Please visit my other project
where amazing people meet
history 3/10
By Deana HolmesSun, 7 May 1995 19:51:35 -0600 (MDT)
[PART 3 OF 10 OF HISTORY OF SCIENTOLOGY & THE NET]
Jeff Jacobsen chimed in with the following suggestion:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Church of Scientology has gone nuts. They attack their perceived enemies regardless of how it will make them look. Their attacks are counterproductive and hurtful to people that should not be hurt. I propose that we plan to picket the Church of Scientology on LRH's birthday, March 13, to show the world what a scum-sucking group this is.
-- ------------ cultxpt@primenet.com for interesting stuff about Scientology(tm) Jeff Jacobsen anonymous ftp to ftp.primenet.com PO Box 3541 /users/c/cultxpt OR Scottsdale AZ 85271 <a href="http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~sloth/sci/sci_index.html">http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~sloth/sci/sci_index.html</a>
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Almost immediately, the CoS's dead-agenting campaign of Dennis Erlich sprung into action:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As there is a lot of controversy regarding Dennis Erlich and there is a great interest in the recent raid, I came across the following in my archives and in the interest of free expression, am posting this for comment.
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that:
1. I am an adult female person over the age of twenty-one years, am American citizen, and I am today a resident of Stockholm, Sweden.
2. I have personal knowledge of the matters contained in this declaration and if called upon to do so, I am capable and willing to recite these facts under oath in a court of law.
3. I had a relationship with Dennis Erlich for about a year.
4. Approximately December 1974 in Sacramento, California, I was attacked by Dennis Erlich. Dennis was not home very often at night, but one night I was sleeping beside him and suddenly he punched me very hard in the eye. I got a very bad black eye with severe pain, which lasted about two weeks. It was also very painful emotionally as I had to go to work and face the other staff. I was so severely emotionally upset that I moved out from him immediately and never rejoined him in a relationship again, although he came back and wanted to get back together.
I swear under the pains and penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this 4th day of November, 1991.
(Name withheld for obvious reasons).
DECLARATION
1. I am over the age of 18 years. I am a resident of California. I have personal knowledge of the matters specified in this declaration and, if called upon to testify on such matters, could and would do so competently.
2. During the period of 1973 to 1974 my mother and I were residing in Silverlake, Los Angeles with Dennis Erlich, who at that time was married to my mother. I was 5 years old at this time.
3. While I was living with Dennis and my mother, I was very fond of all types of animals. At that time I was raising a family of tamed pet rats, that were purchased from a pet store. Dennis, despite being aware of my affinity for animals, planned and did exterminate my pets without my consent or knowledge.
4. The manner in which he killed them is what stands out in my mind as being vicious and cruel. Upon discovering the newborns missing from their cage, I asked Dennis "where are my babies?" (referring to the offspring) and Dennis said, "I flushed them down the toilet."
5. After this incident, I witnessed Dennis tie red yarn around the parents' necks and tie them to a large pole in back of our house and shoot them to death. Dennis shot one parent, looked up and saw me watching out the window and proceeded to kill the other one the same way. He threw the dead animals on the walkway that I used to walk to and from the house, which forced me to be repeatedly reminded of their painful demise.
6. As a child of 5 years of age, I didn't understand his sadistic actions but was emotionally upset at the loss of my pets and that my step-father had viciously killed them. I had recurring nightmares about the drowning babies.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California and the laws of the State of Florida that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on January 30, 1992 in Los Angeles, California.
(Name withheld upon request)
The Archivist
------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
This didn't go over very well with others on a.r.s:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In article <113331Z16021995@anon.penet.fi> an174674@anon.penet.fi writes:
>From: an174674@anon.penet.fi
>Date: Thu, 16 Feb 1995 11:32:10 UTC
>Subject: Erlich - Rats!
>As there is a lot of controversy regarding Dennis Erlich and there
>is a great interest in the recent raid, I came across the following in
>my archives and in the interest of free expression, am posting this
>for comment.
Anonymous "Archivist" attacks Dennis's character with anonymous testimonials. Even if these testimonials were true, what is their relevance to the recent raid?
