My favouritest Pagan website on the planet, MysticPricks, has sunk to a new low. Not content with promoting woolly thinking, historical inaccuracy, superstitious dogma, sectarian hatred and allowing cryto-racists to have the run of the site, they've now stooped to the level of pimping The Church of Scientology!
As usual, click to view a larger image.
The question is, of course, is what to do with such information? Apparently, the site owner's wife has already stated that to take it down would be to discriminate against Scientologists. You know, in the same way that arresting and incarcerating Al-Qaeda members is discriminating against Muslims. I know only a few weeks ago at least one member on the site made a detailed post listing the wrongs of the Church, so either they didn't read the post (in which case they are bad admins, but then we already knew that), or they just don't give a shit, and are more than willing to promote the Scifag cult because of the filthy lucre it brings in.
Knowing Mol's addictions, I have a good idea of which of those theories I prefer.
Jonathan Swift once wrote "When a man of true Genius appears in the World, you may know him by this infallible Sign, that all the Dunces are in Conspiracy against him."
Going by this standard, those of us posting at Mailwatch must be the smartest posters on the internet, given the conpiracy of dunces offered against us.
Looks like we upset some morons by daring to criticize their favouritest paper ever! You know, for a group of people who blather on about self-reliance and PC idiocy and the like, the people posting at Don't Start Me Off do seem to be some of the whiniest little bastards on the internets. "Oh no, they made fun of the Mail! Oh no, someone on the site was nasty to me! Oh no, I can't refute them, so I'm going to call them all cunts and think I'm being really clever doing so."
See what I mean? I cringed even at writing that, so just imagine how annoying people who think like that all the time are.
Its not so much the criticism, mainly because their isn't any, its just that they both fail to, you know, either actually make a valid point or be funny about blasting us. In fact, they seem to share those characteristics with Mail and Have Your Say commentators, who think that things like "Gordon Clown" is the height of wit.
Look, I know its probably hard for you, being as you are people blessed without any sort of sense of humour or intelligence, but if you are going to have a go at us, try and at least make it interesting. Replicating the sort of tedious monotony one normally finds in a Peter Hitchens article is not going to get our attention beyond a couple of chuckles at your expense. Also, saying "There is nothing wrong with the Mail" in a non-ironic fashion probably did not help your case either.
Hell, even Quentin Letts is funnier and more cutting than this, and if thats not a damning indictment, I don't know what is.
I suppose I better mention it, since people will be wondering why I didn't if I don't.
Yes, I have read the New York Times article on internet trolling. And firstly, is it just me, or is really fucking embarassing when you have someone writing an article when:
a) they really don't have a clue what they are talking about, and b) the topic is removed entirely from its natural environment and dissected in the sterile lab of the mainstream media?
Its not just me, I hope.
So anyway, yes, I was alerted to this article by a compatriot troll, Ten Ton Mantis. And now I have finally read through it. The above quibbles above, I'd just like to make some minor points:
Trolls existed before /b/. The first paragraph implies otherwise.
/b/ is not the be all and end all of trolling. In fact, in the last couple of years, it has been downright embarassing.
At least you mentioned Usenet. Thank fucking god. However, the naive-noob tactic was just one of many used back in the day, and really only an entry level tactic. alt.syntax.tactical, for example, favour the longer term, infiltration and sockpuppet approach.
Lulz is not how trolls "keep score". Its an abstract concept, and a massively overused word, when considered against actual instances of lulz. It can be excuse, justification or result, as well.
The troll got it dead on. Article over, amirite?
Um...Anonymous and the trolls were one and the same, at least originally. I understand there was a something of a split between the /i/nsurgents and moralfags, but lets be honest, for the most part, its the same people who took part in both.
The fact that anonymous communications allow for people to be more sociopathic is not new nor interesting. Learn2sociology, plz.
Jason Fortuny is a fun guy, but he doesn't speak for me.
You probably got suckered by one troll or another in the course of your research. Live with it son.
Not all trolls are emotional fuckups. Some of the most extreme ones probably are, but I wouldn't generalize, or imply in the way you did.
Sometimes trolls are social hackers, its true. And literal ones as well. Anyway, the point is, sometimes they illustrate things people tend to overlook, either in their social interactions online, how they present themselves, the amount of information they give out. Something like that. Better to get burned for it by a jerk with an inappropriate sense of humour than by the next Ted Bundy. Its not always a perfect justification, and sometimes a line should be drawn, yes, but thats a very grey area and another debate.
