal was to "get P.C. [Paulette Cooper] incarcerated in a mental institution or jail or at least to hit her so hard that she drops her attacks." Paulette Cooper had written a book critical of Scientology called
The Scandal of Scientology
. Operation Snow White was the name of a Church of Scientology operation where members of the Church's secretive
Guardian's Office
infiltrated
United States
government agencies in
Washington, D.C.
including the
I.R.S.
The
F.B.I.
's investigation into Operation Snow White led them to discover the planning of actions taken against Paulette Cooper.
The video concludes by inviting the viewer to "take up the banner of free speech" and protest with Anonymous world wide. In an email to
CNET News
, Anonymous stated that cities where unknown activities are planned on February 10 include
New York City
,
Montreal
,
Houston
,
London
,
Melbourne
, and
Los Angeles
.
On Friday, two spokespersons for the Church of Scientology commented on the recent actions of Anonymous. A spokesman told
News.com.au
"These types of people have got some wrong information about us," and Church spokeswoman Yvette Shank told
Sun Media
that she regarded members of Anonymous as a "pathetic" group of "computer geeks". On Monday,
Radar
reported that the Church of Scientology has asked the
U.S. Attorney General
's office in Los Angeles, the F.B.I., and the
LAPD
to start a criminal investigation of possible criminal activity related to the Internet attacks. A source told
Radar
that the Church of Scientology is arguing that the Internet attacks are a form of "illegal interference with business."
Radar
also reports that the Church of Scientology is emphasizing its status as a religious organization in the United States, in order to assert that the Internet attacks can be classed as hate crimes.
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I'm mainly concerned because you shouldn't be doing things that are illegal, you just shouldn't.
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?
Mark Bunker
,
XenuTV.com
.
|
On Saturday,
Mark Bunker
of the website XenuTV.com posted a video to YouTube criticizing the illegal actions of Anonymous and suggested legal methods for them to retaliate against the Church of Scientology, including peaceful protesting, writing letters to their government representatives, and persuading the United States government to take away the Church of Scientology's tax exempt status. In the video, Bunker states "I'm mainly concerned because you shouldn't be doing things that are illegal, you just shouldn't. It's not morally right, and it's not right when Scientology does it, it's not right when we do it." Bunker's video post has been viewed over 156,000 times. On Sunday, Bunker posted a follow-up video to YouTube where he gives advice to Anonymous on how to peacefully picket. He also provides viewers with resources and weblinks to more information on how to hold a peaceful protest. He concludes this video by imitating
Obi-Wan Kenobi
's
Jedi mind trick
technique and voice from
Star Wars
, stating "And if I may, as Obi-Wan, tell you:
You will do nothing illegal
".
Related news
- "
711chan.org administrator calls for an end to attacks on Scientology
" ?
Wikinews
, January 28, 2008
- "
'The Regime' hacks 711chan.org in response to 'Anonymous' attack on Scientology; takes web site off line
" ?
Wikinews
, January 27, 2008
- "
"Anonymous" releases statements outlining "War on Scientology"
" ?
Wikinews
, January 23, 2008
- "
Hackers attack Church of Scientology website
" ?
Wikinews
, January 20, 2008
- "
Tom Cruise Scientology promotional video leaked to the Internet
" ?
Wikinews
, January 17, 2008
Sources
- Robert Vamosi. "
Anonymous posts another video against Scientology
" —
CNET News
, January 28, 2008
- Neel Shah. "
Scientologists Bring in Fed Big Boys to Squash Internet Attacks
" —
Radar (magazine)
, January 28, 2008
- "
Scientology: Wise Beard Man Responds to Anonymous - Part 2
".
YouTube
, Posted on January 28, 2008 by
xenutv1
- "
Call to Action
".
YouTube
, Posted on January 27, 2008 by
Church0fScientology
- "
Scientology Raid In Orlando
".
YouTube
, Posted on January 27, 2008 by
anonOtown
- Mark Bunker. "
Scientology: XENU TV Speaks to Anonymous
" —
YouTube
, January 26, 2008
- Mark Schliebs. "
Internet group declares war on Scientology
" —
News.com.au
, January 25, 2008
- Nicki Thomas. "
Scientology and the internet: Internet hackers attack the church
" —
Edmonton Sun
, January 25, 2008
- Shane Dingman. "
Scientology under digital assault by web vigilantes
" —
National Post
, January 24, 2008
- "
Message to Scientology
".
YouTube
, Posted on January 21, 2008 by
Church0fScientology
- "
Video shows Cruise in rave mode
" —
New Zealand Herald
, January 19, 2008
- Jennifer Vineyard. "
Tom Cruise Scientology-Video Glossary: What Is He Talking About?
" —
MTV.com
, January 18, 2008
- Nick Denton. "
Church of Scientology Claims Copyright Infringement
" —
Gawker.com
, January 16, 2008
- Paulette Cooper
. "
The Scandal of the Scandal of Scientology
" —
Operation Clambake
, June 23, 2007
- Tony Ortega. "
Double Crossed
" —
Phoenix New Times
, December 23, 1999
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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Got a correction? Add the template {{
editprotected
}} to the
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along with your corrections, and it will be
brought to the attention of
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Please note that due to our
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Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
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