Sunday, January 18, 2009

Is Close-in Pictures of Passer-By Legal?

YouTube - Clearwater Anonymous Protest – January 17th – Bullbaiting Failtroll Angle 1

This video shows an incident where a passer-by objects to being photographed and filmed. He smashes the camera, not the people. Unfortunately, what happens before the incident is not shown.

I don't know whether the guy is a Scientologist or not. Jeff Jacobsen seems to think he is not.

But anyway, would you like if masked people would take your picture and film you a few inches away from your face as you are walking the street? They were probably hurling offensive statements as well, as they usually do.

I do not know the legality of taking pictures of people against their will, and much less publishing them on the Internet. I believe in Europe that would be illegal.

However, I really do think that there ought to be some ordinance restricting people at least from coming that close in taking pictures.

Independently from any Scientology issue, do you think it is not harassment doing so to passer-by in the street? It seems to me it is.

On the whole, Scientologists have been remarkably cool in face of such behavior. I don't know if this guy is a Scientologist or not, but I can perfectly understand why he would think that this is harassment and even illegal.

I know Scientology handlers have also been doing this towards protesters. I think it also is wrong and harassment, but then we are also in a different situation here. They are filming people who are in front of their own building and who are directly addressing them. Whereas it seems to me that this guy was just a passer-by, Scientologist or not.

Requiring the protesters to be on the other side of the sidewalk in such circumstances seems to be a reasonable request, and would avoid this kind of incidents. The line between peaceful protests and stalking is easily crossed, as we have seen before. Turning this line into a street seems to make sense.

Update Feb. 1: The same video is show on this other youtube channel. However, it claims that the Scientologist was "detained by the police". This simply is not true.

It also calls the Scientologist a "bull-baiting" Scientologist (like the initial channel above). In fact, it is just the reverse. The Scientologists (if he is a Scientologist in the first place) is only trying to defend himself from in-your-face cameras. The masked anons surrounding him are the one doing the bull-baiting. Ask yourself if you would like to be surrounded by a flock of masked anons waving signs insulting your religion and holding camera to your face to film you against your will while trying to provoke a reaction as you peacefully walk in the street.

I am sorry but this has nothing to do with "peaceful protests". To me is simply is stalking and religious hate.


Related Links:

Steve Hassan Supports Magoo's Lies

Monica Pignotti, MSW: Inaccurate statements by Steve Hassan to CNN:"Hassan went on to say: "I have a friend, Tory Chrisman (ph), who was a member for 30 years and was OT-7, which is one of the highest levels, which John Travolta is OT-7, as well, who had -- has epilepsy and continually had seizures during her membership and kept appealing for help. And they kept giving her more and more auditing. And finally, she just went on medication and said, "Screw it," and eventually left the group. "

Monica Pignotti posts on her blog about a transcript from CNN in which Hassan, among other things, forwards Tory Christman's demonstrably false claims about her seizures.

Monica also mentions the fact that "Hassan also offers "reasonably priced" counseling at $100 for a half-hour phone session as well as other options that include people traveling to Boston to do "intense, deep work" with him for 6-8 hours per day for a period of a 3-4 days which he claims (without empirical basis) is the fastest most effective way to recover"

At this rate, Hassan may even be more expensive than Scientology who, like him, claims that psychologists are incompetent compared to their own method. By all means, that's twice what my lawyer charges, and he at least provides me with useful legal advices, not quack pop psychology based on the long debunked myth of "mind-control".

Scientology Never Convicted for Practicing Medicine without a License

Danièle Gounord » Blog Archive » Jett Travolta : une polémique indécente: "Enfin, il convient de souligner que la Scientologie n’a jamais été condamnée pour exercice illégal de la médecine, ni en France, ni dans aucun pays dans le monde."

Daniele Gounord, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology in France, claims in this blog entry that "Scientology has never been convicted for practicing medicine without a license, either in France or any part of the world".

I don't know if true or not but guess she would not report such a thing if it could be proven false.