Don't take it all so seriously is pretty much the message I try to relate as well. Sometimes the internet is useful for important stuff, but 99% of it is going to leave a very poor and shallow cultural legacy. I like to think I am doing my bit for people who think "OMFG MY MOM WONT BUY ME A FURSUIT FOR MY BIRTHDAY" or having their "artwork" criticized is a crime against humanity. Twits with no perspective and big mouths are far too numerous.
Weev was trolling you dude. He does have a point though, about certain bloggers. Those few suckup artists who the media like to go crawling to in order to pretend that they are keeping up with the new internet culture and soliciting feedback from voices that would normally be excluded. Like Iain Dale for example. Real fucking excluded, isn't he? Lets try a single mother blogger who is working while trying to raise her three kids. Oh, thats right, people like that don't have time to blog. And even when some people in some part of the world where dangerous and interesting things are happening (such as Iraq) people would rather get their views from the likes of Charles fucking Johnson than someone who actually lives there. Because, God forbid, they may contradict the media narrative.
I like this Kate chick. She has style. Kate, if you're reading...well, you know how to get in touch, I'm sure.
Hatred? I wouldn't go that far...of course, I would expect a MSM hack from somewhere like the NYT to give that line. But I wouldn't try to look too deeply into a troll's motivation. Mine, for example, the above aside, comes from my trickster and showy personality. I like to be the centre of the attention, and yet at the same time, display certain ambiguity. There are also certain people I like to upset, and if you've read this blog for any length of time, you can probably guess what type they are.
I would say trolls are the internet. The interesting parts at least. Just as pirates where the ones who innovated much of our modern world, economy and culture (where would commercial radio be without pirate stations? What about the US government, who stole patented technologies throughout the 18th century?) trolls push the boundaries and in doing so create new online realities. The internet may not be so much the Wild West as a number of armed enclaves among a sea of anarchy. Sure, if you stick to places like Myspace or Facebook or your politically chosen network of blogs you'll be mostly safe...aside from the occasional raider. But in other areas, the only things that exist, from your identity upwards, are those you choose to invent. That anarchy, while terrifying to some, is also a lab for inventing, tampering with and altering all number of social events and processes.
Those state legislators are idiots. You can't police the net, at least not in the way you hope to. Hell, people cant even stop copyright infringement, and "Spartacus actions" among legally threatened bloggers are frequent. Try it with people who know how to conceal their identity and enjoy games where the roles and characters are not as substansial as they may appear, and you're entering a policing nightmare.
Precisely. The law is not your hug-box. I am not responsible for your hurt feelings. I'm sure you could do something more productive with money spent on trying to police jerks on the net, such as nearly catching Bin Laden and then letting him go in order to justify the invasion of Iraq Iran.
Fortuny is right. OpenID and similar schemes for multiple site IDs are doomed to failure because so long as you can get more than one account, you are back where you started. So you either charge for everything, and create a gated community (urgh), or you don't take everything so seriously. Pretty simple, really.
Fortuny's morals are not everyones. Again, there are different motivations.
What a delightfully hopeful note to end your article on. It still doesnt change the 99% of the net which is different, however.
I think that is all I really have to say. I probably shouldn't have had a couple of beers while writing this either, but oh well, too late to worry about that now.
Interesting article from Threat Level about the whole Viacom-Youtube...well, insanity, I think is the only word I can use to describe it.
I'm sure as you recall, I actually uploaded a 30 second clip from The Colbert Report to showcase our success at ColbertGASM earlier in the year. And of course, since Viacom now have the IPs and usernames of everyone who has ever visited Youtube at any time at all, its only a matter of time before they track me down, charge me with the awful crime of posting a 30 second clip, then throw away the key.
At least its going to take them a damn long time to do so, given the amount of data to be handed over.
Your temporal lord and master was too busy trying to get a fix to keep his shitty personal fiefdo-uh, forum, running perfectly. You wont find the answers to why it was down via Google either, and especially not via this place (which emphatically had nothing to do with the hilarity of MW going down for several days). How about you go pick up some books on how the internet works, and maybe some programming, and go away now?
Edit: I forgot to add...behold your beloved webmaster, in all his glory (when he's not flashing kids, off his face on drugs/alcohol or shaving his nephew's genetalia).