If suspected mistreatment in the seventies would be a reason to raid one's computer in 1995, I guess there would be quite many outside investigators poking at the keys at CoS headquarters.
Is this an example of the famous "Dead-Agent"-policy?
Although I doubt it very much, I hope Archivist has enough guts to answer.
Matti Kaikkonen
> DECLARATION
>I hereby declare that:
>1. I am an adult female person over the age of twenty-one
>years, am American citizen, and I am today a resident of Stockholm,
>Sweden.
>2. I have personal knowledge of the matters contained in this
>declaration and if called upon to do so, I am capable and willing to
>recite these facts under oath in a court of law.
>3. I had a relationship with Dennis Erlich for about a year.
>4. Approximately December 1974 ...
[possible libel deleted]
>I swear under the pains and penalty of perjury that the foregoing is
>true and correct.
>Executed this 4th day of November, 1991.
> (Name withheld for obvious reasons).
> DECLARATION
>1. I am over the age of 18 years. I am a resident of California. I
>have personal knowledge of the matters specified in this declaration
>and, if called upon to testify on such matters, could and would do so
>competently.
>2. During the period of 1973 to 1974 my mother and I were residing
>in Silverlake, Los Angeles with Dennis Erlich, who at that time was
>married to my mother. I was 5 years old at this time.
[possible libel deleted]
>I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of
>California and the laws of the State of Florida that the foregoing is
>true and correct. Executed on January 30, 1992 in Los Angeles,
>California.
> (Name withheld upon request)
>The Archivist
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi.
>Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized,
>and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
>Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.
===
From: Eric J Spiegelman <ej@bu.edu> Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Re: Erlich - Rats! Date: 16 Feb 1995 16:48:07 GMT Message-ID: <3hvvk7$bpj@news.bu.edu>
an174674@anon.penet.fi wrote:
> 4. Approximately December 1974 in Sacramento, California, I was
> attacked by Dennis Erlich.
..And this has to do with Scientology in what way?
Looks to me like somebody is attempting to defame our good buddy Dennis by posting personal files collected during auditing sessions.
And who says Scientology isn't beneficial to society?
-ej-
===
From: jost@itd.itd.nrl.navy.mil (Patrick Jost) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Re: Erlich - Rats! Date: 16 Feb 1995 17:43:14 GMT Message-ID: <3i02ri$k0v@ra.nrl.navy.mil>
In article <113331Z16021995@anon.penet.fi>, <an174674@anon.penet.fi> wrote:
>As there is a lot of controversy regarding Dennis Erlich and there
>is a great interest in the recent raid, I came across the following in
>my archives and in the interest of free expression, am posting this
>for comment.
>
(two "affidavits" deleted)
OK, what do we have here? Someone posting from the anon server; same someone posting affidavits containing "dirt" on Dennis; same affidavits posted without names or details.
A cheap trick, but typical of Scientology. When they've got control of you, they lock you in a basement. When they don't, they make things up or bombard you with lawsuits. This is an example of the former.
[Eight other denunciations of the actions of this anonymous poster were not included to save space--ed.]
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Sam Walch posted this parody of the affidavit:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hey Kids!
Here's a fun new game to play - Dead Agent Boomerang! Just take any DA post from a.r.s, change a few names, and send it back out. It's fun, easy, and best of all, it's a legal parody!
For example,
---------------------begin parody-----------------------
As there is a lot of controversy regarding David Miscavige and there is a great interest in the recent raid, I came across the following in my archives and in the interest of free expression, am posting this for comment.
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that:
1. I am an adult female person under the age of twenty-one years, am American citizen, and I am today a resident of Stockholm, Sweden.
2. I have personal knowledge of the matters contained in this declaration and if called upon to do so, I am capable and willing to recite these facts under oath in a court of law.
3. I had a relationship with David Miscavige for about a year.
4. Approximately December 1995 in Sacramento, California, I was attacked by David Miscavige. David was not home very often at night, but one night I was sleeping beside him and suddenly he wet the bed. I got a very bad black stain, which lasted about two weeks. It was also very painful emotionally as I had to go to work and face the other staff. I was so severely emotionally upset that I moved out from him immediately and never rejoined him in a relationship again, although he came back and wanted to get back together.