Anonymous Attacks a 15-Years Old Boy and His Family

You may remember the incident reported by wired.com one year ago in which Anonymous posted the home address, phone number and cell numbers of a Stockton 59-years-old man who barely knew anything about computers, claiming he was a member of the hacker group who targeted them in retaliation of Anonymous hacking of Scientology sites. The poor man then started to receive daily obscene and threatening phone calls. After receiving a death treat, he and his wife got really scared because their address was posted as well.

Now this is happening again, this time towards a 15-years old boy who dares make a decency campaign, which Anonymous has decided is "threatening free speech". Here is the article in full, which of course you can also read through the link.

'No cussing' teen faces net hate campaign:

'No cussing' teen faces net hate campaign
07:00 AEST Sun Jan 18 2009
2 hours ago
By Shaun Davies, ninemsn

A boy's crusade to stop swearing has drawn the unwanted attention from notorious internet group Anonymous.

McKay Hatch's No Cussing Club, which encourages teens to "chill on the profanity", claims to have over 20,000 members worldwide.

Hatch, a 15-year-old from South Pasadena in California, garnered wide media coverage for his anti-swearing campaign, including a appearance on Dr Phil.

But at the beginning of the year, Hatch's email inbox began clogging up with hate mail from an unknown source.

Pizza and porn deliveries became commonplace for his family, who eventually called in the FBI after numerous receiving death threats and obscene phone calls.

Anonymous appears to be behind the attacks, with threads on sites such as 4chan.org and 711chan.org identifying their members as the culprits.

And the pain may not yet be over for the Hatch family — Anonymous appears to be planning future raids and has threatened to "wipe this cancer [the No Cussing Club] from the face of the internet".

In one 4chan thread, a number of users boasted about sending bogus pizza deliveries and even prostitutes to the Hatch's house, although it was impossible to verify if these claims were genuine.

The same thread also contained a credit card number purported to be stolen from Hatch's father, phone numbers, the family's home address and Hatch's instant messenger address.

In an interview with US network ABC, Hatch's father said the boy had been reduced to tears by the flood of messages from "bullies".

Hatch himself defended his anti-swearing campaign, which his enemies were deriding as an attack on freedom of speech. "A lot of people were saying I was taking away their freedom of speech … All I was trying to do was raise awareness," the teen said.

It appears that the earnestness of Hatch's campaign, including his faux-gangster rap video “No Cussing Club Song”, may have drawn Anonymous's ire.

A line has since been posted on the No Cussing Club website, claiming that Hatch is the "most bullied boy on the internet".

Anonymous is perhaps best known for its extended campaign against Scientology and has been embroiled in a number of other controversies.

It was a 4chan user who hacked Sarah Palin's email and posted it to the site's "random" section, otherwise known as /b/, during the US election.

Anonymous is difficult to define — less an organised group than a loose affiliation of certain websites.

When enough of these users decide to take action against something or someone, they will do so in the name of Anonymous.

The group has no leaders, no set agenda and has a tendency to focus on soft targets for its own amusement.


Related Posts:

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Magoo's Message to Travolta Now Gets Its Own Page

I now split my Magoo page to give the Message to Travolta episode it's own page. The series now looks as follow:

http://bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/Tory_Christman.htm
General entry page

http://bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/Tory_Christman_2003_Affidavit.htm
The full 2003 affidavit with my comments

http://bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/tory_christman_Jett_Travolta.htm
The Message to Travolta page with the details of her lies and censorship, as well as their justification, other testimonies regarding seizure medication, the details of what she says to the press, and the reaction of critics.

These pages are still under construction but overall already usable.

Dox or STFU

"Dox or STFU" is a motto used by Anonymous that is supposed to mean that if someone makes a claim, he owes to back it up or shut up.

While they certainly do require Scientologists to abide by this moto, I have rarely if ever seen them abiding by it themselves. OTOH, I have seen them not doing it, just not long time ago for example when they were claiming that the COS does not recognize autism or does not allow medication for seizures.

Now here is the latest example, and I think it is quite an illustrative one.

