Slashdot Mirror
Anti-Scientology Site Shut Down
Mirele writes "The owner of www.xenu.net, the most comprehensive anti-Scientology website on the Net, reported on alt.religion.scientology that the site was shut down after the ISP received a letter from Scientology's Religious Technology Center alleging trademark infringement. The heart of RTC's complaint is that xenu.net uses their trademarks, the words 'Scientology,' 'Dianetics,' and 'Hubbard,' in the metatags." A look at the
legal history
shows that all the cases that were won involved trademarked terms in meta tags that did not appear on the webpage; that
does not appear to be the case
here. When Playboy unsuccessfully sued a Playmate for metatagging the term "Playmate," she
countersued; does anyone know what the result was? Update: 11/19 03:00: The site's back up.
There could be thousands of cases thrown out of court in the past, and that wouldn't stop the scientologists. They're greedy, amoral people whose only hope for maintaining their hold on their victims is through lawsuits; they's sue anyone, anywhere, anyhow. If they lose, they take it to a higher court.
I realise that in America this is nothing unusual, but the scientologists have it down to a fine art.
As a matter of interest: if I have a page on nursery rhymes and I have the word 'Hubbard' in my metatags (as well as 'Humpty' and 'Nantucket'), will I be sued?
Is here.
The Scientologists have a length history of literally destoying those who publicly try to discredit them and their ideas. They have a lot of money and alot of members in high places.
I used to be involved with the "Church" of Scientology, and my opinion that it is all bull shit and all they want is your money.
Some people might say the same is true of Christian churches, but you can goto a Christian church for 20 years and not give 1 cent. Not so with Scientology. They are far more predatory than other group I have been involved with, or heard about.
I am not familiar with the Trademark laws that the Sceintologists are using in this case, but as long as you do not claim them as your own, whats illegal about it? Sounds like censorship to me for sure.
For those who are thinking about getting involved with Scientology (or Dianetics, which is Phase I - brainwashing) please do not. Once they get their claws in you, leaving will be difficult.
Seriously, neither trademark law, nor copyright law, permits the respective holder absolute right. Fair use (such as for reviews, commentary, satire, etc) are ALWAYS lawful. Copyright and trademarks also automatically expire when something becomes common usage.
IMHO, a person's name is about as "common usage" as you can get! The other words might be pushing it a bit, but probably fall into that category as well. It's not like anyone owns the suffix "-ology". (If they did, it would piss off the biologists a bit. Generally, irking the guys who play around with gene splicing and deadly viruses is not considered the healthiest sport in the world.)
Frankly, I'd tell the guys to counter with a slander & defamation of character suit (though I'd find a lawyer who worked on a no win/no fee basis). It is arguable that their good names and characters have been besmirched by the arguably false accusation that they willingly violated trademark laws.
Even if they lost (quite likely, given America's fondness for lawsuits & free speech, regardless of consequence), it might make trigger-happy power-players stop and think, for a moment. Being seen as going after the "Bad Guys" is Good Publicity. Being seen as a rival for the "Sherrif of Nottingham" is not.
The sooner the worm turns, the better. Because it will, sooner or later, if it keeps getting trodden on. It's just better for everyone if it's sooner.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
I've happened on this site before, it may have been posted to memepool or something similar. There was a lot of information on Scientology that Scientologists wouldn't find too flattering. A lot of it seemed so paranoid to me that I hoped it wasn't true, such as a list of ex-scientologists who later turned detractors and also later met an untimely demise. Given the rabid nature of a lot of the scientologists defending their cult I wouldn't be so sure however.
I don't see this as anything different than a review or expose however. This is no different than if George Lucas went after any bad Star Wars: The Phantom Menace reviews and had them yanked because they referred to LucasFilms or ILM's trademarks. For that matter its no different than if restraunts threatened legal action over poor restraunt reviews (or poor health department ratings).
