The Ides of March - Anonymous protest against Scientology 15-03-08

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Wednesday March 12, 2008 15:45

by Anonymous

anonymousireland at gmail dot com

As Project Chanology continues, thousands of people worldwide will stage a protest on the 15th of March against the Church of Scientology's corruption, and its abuse of its members and critics. From 11am (local time) onwards, the group Anonymous shall picket over a hundred of the Church of Scientology's headquarters worldwide, including Mission of Dublin Ltd on Middle Abbey Street. Anonymous has also been working to increase awareness for the cause, whilst simultaneously acquiring and spreading new information about the Church of Scientology obtained from its increasing number of informants within the organization, as part of its campaign to "systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in it's present form".

A number of former Scientology members who had previously been afraid to give their own testimonies for fear of retribution from church officials have joined the movement, and a number of new websites informing the public about Scientology have been launched. Of special note is ExScientologyKids.com[1], known as "ESK" within the critic community. The ESK website is owned and administered by Kendra Wiseman, Astra Woodcraft and Jenna Miscavige-Hill. All three women are former members who grew up in Scientology, and are related to high ranking officials of the Church of Scientology and its associated front-groups. Kendra Wiseman is the daughter of the President of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)[2], and niece of the President of Narconon[3]. Jenna Miscavige-Hill is the niece of the Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center (RTC) David Miscavige, who is generally considered to be the "Leader" of the Church of Scientology.

Both Kendra and Jenna have been "disconnected" by their family since leaving the church. Astra, whose mother is a high-ranking Sea Org[4] member, fled the Sea Org when they insisted she terminate her pregnancy. ESK tells these stories, and the stories of many other former Scientology children. Kendra Wiseman has said that in light of the recent efforts of Anonymous, and because of the efforts of those who have supported her over the last two years while she dealt with her families disconnection from her, she has been made to feel safe in speaking out and now wants to afford the same luxury to others, who may not feel as safe. Douglas Frantz, a former editor at the L.A. Times who has covered Scientology for the New York Times in the 1990s has said "Before this Internet onslaught, they were always able to go after their critics and do a good job of being able to discredit or intimidate them"[5].

The date of the 15th of March protest, referred to as "Operation Party Hard" and "The Ides of March" has been chosen as it falls near a major Scientology holiday, the birthday of Church founder L. Ron Hubbard. The 15th also marks the death of Ellie Perkins, a Scientologist who was killed by her son Jeremy. Jeremy, a sufferer of the disease of schizophrenia was denied Psychiatric drugs, and was instead treated with vitamins and auditing[6]. Saturday's protest is a part of Anonymous' wider campaign to educate the public of the true nature of the Church of Scientology.

15-03-2008
Assembly from 11:00
62/63 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1

About Anonymous:
Anonymous is a collective composed of many Internet users, gathered under one name. The group have gained influence both on the Internet and in the real world.
Anonymous have launched campaigns against various White Supremacy entities, and played a major role in the capture of Canadian paedophile Chris Forcand.
Anonymous has been referred to as "Internet Activists" by The Economist[7], a "Cyber Vigilante Group" by The Toronto Sun[8], "the latest thorn in Scientology's side" by Newsweek[9] and "cyber-terrorists...reminiscent of Al Qaeda spreading anti-American hatred and calling for U.S. destruction" by the Church of Scientology[5].

References:
[1] http://www.ExScientologyKids.com
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_Commission_on_Hum...ights
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Org
[5] http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-sciento...story
[6] http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/JeremyPerkins/
[7] http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaysto...09174
[8] http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2007/12/07/471....html
[9] http://www.newsweek.com/id/109410

Sample media coverage of the last Irish protest:
— Metro - http://i31.tinypic.com/2ijrvwy.jpg
— The Sunday Tribune - http://www.tribune.ie/article.tvt?_scope=Tribune/News/H...83249
— The Irish Times - http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/1551/irishtimesoa0.png
— The Last Word on Today FM - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6PxkerH67k

Anonymous: Project Chanology Information:
— http://www.march15.org
— http://www.unfairgame.net
— http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Chanology
— http://harbl.wetfish.net/cosplay/

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For more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, e-mail Anonymous at anonymousireland@gmail.com