Check this post from WhyWeBWAAAAAAAAA.

The claim being made there (that ""Scientology had obtained and distributed personal medical information from the private health records of AGP and Happy Smurf") is not supported by any valid evidence at all (see the related blog entries below). This does not prevent them from actively spreading that rumor, and declare that people like me who say nothing else than "where are the dox?" engage in "Sclion Spin-control".

What better proof do we need that although Anonymous brags about "dox or STFU" they don't apply it to themselves?

Is there even a single anon in this thread questioning the claim?

As you can see, their aim in trying to get this rumor to go "viral" (pun pun), is not just to spread the rumor but also to "bury the scilon propaganda as well".

So there you have it, "dox or STFU" is "propaganda" when applied to them...

PS - BTW they don't seem very good at trying to bury dissent. I type "Scientology HIV+" and my blog entry is right there at the Nr1 spot in the Google web search. How it works I don't know but I learned over the years that the best way to deal with Google is just to be honest and not try to fiddle with ranking. Google algorithms are damn smart! They may even have something that offsets the many dishonest Anonymous strategies. Anonymous having messed up Google trend in the past certainly must have given Google second thought about them Anonymous...


Blog entries in this series:

Related web pages:

Was Aleister Crowley a Satanist?

LilyTears: Wasn't Aleister Crowley a Satanist?: "The devil does not exist. It is a false name invented by the Black Brothers to imply a Unity in their ignorant muddle of dispersions. A devil who had unity would be a God."

It is commonly assumed that Aleister Crowley was a Satanist. Well, this seems to be yet another myth. Read the article above. How can one worship an entity he claims does not exist?

Juliette Lewis Promotes Scientology

Orange is not a complete fruit | Holy Moly | Latest Index | News | News | Orange is not a complete fruit: "Upon finishing filming, Juliette sidled up to the funny American dude, Brennan, as he was getting on his motorbike.

Big luvvie hugs ensued and she pressed a DVD into his palm and swanned off. He drove off presuming it was her new album or something, only to get home and realize it was called 'Welcome to Scientology'.

She did the same for all the cast and crew."

William Burroughs Attacks Scientology


William Burroughs, by Royal Appointment :: Mick Brown: "In 1972 Burroughs decided that his dissatisfaction with Scientology merited an attack on the organisation's premises, which were then located at 37 Fitzroy Street in Bloomsbury. Over a period of some weeks he haunted the premises, taking photographs and making tape-recordings. Sure enough, Miles recounts, within a couple of months the Scientologists had packed their bags and moved to 68 Tottenham Court Road."

Isaak Hayes in Truck Turner


Minneapolis/st. Paul - City Pages - Gimme Noise - The Popstream: Truck Turner: "I know it's been a few months since he's passed away, but it still irritates me that everyone thinks his turn as Chef in South Park was his peak as an actor. This is grotesquely inaccurate and demands correction immediately: Truck Turner is Hayes at the peak of his powers, and if this is the kind of thing Scientology made possible then the inexhaustible crappiness of Battlefield Earth is pretty much canceled out right there."

Will Smith Set to Play Obama

Obama and Will Smith share more than just the ears:

"Will and I have talked about this," exclaimed Obama last year in an interview on “Entertainment Tonight”, referring to actor Will Smith. “Because he has the ears, he might have an inside track on the role.” [...]

Regarding Smith's plans to play Obama in a movie adaptation of his life, the actor did say he'd be up to it when asked by British media.

“If I am ordered by my commander in chief to star in a film about him, I will do my duty as an American," responded Smith at the London premiere of his new film, “Seven Pounds”.


Hold on to your seat for the inauguration on Tuesday. Something tell me it's going to be BIG!

Success of 'Valkyrie' Proves Critics Wrong


SHOWCASE :: Erie's Entertainment Web Site!

Thinking back at the risk of getting this movie out in Christmas and all it involved, I continue to be stunned by the success it has on the contrary encountered. I mean, compare what I wrote back in Dec. 1 and this kind of article:

It's already earned more than $72 million in the United States, which means "Valkyrie" is far from the flop many critics predicted it would become.