Edit 2: I am now currently being linked to in what appears to be a secret forum on MysticWicks. How amusing. I do like being the centre of attention. Secondly, if anyone really wants to know why I don't like MW and take pleasure in its problems, you can sign up here and read all about it. I'll even be kind enough to direct you to several threads on your arrival.
An interesting article from The Skeptic about how the ranks of 9/11 Truthers are thinning out:
Today, the 9/11 conspiracy movement is a shell of what it once was. The website masquerading as an academic journal, Journal of 9/11 Studies, has dropped from a high of six or seven articles published per issue to one....The introduction to the main hub of 9/11 denier activity, 911truth.org, welcomes its visitors with a plea that announces, “we’ve cut to the bare bones, but are still far short of our basic budget needs.” Prominent “truthers” like Mark Dice, Dylan Avery, Jimmy Walter... and Kevin Ryan have dropped into obscurity.
I can't say I'm terribly upset by all this. The 9/11 Truthers were probably the most useless and pointless fringe group in the modern world, whose only real purpose seemed to be deflecting the very real criticisms of Bush's leadership and foreign policy, by retreating into a fantasy world of unprovable and outlandish accusations.
The areas of real interest - how badly was the intelligence managed by the executive and various security organizations before 9/11, has faded into obscurity as people have debated ludicrous theories involving missiles, gold, Reichstag Fire scenarios, entirely fictitious terrorist organizations and insurance scams.
I also found the organic growth of a sceptical counter-movement to oppose the Truther's very interesting:
Staking their fortunes almost solely on Internet-based content may have been the 9/11 deniers’ biggest mistake. What seems like a perfect place for pseudoscience — the Internet is un-edited, without fact-checkers or minimum publishing standards of any kind — also became a perfect place for a rapid-response system of blogs and forums to fight back. Drawing on the freely available technical information from the NIST, FEMA, and academic journals which most colleges let their students access for free, skeptical sites like ScrewLooseChange.blogspot.com and debunking911.com are able to defuse 9/11 denier claims as they arise.
Web 2.0 may be useful after all! Now we need to get this going on the media a little more...maybe even the government as well. Government 2.0 perhaps. Its not very catchy, but instant feedback could be interesting.
This also may help explain the failure of US Presidential Candidate Ron Paul, whose internet support was huge, and yet offline was not worth mentioning. Barack Obama, by contrast, has a powerful grass-roots campaign online, but has anchored himself fairly strongly offline too. In Ron Paul's case, the online communities filtered through his policies and discovered many of the key flaws in them....by contrast, the Obama-supporting web in many cases has been used to debunk several myths and nasty rumours about him. Ron Paul's online support didn't translate into offline success and collapsed....Obama by contrast carried his offline success online and it helped him. A parable here, maybe.
Anyway, back on topic. Recently, I read an interesting little document that goes by the name of "The Creators of Loose Change Speak" by Mark Roberts. Its an interesting 98 page long document which shows the general contempt the people behind Loose Change seem to have for...well, everyone really. It pretty much convinced me that one reason behind the attempted spread of 9/11 conspiracy theories, especially this case, was the financial incentive. Because I am a kind and forgiving blogger (and more importantly, I forgot where it was hosted) I have uploaded this PDF document to Rapidshare, should anyone want to read it. Just follow the link.
Anyway, I think that's all I have to say on the topic for now. Cheers to Blairwatch for the link.
The Great Googlie Mooglie Cabal, as Ordained Representatives of the Erisian Movement has announced plans for the immediate canonization of Gordon B. Hinckley and the inclusion of him in the pantheon of Discordian Saints as St. Magusundies
St. Magusundies, in life, met all the criteria necessary to prove that he was a special emissary from the heart of the Void and a Child of Eris. We need only point to his temple building, his proselytizing and the fact that before he became President of the LDS, he had dedicated 23 temples to verify his sacred position as a key element, tasked with maintaining the Wobble of the Sacred Chao and its Hodge-Podge balancing act.
Turns out some Mormons are pretty upset over this...
Well, not many really, but at least we got this for the future anti-Discordian propaganda campaign:
So, by canonizing President Hinkley, are they saying he added to discord and chaos? What an insult when he was all about bringing people together and creating harmony where ever he went. Or am I the only one that perceives this?
Here is an interesting clip of Mike Huckabee, ex-Presidential nominee for the Republican Party, 'joking' in front of the staunchly right-wing NRA crowd about the possibility of an Obama assassination.