What's so amazing to me is how incredibly stupid the scientologists and their lawyers are. There's a page that says all kinds of unfavourable things about them, the least of which is that they bully people who don't agree with scientology, and they bully them into being shut down. Nothing like providing proof of peoples opinions of you.
For a 20/20 expose on Scientology go here, here, here or just click this for a Google search
The dangerous thing about this as far as rights go is that while many think of the internet as the last bastion of freedom its really not even close. ISP's routinely take the easy way out when faced with any legal action or even public pressure.
While we were all distracted, arguing over whether or not Bill Clinton should be impeached and admiring the off-color stain on Monica's dress, congress quietly, and with no opportunity for public debate or comment, passed the Digital Millenium Copyright act into Law. They did this on a voice vote, so that no individual congress person had to go on record as having supported this legislation.
The result? Broad, sweeping, and hitherto unprecedented powers and rights were granted to so-called intellectual property holders, at the expense of individual rights of expression.
In this context, the first amendment to the US Constition (the right of Free Speach) has been effectively made null and void on the internet. This serves both the interests of government and large corporations, as it effectively silences undesirable speach in the one mass medium which they, prior to enacting this law, could not control.
Now, if anyone speaks out against any entity (government, corporate, or private) with money, the mere threat of litigation against them and their ISP is enough to silence them. With the new, broad rights this law grants, the litigation has much greater potential to succeed (though one would hope juries and judges would be smart enough to overturn the law were it to ever go so far). No individual, with house payments to make, children to feed, and a job to attend to, can afford this kind of risk, either monetarilly or in terms of time lost and possible effects on their career. The result: any entity with money now has an easy, well-defined, institutionalized method for denying the "average" (read: not wealthy) person of their constitutional right to freedom of speach, with any recourse and appeal denied to that individual through financial leverage.
Mirroring is a nice, feel-good short term solution to this (and it does do good, don't stop!), but realize this: there is similar, pending legislation in many countries we currently think of as "friendly". What will the net be like when there is no longer any place to run and mirror?
Our top priortiy should be the repeal of the Digital Millenium act in the US, the even more draconian legislation in the UK, and the prevention of such bills becoming law elsewhere in the world. This attack of speach is more subtle, more dangerous, and much more effective than the CDA ever was, and has effectively made the right to free speach on-line a farce of the worst kind.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
PS: No, I do not have to change my metatags, seems like they bought the argument. :)))
Best wishes,
Andreas Heldal-Lund
heldal@online.no
http://www.xenu.net/
This is Operating Thetan VIII, the highest "scripture" in the $cieno canon. This is what $300,000.00 buys you. Bad science fiction.
... The secret that I have kept close to my
OT VIII: THE CONFIDENTIAL STUDENT BRIEFING DOCUMENT
HUBBARD COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead, Sussex
HCO BULLETIN OF 5 MAY 1980
ISSUE I
LIMITED DISTRIBUTION
OT VIII Course Students
OT VIII Auditors
OT VIII C/Sea AO
Review Auditors AO C/Sea
OT VIII Series 1
C O N F I D E N T I A L
STUDENT BRIEFING
By the time you read this I will no longer be occupying the body
and identity that you have known as Ron. That identity continues
to live in the hearts and minds of many as well as in on-Source
tech and admin centers around the planet, and will inspire for
years to come Scientologists and lovers of truth everywhere.
What follows is a story that has been withheld, for reasons which
will soon be obvious, until such time as there were enough OTs that
something could be done about it. That time is now. It is not a
nice or a pretty story, but I trust that having arrived on the OT
VIII Course you are ready to hear it. You have undoubtedly heard
pieces of data over the years that hinted at the greater untold
reality of my mission here on Earth, but the story was never
written, nor spoken, in its entirety due to security problems that
have unfortunately always plagued the organization. It is only now
that I feel it safe to release the information, although the time
is rapidly approaching when I will have no choice in the matter,
the hour draws that near.