The film, which cost a reported $90 million to produce (director Bryan Singer has pegged it at closer to $75 million) and perhaps more than half that to market it, has performed solidly if not quite spectacularly at the box office.

"The fact that it's still attracting filmgoers totally robs the naysayers of their ability to deem it a flop, because it's not," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "It does show the renewed star power of Tom Cruise."

And it's only starting. Believe me, because I do know a thing or two on this topic, the star power of cruise in Asian and other foreign continent is tremendous. And doesn't he look just amazing? I know my friend Rebecca is not going to agree with me on this one but I think at 46 he almost looks better than he ever did. The photo above was taken during his very recent visit to Seoul, Korea, promoting the movie. His look alone will be reason enough for 80% of Asean to go and see the film. As to whether or not they will get into the historical intricacies of the film, I am not sure. Often times I find myself having to explain where Europe is, and that no, Brussels is not very far from Belgium!

Wise Beard Man to Anonymous. Version 2.


New York - Wise Beard Man to Anonymous: Don't be a Dope - Runnin' Scared - Village Voice

Excellent start in Mark Bunker's message, less so from the point down when he starts to talk about Jeff Stone.

On the other hand, excellent remarks from the Village voice journalist.

I would like to print in full Mark's introduction, because that's the Mark I really do like. After that I'll make a quick comment on the points I disagree with, ending up with the Village Voice journalist's comment.

"BUNKER: In any group of people there are dopes. A nebulous group of anonymous people on the net might possibly have a slightly higher percentage of dopes -- but then maybe not quite as many as were in the Bush Administration.

I look around at work or at an event and try to spot the dopes. Quite often it turns out to be me. We humans are prone to doing some dopey things. I'd have to say covering yourself with Vaseline and pubes would be dopiness on an epic scale and it just makes you shake your head and wonder, "Why?"

But, look, not everyone is going to get it. And not everyone in Anonymous is on the same page. In fact, there are factions within Anonymous. Most of the people taking to the streets and speaking out against Scientology fraud and abuse understand there is a serious reason to take action. Others in Anonymous call us Moralfags. You can't please everyone.

But the unfortunate thing about a nebulous mass of people under one umbrella is if one person does something bad, stupid or illegal that can be used to tar everyone else. The great strength of anonymity and numbers can just as easily be a weakness.

In my first video to Anonymous, I suggested they act within the law and take this seriously because Scientology damn well takes it seriously and they will do everything they can to take down each person they can identify. Pubes Kid thought he was pulling a prank (a damn lousy one) but it got him in serious trouble."

Then Mark starts to speak about the Riverside County Ordinance Farce. He claims that the material that has been used to discredit Anonymous does not represent the moralfags. This is to forget that even up to this day the WhyWeBWAAAAA forum still has the Thunderdome, and that without it, the whole forum would crash, as we have seen back in June 2008. You can't just claim Anonymous 2.0 is different than the original anonymous, while still using its name and symbols. I also disagree with the assertion that the original anonymous who protested Scientology a year ago and who continue to protest have moved on (in the sense that they became serious critics). They continue to display an incredible shallowness and I do have to agree with the original Anonymous that they have become moralfags under the thumb of the old guard. The fault, IMO, is not on the original Anonymous, as this whole approach tries to portray. The fault is on the protesters who continue to identify with Anonymous when in fact they now pretend to be something else, and continue to use slogans against Scientology that most of those who know a little more than the mob about the issue will just laugh at. If the moralfags want to move on, they should really move on, and this means move on from the old guard basis and mentality. As it is, they are no more than just a copycat of the old guard disguised as Anonymous, and then complain when people actually dare to compare them to the original Anonymous.