Now, I should first of all point out, for any readers, that I am not especially against gun ownership per se, in the UK or America. Yes, I know I have a reputation as a subversive left wing liberal who hates freedom and loves terrorism etc etc but to a degree, I side more with the right-wing/libertarian view when it comes to firearms. Not to mention I did spend part of my misspent youth in the countryside and have been a member of my University rifle club and so actually enjoy shooting too.
But anyway, that's not the point, so I wanted to dismiss the strawman straight away. The point is noting the spread and even acceptance of the "Obama assassination meme" within mainstream political discourse, especially in circles like the above, where Obama is not seen in an especially friendly light.
Now I know you'll be saying "Oh Huckabee is just joking, I thought you Discordians knew about larking about", but to be honest, that's kind of the point. I'm very used to using humour to mask a point, to say something I wish to be known in an indirect and subtle manner. That's often the function of humour in politics, it gives a veneer of deniability to a statement.
So you'll excuse me a certain degree of scepticism when I see the tactic repeated by others.
We all believe Obama is probably the most likely candidate to be targeted, followed closely by McCain (the Middle Eastern groups tend to not operate much outside their own territory, but when they do they are usually very good at it). It's hardly news. He's a charismatic, black man who appeals to a wide constituency of people, comes from a cosmopolitian, is opposed to favourite ventures of the nutjob-right and has a good chance of becoming the next US President. And we know people like the Aryan Nations are still out there, still exist and have people motivated and trained well enough to attempt something like this.
But repititions of the idea that Obama will inevitably face an assassination attempt seem to be aimed more at the idea of spreading this idea ofinevitability far and wide, hoping some far-right nut will decide to take one for the Aryan cause and have a go at killing him. Its one step off encouraging it, when repeated like this.
The entire point of modern day, non-state/terrorist assassination is this - that it takes place within an enabling environment and narrative, and is done in a public place to validate the killer themselves. Making continued references to this happening only increases the chances of someone trying to have a go.
Equally bad is the downplaying of the chances of someone killing him. All three US candidates are at risk, its the nature of the game of politics. Killing the potential next President has long been a route to fame for no-hoper's around the world. Suggesting that Obama is perfectly safe and has nothing to worry about, in the same poisonous media climate which is also telling us he is likely to be killed, as it makes an attempt on him look easy and invites more attempts.
Here are just a few examples of the meme spreading from extremist to more mainstream circles
Neo Nazi, longtime target of Anonymous and friend of Sean Hannity, Hal Turner threatens Obama.
(Just as an aside, I think people on the left who continually raise the prospect of his assassination are just as guilty of perpetuating the meme as everyone else, though I suspect their motivation is more benign. Unless they are Hillary Clinton supporters).
Sean Hannity of Fox News pops up again, this time with some interesting use of language...
"I just feel that with the more we learn about the racial implications in his past, the more likely it is for sure he will be killed."
He all but left out the *Hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink* from that statement. We all know the implication is that he is a black supremacist is being spread by the right, which is like a lightning rod to any racists out there.
Jonah "liberals once called me a fascist, so I call them it back now" Goldberg engages in more than just a bit of projection here when he suggests if Obama loses certain people will become unhinged. Maybe they will, but for the moment, it seems more likely a win will unhinge other 'certain people', as the above comments and Greenwald's own article are showing.
The hilariously named White Civil Rights website also engages in a degree of projection, when they fantasize about Mossad killing Obama. Because thats no way an excuse to talk freely about an assassination attempt at all, is it?
Even the bloody Torygraph tries to pooh-pooh the chances of an assassination emanating from the right, instead blaming the idea on a mix of conspiracy theory, wish for martyrdom (nice touch, by the way, the Muslim implication there) and generalized paranoia. Obviously Tony Harden doesn't pay much attention to the lunatic fringe, or he'd know how pumped up on this idea many of them are. While no doubt many of the left wing comments implicating the likes of Blackwater or Clinton are nonsense, there is a real radical threat.
Again, Vanguard News Network, another far-right US site, is spreading the Obama assassination meme under the cover of "tEh Jo0s DiD iT! (oR aT lEaSt wIlL dO!)".
And on and on it goes. I didn't even bother to go to some of the crazier, less well known sites. I thought this should cover it fairly nicely.
