Anonymous | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Anonymous is Legion!

This may be teh best viral internet act evar.

CLEARWATER - Members of Anonymous, a Scientology protest group, marched around downtown Clearwater today holding anti-Scientology signs and wearing wigs, sunglasses, bandanas or hats to disguise their identities.

Most wanted to remain anonymous, fearing retribution from Scientologists, they said.

Scientologists coerce members into paying exorbitant amounts of money, ostracize loved ones they believe to be a danger to the church and harass and stalk critics, said Anonymous member Joshua Nussbaum, a 19-year-old protest organizer.

About 80 protesters, many of whom were in their late teens or early 20s, came out when the event started about 11 a.m. today, Nussbaum said. He said the number swelled to about 180 in the early afternoon.
[...]
Issues between Anonymous and Scientologists sprung up recently after video clips from actor Tom Cruise, a church member, appeared on the Internet. Scientology officials said the clips were copyrighted and asked for them to be removed from YouTube and other sites.

Anonymous then posted a video announcing a campaign to destroy the church and calling for worldwide protests today, Nussbaum said. He said Anonymous felt Scientologists’ actions regarding the clips encroached on freedom of speech.

Worldwide? Check.

Yeah, it’s mostly a bunch of kids, but how great is it that they’re out causing grief for Scientologists? LULZ. They did this today because this would be Lisa McPherson’s birthday, but the cult killed her.

More links here. Also here. Find a ~~Church~~ Cult of $cientology to annoy sometime here.

Newsweek has more about Anonymous vs. the Cult of Scientology.

The attack, says Anonymous, was spurred at least in part by what they consider to be the latest example of the church’s secretive and litigious nature. Earlier this year, an internal 2004 church interview with Tom Cruise was leaked online. The actor, who called being a Scientologist a “blast,” was seen railing against the practice of psychiatry and boasting, among other things, “we are the authorities of the mind … we can bring peace and unite communities.” The church attempted to have the videos taken down from the gossip site Gawker, claiming the material was copyrighted, selectively edited and that Cruise’s performance was meant for private consumption. It’s an argument that does have legal merit. “As I understand it, Scientology has a lot of internal documents and when people try to publish them, Scientology seeks to stop them under copyright law,” Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law tells NEWSWEEK. “The fact is under American law they’re entitled to take their unpublished works and use copyright law to protect them.”

Here’s a video from the head of the Scientologists’ niece, who has left the cult.

Anonymous vs. Scientology Did you know the Cult of Scientology has tax-exempt status? You can thank Slick Willie Clinton and the IRS for that. It’s an expensive, dangerous cult, and they get tax-exempt status. You can help change that. Get informed.