Nor is the reason why Anonyous (the original one) use shoking pictures. It is not out of pleasure to shock and attract attention. It simply is out of an urge to question any stereotype. I don't think Mark really understands the original Anonymous. The moralfags have become the anti-thesis or Anonymous itself, while still parading as such. I am not surprised that factions in Anonymous now try to take down the moralfags forums and engage in other attacks and pranks against them. Check out the message I reported on my blog entry about the original message to Anonymous being put down from YT. I think it really reflects that faction.

Mark should really have enticed Anonymous 2.0 to move on from their old guard dependency, and find a way to go beyond what they themselves did as old guard, without this being pubes prank in a desperate attempt to get attention. But he can't, because he is an old guard himself, and seems to be trapped in his own limits. As much as I like Mark as a person and I appreciate the kind of moderate statements he is able to come up with at times, like the one on Jett Travolta, he himself is prisoner of his own limits, beyond which he seems unable, so far, to move. It becomes of course difficult to advise others to do so. For him, therefore, the explanation of events like the pubes and the Riverside ordinance is that it is due on the one hand to a minority of bad apple within Anonymous 2.0, and on the other hand to a majority of original Anonymous who did not follow Anonymous 2.0 beyond it simply being for the lulz. I disagree with that, because it seeks to excuse the Anonymous 2.0 instead of getting them to reflect what is their own responsibility in this as a group. From what I can see, and in spite of what some may claim afterwards, they are very much at the basis and responsible for this kind of pranks. Suffice just to read their comments in news outlets and what goes on in WhyWeBWAAAA. Some may distance themselve from it afterwards, but they were there beforewards, encouraging it, promoting it, and supporting it. Maybe not directly, but by the sheer radicalness and shallowness of their current approach.

In this respect, I do have to agree with the comments of Tony, the journalist who reported it on the Village voice, which I would like to quote in full:

Well, that should make the Anonymous kids feel warm and fuzzy, because Wise Beard Man really lets them off the hook.

I'm surprised, Mark. Someone who's been doing this as long as you have understands how the media works when it comes to Scientology.

Now that the press has labeled an Anonymous operation (however rogue it happened to be) as a "hate crime," Anonymous members are going to find it much tougher to get other press organizations to take them seriously.

Many of the commenters to yesterday's posts offered us this pathetic calculus: "Anonymous may do stupid pranks, but Scientology really hurts people."

Sorry Anonymous, that doesn't work with reporters, and essentially puts you out of contention. Don't be surprised that from now on, any press mention of Anonymous will begin with the stupid Pubeit prank.


I also believe that this view is nothing new. For months now Anonymous has got virtually no press at all. I wrote about that back in July 24 already, and it has just got even worst over the subsequent months. The only time they would appear in the press nowadays is when they use Scientology celebrities appearance as an opportunity to put themselves in the photos, and then only in such notoriously gossiping tabloid rag as the Daily Mail.

It is clear at this point that if Anonymous 2.0 does not find a "bigger game" as Jason Begh puts it, they are going to completely disappear from the scene, or just be ignored as a simple annoyance. But that bigger game certainly isn't the type of pubes pranks that wins them nothing but negative attention. As I said repeately, their biggest chance is to start protesting discrimination towards Scientologists AND protest Scientology at the same time. But we are not going to see that any time soon, because it would involve a total revision of the very assumptions on which they are working from. So be it...

R-pubes-
related blog entries

Airbus Ditches onto New York River

The Hindu : Front Page : Airbus ditches onto New York river

Amazing...

Birds flying into reactors was a problem of the past I thought. I guess that if it happens as the plane is taking off, the reactors are not up to speed yet and so may be vulnerable.

Gaza

VOA News - Israel to Vote on Gaza Truce

I have not followed this question closely and have barely read anything about it but I have seen a lot of spam mentioning what about all the deaths in Gaza etc.

What I do remember reading early on, before all this started, was that Hamas declared they are not going to renew the truce agreement they had with Israel when it expired a few weeks ago.

At first sight, again without having all the details about it, this seems utterly stupid to me, because without truce Israel is basically free to get in and do whatever operation they want which they could not if there was a truce. And what do the Palestinians gain from it? They are in no position to fight the might of Tsahal.