As a commentator at the Seattle PI points out, the best thing the media could do in order to play down these fears is not talk about it all the time. Yes, I do realize that makes me guilty to a degree as well, but I'm trying to introduce a phage here, to undercut the meme. By constantly finding ways to bring up the idea, either in terms of denying it having any possibility at all (all US Presidential candidates are potential targets, get over it) or prophesying it as a certainty, is only doing more damage and poisoning the civil discourse.
HOLD THE PRESSES, BREAKING NEWS! PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE FOLLOWING THE DIVINE LAW OF THE SUPREME BEING AND CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE WANT TO PUT THEMSELVES AT THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD!
I mean, who could have seen it coming? Gosh, people who think that they are the truely devoted followers of a non-existant creator want to make the time based on their most holy city the standard time around the world. Who would have thunk it?
I know I'm only contributing to this non-story by talking about it.....but come on. Seriously? This is what passes for news nowadays? Its apparently fascinating enough to warrant 109 new links on Technorati, putting it into the top 5 news links of the day.
Yet....I'm honestly struggling to see why so many people care. Its not even interesting from an anthropological view, because both the Ancient Greeks and Mayans claimed certain shrines of theirs were at the centre or navel of the world. And that's just off the top of my head.
And its not like they're calling on changing the timezones to some completely made up and impractical unit of time that was mentioned in the Koran or anything, although that would be both amusing and newsworthy.
Its just another example of how people, especially religious ones, see themselves as being at the centre of everything. And examples of that abound every day, for someone with their eyes open enough to see.
A little bit of hilarity that I was alerted to by Jon Swift. It looks like the Hillary supporters at Daily Kos have had enough of the Obama supporters and so are "going on strike" or, more accurately, are taking their ball and going home.
Fortunately, I don't seem to be the only one who finds the whole thing somewhat stage-managed and planned in advance, what with the anti-Kos site stickers showing up shortly after the walkout started.
Now personally, I have to admit I think Obama is probably a better choice than Hillary, not least because it seems that Hillary is hated by about half of America, and America has already had 16 odd years of that. But I'm not that attached to his winning the primaries. If Hillary wins, that means at minimum, I get 4 years of bashing left-wing authoritarians, as exemplified Algere's opening post, asking the mods to censor things she doesn't like to see. I also have this cool fake conspiracy theory relating to Hillary, the NWO, 2012 etc and although it will likely work equally well with any incumbent President, Hillary suits it the best.
And if McCain gets in...well, then the NeoCon giggle-ride wont stop! Maybe a little less religious nuttery, in the homeland, but those foreign adventures will keep on rolling!
Either way, the split is significant, and interesting. While the majority of Americans are not bloggers, and do not get their information from them, those who are politically interested or active likely do, and Daily Kos is a hugely influential site for the Democrats. A split there shows that the campaign strategies being used so far are only helping to divide the Democratic base - in some cases, to the point of Hillary supporters saying they will not vote for Obama if he wins the primaries, simply because of how they feel they were treated by his supporters.
It also ties in neatly with a pet project of my own that I have been whispering in select ears over the internet, that of creating a split between the anti-interventionist/Libertarian wing of the Republican party with the GOP, and that of a split between the progressive elements of the Democrats and the main party. Both splits would break the backs of their respective parties and while the dissenters do not agree with each other, they seem to have far more in common with their respective dissenting 'opponenents' than they do with the mainstream ideology of their own party.
And the reverse is true for the main party's themselves. More than a few mainstream GOPers have expressed sympathy for Hillary and how her supporters are being treated by Obama fans - much in the way they were treated by supporters of Ron Paul.
If anything, this election is bringing out the real weak points in each party, and the main splits between them. All it will likely take is a couple of Black Swans and someone savvy enough to take advantage of those events.
Japan has decided to beat France and the United Kingdom (both who have similar proposals) to become the first country to ban file sharers from the internet.
Oddly the agreement to do so has not come from the Japanese Government, but from Japan’s four internet service provider organizations after pressure (not surprisingly) from the record and movie industries. According to Torrent Freak, the agreement would see copyright holders tracking down file-sharers on the Internet using “special detection software” and then notifying ISPs of alleged infringers. File sharers will initially receive a warning for a first offense, then be disconnected for subsequent offenses, eventually be disconnected from the internet permanently (it wasn’t clear whether the agreement is a three strikes proposal).
The process will formally commence in April and will primarily target users of Winny, the most popular file sharing network in Japan.