I am not going to delve too deeply into specifics as people have
a tendency to bog themselves down in significance, which would
only serve to delay the immediacy of the task at hand. Therefore
I will be brief. Some eighty-odd million years ago Earth time (it
actually dates at 78,395,042 but dates are a bit superfluous with
this material) plans were drawn by a group outside the MEST
universe for the eventual takeover of a good portion of this
universe. Not a particularly large nor imaginative crew, their
exterior perspective, however, gives them considerable advantage
over the time-bound beings of the MEST universe. Borrowing from
earlier operations such as Helatrobus, they conceived an ongoing
implant, some portions of which have been fairly faithfully ren-
dered in parts of the Bible. This implant, laid in by carefully
controlled genetic mutation at Incident Two of OT III and period-
ically reinforced by controlled historic events since then, makes
it effectively impossible for beings on the more heavily affected
planets such as Earth to become free. It causes progressive genetic
"evolution" that gives the subject population greater and greater
susceptibility to the telepathic impingement and direction of the
controllers. In its final stage the progression becomes almost
geometric, and it is this final stage that we are rapidly
approaching.
Another aspect of this GE-line implant is that the body becomes in
effect a sort of theta trap that kicks in heavily on the being
should he attempt to expand his horizons beyond that of pure
physical universe reality. There can be temporary key-outs which
we have all experienced in varying degrees, but until this area is
handled it can honestly be said that there is no hope for continued
expansion. The good news is that once this is run out, expansion
becomes rather effortless and almost automatic.
No doubt you are familiar with the Revelations section of the Bible
where various events are predicted. Also mentioned is a brief period
of time in which an archenemy of Christ, referred to as the Anti-
christ, will reign and his opinions will have sway. All this makes
for very fantastic, entertaining reading but there is truth in it.
This Antichrist represents the forces of Lucifer (literally, the
"light bearer" or "light bring"), Lucifer being a mythical repre-
sentation of the forces of enlightenment, the Galactic Confederacy.
My mission could be said to fulfill the Biblical promise represented
by this brief Antichrist period. During this period there is a
fleeting opportunity for the whole scenario to be effectively
derailed, which would make it impossible for the mass Markabian
landing (Second Coming) to take place. The Second Coming is
designed, among other things, to trigger a rapid series of
destructive events.
With the exception of the original Buddhism, virtually all
religions of any consequence on this planet, monotheistic and
pantheistic alike, have been instruments to speed the progress of
this "evolution of consciousness" and bring about the eventual
enslavement of mankind. As you know, Siddhartha Gautama never
claimed to be anything more than a man. Having caught on to this
operation, he postulated his own return as Meteyya, part of which
prophecy will have been fulfilled upon the passing of L. Ron
Hubbard.
For those of you whose Christian toes I may have stepped on, let
me take the opportunity to disabuse you of some lovely myths. For
instance, the historic Jesus was not nearly the sainted figure has
been made out to be. In addition to being a lover of young boys
and men, he was given to uncontrollable bursts of temper and hatred
that belied the general message of love, understanding and other
typical Marcab PR. You have only to look at the history his teach-
ings inspired to see where it all inevitably leads. It is historic
fact and yet man still clings to the ideal, so deep and insidious
is the biologic implanting.
It is a good joke that the Galactic Confederacy is associated with
the Serpent in the Garden, the Beast and other emissaries of the
"Prince of Darkness". Yet in certain passages and esoteric
interpretations of the Bible (much of which has been taken out and
effectively suppressed for centuries) as well as the Kabbalah, the
truth reveals itself quite nicely for the clever and the ungullible.
So it really is a race against time and one that we happen to be
losing at the moment, as the Implant drama inexorably plays itself
out in spite of the breakneck pace I've managed to keep up these
last thirty-five years.