Needless to say, I'm not impressed, and I very much doubt this "special detection software" can tell the difference between a legitimately downloaded file from a P2P network, and an illegal one. Consider for example the latest NIN's album, available for free download. Not to mention it puts copyright holders in charge of investigating infringements. I can't see that going wrong at all, oh no....
I am proud to unveil a new project undertaken by the Principia Discordia forums collective, that of the PD.com Blog (name undecided, as of yet).
We're still in the early days of putting it all together, trying to not blow the site apart with bad coding, crash the server etc but we're fairly functional even now. Naturally, I'll be blogging whatever I do here over there as well, and you can expect original content from many others as well.
I'm not sure precisely how we are going to approach the user thing currently, but if I already lurk at your blog, chances are we would welcome your blogging expertise as well.
So, definitly bookmark this place, because I know right now there is going to be some excellent shit on there.
Update: I've added an RSS feed for the site on the side of this blog. Also, we're on Technorati. Expect more Web 2.0 functionality to be added over the next few days, along with some old content from my blog, and newer stuff from other PD.com posters.
Since the other entry was getting insanely long and bogged down with all the pictures and videos, I'm starting a second one.
First off, a little bit of misinformation spotting. It appears someone went on Indymedia and spread the rumour that the Perth protests had turned violent:
Needless to say, this is 100% FALSE and has been taken down by Indymedia soon after they were alerted to it. I don't think you even need 3 guesses to figure out who put that story up.
Secondly, the final two Boston pictures (that I have recieved, anyway...)
I'm not sure if that is a journalist or a tourist, but either is good, I suppose.
Not totally sure whats going on here...but it looks like they are having fun.
Well, anyway, I'm not hearing much in the mainstream media about New York or Clearwater, so I'm going to go lurk on a few select boards and see what information I can find.
20:07
Pictures and videos of the Edinburgh protest are available here.
Secondly, for any /i/nsurgents reading this page, you might want to look at this post from the Operation Clambake forums while considering your future strategy.
20:19
The President of the Manhatten Church gets swamped by New York Anonymous here (YouTube link).
Also, pictures from the New York protests are up on 4chan. A few are included below:
Also, the potentially most interesting protest, that in the Scientologist homeland of Clearwater, Florida, can bee seen here (Photobucket account).
About a third of all Anon currently online who attended a protest report being followed. One Scientologist was arrested for trying to remove the mask of an Anon. Some CoS buildings have removed signs and paint indicating they are a CoS branch (not that it matters, since they have been marked using Google map and earth well before now, but anyway...).
20:41
Scientology has jumped into 8th place on Technorati's search rankings. About bloody time. Hopefully this will help it gain some traction with the mainstream media, who really seem to have dropped the ball on this one, so far.
20:53
Anonymous makes a statement for the public via YouTube. A transcript can be found here. Also, the Boston protest has been snowed off, according to the people attending.
21:09
Glosslip is back up....went down there for a bit. I suspect they are getting heavy traffic. Anyway, check out their entry on the Detroit protests.
21:25
News from the Toronto protests. Everything seems to be going well there, the cops seem to be in good humour about the whole thing. You can watch a short Youtube video of the protest here.
And here are some photos:
Rumours that Scientologists were arrested in London for trying to take masks off protesters, but I'm not finding anything concrete on that so far. As always, more as I get it.
Also, there are still people protesting in Boston, despite the apparently terrible weather. Its all still on, I am informed. Video of the Boston protests are also available here.
I'll be live-blogging reports from Boston about the Church of Scientology/Anonymous protests throughout the day, thanks to our own covert HIMEOBS agents who have decided to take part there. However I want to cover what is happening in the rest of the world too, so that is what I will do as well. All times are for the UK.
NOTICE: THIS THREAD IS INSANELY LONG, THEREFORE I HAVE STARTED A NEW ONE HERE. This entry has so many images it is massively slowing up my not very old laptop, which is not a good sign.
13:31
Reports coming in from Australian Discordians about the Anonymous protests already look promising.
According to news.com.au, over 150 people attended the Sydney protests, chanting among other things ""Church on the left, cult on the right", "Religion is free" and "We want Xenu"."
More on the Australian protests can be found at the Anonaustralia blog. Hopefully soon Pope Felix over at The Madcap Laughs will also get his own material up from the Melbourne protests, which apparently went down well.
I'm going to get lunch, then check what is happening in the rest of the world.