I had an inkling, but only that, of the insidiousness of this
material as far back as 1945. Later, in characteristic over
optimism, I thought that R6 would be the end of it. But that was
followed by NOTs and the Purification Rundown and still the string
continued to unwind with the ball at the end of it just out of
sight. It makes one wonder about such things as fate and destiny,
such was the resolve with which I managed to cling to that string,
not often knowing how close I was to falling into the abyss myself.
But destiny is merely the rationalization of feeble minds. Things
don't just happen, they are caused. And causative beings can undo
the plans of madmen and would-be enslavers, no matter how long
those plans may have been in the making.
I will soon leave this world only to return and complete my mission
with another identity. Although I long to stretch my arms back in
repose on some distant star in some distant galaxy, it appears that,
that is one dream that will have to wait. But my return depends on
people like you doing these materials thoroughly and completely so
that there will be a genetically uncontaminated body for me to pick
up and resume where I left off. A body free of religious mania,
right/wrong dichotomy and synthetic karma. The job ahead is far
too tough to even contemplate doing with your standard -- courtesy
of certain other-dimensional players and their Marcab pieces, many
of whom are right here in the general populace -- genetically
altered body.
Without the biogeneric meddling of those who stand outside time
(who cannot yet directly influence our world and must work through
others) the dwindling spiral is not nearly as automatic and self-
perpetuating as it appears. There are regions even in isolated
parts of the Milky Way where poets are free to poet and magicians
can paint reality with their magic wands and exteriorize without
body kickback. But these areas unfortunately are fewer and fewer.
I will return not as a religious leader but a political one. That
happens to be the requisite beingness for the task at hand. I will
not be known to most of you, my activities misunderstood by many,
yet along with your constant effort in the theta band I will
effectively postpone and then halt a series of events designed to
make happy slaves of us all.
So there you have it
chest all these years. Now you too are part of this secret and I
no longer have to shoulder the burden alone or live with the
possibility of body death before all the data could be released.
And with this briefing I entrust to each of you the responsibility
for this material until such time as I am able to return. For we
have no help from any other quarter in this matter. The handful of
secret societies throughout history that have caught on to this
game have long since fallen by the wayside or been taken over and
become instruments of the very menace they were set up to combat.
The rundown is long and can be arduous, but it must be done
thoroughly if there is to be any effect not only on the body of
the pre-OT but the body of his or her progeny as well. There is
some danger, but with OT VII thoroughly complete it is not nearly
so great as the danger witnessed by assorted unfortunates who
happened to stumble into this area in their sleep or in moments of
reverie or snatch, experiencing an hitherto mysterious phenomenon
known as "spontaneous combustion".
CAUTION: DO NOT BE PTS WHILE TRAVERSING THIS THIRD AND FINAL WALL
OF FIRE. But the area is well charted, the rundown many years
in secret development, and by the time you read this undoubtedly
completed on myself. The wins waiting you are like none that you
have ever experienced, not just for you, but for your children,
your children's children and the whole of mankind, if we succeed.
And we will. If we had time we would pity the many poor souls,
from 1950 to PT, who chose such an exactly inopportune moment to
drop off the road to truth and disconnect from reality, the full
burst and glory of OT practically within their grasp. But we
haven't the time to "wax philosophic" or ponder might-have-beens.
The rundown follows. Again I say, do it thoroughly add completely,
for it is your ticket to the stars. And beyond!
1980 by L. RON HUBBARD, FOUNDER
This software, described in http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/c ensorship/ (www.xenu.net is back on the air BTW), has been variously dubbed 'clamnanny' or 'scienositter'. It only works on Windows systems and is believed to be a purloined copy of CyberSitter (who's owners denied any knowledge of it). Co$ members had it slipped into their systems under the guise of a tool to help them create personalised web pages - as part of a larger attempt to create so many 'scientology' web sites that the critical sites like xenu.net would be drowned out in the search engines.
I was one of the scientology critics that cracked the encryption on the work lists (with help from some of the other anti-censorware people) and produced the list of words and names that are banned. Who knows maybe slashdot will be on the next list :-)