13:50
More pictures and video from the Australia protests:
14:02
Might be some protests happening up York way, according to the York Press. However, the BBC News website is being unusually sloppy and is not reporting on anything happening in London, and I am too lazy to get on the raid IRC channels (not to mention no-one will be there anyway). Daily papers probably wont report anything, and the protests are almost certainly ongoing, so I may have to wait until this evening to see any videos on Youtube etc
Might check out 4chan, 7chan and 711chan after lunch.
14:09
According to 4chan, there are over 50 and possibly up to 100 people attending the Edinburgh protest, and over 300 at the London one. BBC and Sky News are covering it on TV, but naturally, I don't have a television. Goddamnit. Still, it sounds like both protests are bringing the thunder.
14:23
Paris protests aren't looking too impressive, going by 4chan. Then again, its hardly like 4chan is known for its large French contingent. Maybe the French Canadians will do better. A picture from the protest.
14:34
Bad quality picture from the London protests, looks like they certainly have the numbers there however. Australian press is all over the protests as well, hopefully the UK will catch up. US protests should be starting in a couple of hours.
14:47
Video from the London protests. Might take a while to load. Go to http://www.qik.com/anonlondon if you want to see more as they come in.
15:20
More videos from London, this time on YouTube.
16:10
First images from Boston are coming in. Haven't checked the US news much yet, will do so once this is up
16:22
Several more pictures from Boston:
Protesters making their way to the venue.
Hah, excellent advertising for the Operation Clambake website.
Moving on to the CoS centre, I'm guessing...
Spelling out some Horrible Troofs
PADDLE FASTER, I HEAR THETAN TRUCKS!
Half-hearted protesting there, methinks...
16:37
Even more coverage from Boston.
Now that's a little more like it!
Directly outside the Church now
Low quality picture of the Scientologists videotaping those taking part in the protest. Good thing they're all masked up...
Scientology closed due to Thetans.
More as I get it.
17:03
More information on the London raids available from Glosslip.com (cheers for the link, D!). In particular, note the video for the NYC raid.
17:15
D-Day letter from Anonymous being circulated around the internet. As usual, click to expand:
17:21
Nick Cohen on Comment is Free makes reference to todays protests and Anonymous, in the context of freedom of speech and the UK's exceptionally unjust libel laws.
Publishers and every variety of American journalist from left winger to neo-con are demanding court judgments and new laws from US politicians to protect them from Eady and his kind. They have grasped that, far from promoting freedom, the net is allowing Saudi billionaires, Scientologists and soon, I imagine, Vladimir Putin's stooges and the agents of sovereign wealth funds to come to London and secure a banning order that could be enforced anywhere in the world.
Today's anti-Scientology protesters may seem obsessive. Although they promise to be non-violent, their planned raids could turn nasty. But they understand better than bowdlerising judges and appeasing archbishops that the freedom to speak, argue, examine and satirise is the best defence against all the cults that seek to indoctrinate and subjugate our fellow citizens.
More as I find it.
17:35
Pictures from the...um, less than extraordinary Dublin raid, from 4chan:
Obviously not the strongest showing ever...
Still, its enough to warrant at least two members of the Garda, I suppose.
Not to mention this Scientologist official who wanted to know what was going on. Clearly not up on current events.
More pictures of London and Boston on their way.
17:45
Two latest pictures from Boston
A lovely rainbow there
And yet another camera from within the building, taping the protesters.
Naturally, the car was playing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
18:03
Some fantastic pictures of the London raid, all taken from 4chan. As always, click to enlarge (some of these are huge).
Horse police
The signs are well worth reading.
WHERE ARE YOUR ORGS NOW?
Outside the main CoS centre in London
The dude with the 'fro certainly adds a special something to this protest.
If nothing else, Anonymous are giving the cops in London some easy duty for the day
Can't think of a good caption for this
It might be obvious murder is a crime...but apparently not. At least, for some people. The other half of the London photos will be forthingcoming in a while.
19:13
The London Pictures Part Deux
Face facts: you will never be as cool as the guy on the right.
Anonymous in London has been exemplary. This is a surprise, for anyone who has ever visited any of the *chan sites.
I admit it, I laughed.
As much as I'm sure the forced abortion/CoS issue is very important and serious, my eyes keep being drawn to the Longcat banner, whether I want to or not.
Even the cops are enjoying the protest.
(insert wry comment here)
On Tottenham Road...I think.
Also hi to all the guys and gals from the Randi forums and Glosslip who are currently visiting! I feel so special.
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