I swear under the pains and penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this 4th day of November, 1995.
(Name withheld for obvious reasons).
-----------------------------end parody------------------------
See how easy it is! Now it's your turn . . . .
Sam
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
On February 16, Dennis Erlich reported the following:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday Afternoon, 3:17 PST
<doorbell rings>
Delivery dude with 2 boxes for Mr. Erlich
From whom?
Some lawfirm ... I dunno. Will you sign a receipt.
No. Leave them there on the porch or not. I'm not signing anything. What's your name and who do you work for?
Steve Bevan ... I work for myself.
Well leave em or not, no difference to me.
<does so>
Drives off in late model silver Chevy or GM full sized pickup. CAL Lic # 3X64826. 5'11" white male, light brn hair. 40-50.
Boxes still sitting untouched in front porch.
Rev. Dennis L Erlich * * the inFormer * * <dennis.l.erlich@support.com>
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
On that same day, Dennis' sysop, Tom Klemesrud, posted the following:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I have posted a message to my Users of support.COM I may be shutting down. I would rather deny low cost access to the Internet to all my users, rather than single out a particular user with the guts to stand up to this vicious cult--a person with conviction, that I admire.
EFF's only solution seems to be for me to file bankruptsy, rather than take a stand. If that's my only option, I'll be signing off.
Tom Klemesrud, Sysop
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ Tom Klemesrud, Sysop _/ _/ L.A. Valley College BBS _/ _/ tom.klemesrud@support.com _/ _/ FidoNet 1:102/837 <a href="_/">_/</a> _/ root@support.com _/ _/ North Hollywood, CA USA _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
On February 17, the following long-running thread was started (this is only worth noting in that I personally got sick of seeing this subject):
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There is no reason here. This "news" group is a cesspool of bigotry and hatred, even with threats of violence against Scientologists (Hunt's was only the latest).
Hunt is a blind fool. He is so sure that the world is just one Scientology conspiracy that I'm sure that if if there was a stock market crash tomorrow he'd blame Scientologists.
I don't know the particulars of the search of Erlich's place, but it was not illegal, this is obvious, but of course, "people" in this group assume that somehow Scientology must have bought the entire Glendale PD, as well as several judges, just as we supposedly bought the IRS to get our exemption.
The man-is-meat-heads here are so SURE that everything we as Scientologists do is bad that anything good that we do does _not_ really exist -- it is merely a PR ploy, and anything good that happens to us is done by people who are deceived, stupid, or in some other way sub-human. This is pure hate, and is the stuff of conspiracy theorists.
All of those that think they are merely a collection of molecules shouldn't worry about what we think anyway -- when they die, that's it. They're dead. No matter how many houses and toys they have when they die, they're just as dead. Why even bother?
The concept of we as humans being spritual beings and therefore outside the realm of the physical universe (and thus not subject to its laws) is a very foreign concept to them -- they know they are just a pile of specialized dirt that just happened by accident to form into a very powerful computer, but still a just a computer. This view is diametrically opposed to the very first premise of Scientology, so how could they do otherwise than disagree?
The bigots and defamers in this group are not here to have a reasoned discussion of Scientology, they are opposed to the very existence of Scientology -- they want to see it destroyed.
Well, let me tell you something before I go: Scientology will never die. You cannot conceive of the dedication we have. Some things are worth fighting for, and Scientology is one of them. Scientology works. Properly applied, it will free an individual from that which holds him down. It enables him to realize his potential as a spiritual being and frees him from the animalistic. This is worth fighting for. It is worth protecting, and it is worth using the law to protect it as needed. We'll be here for a long time...
Meanwhile, I'm getting back to work. Get a life, you all.
=========================================================== IsaacA "Miss, those rocks may be pretty, but the road out doesn't lead that way" ===========================================================
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
On February 17, Homer Wilson Smith posted the following apropros comments regarding the CoS and lawyers:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I have posted the following answer to the net without your name on it.
OK. You have to remember something about Hubbard.
He was 80 percent true benevolent genius, and 20 percent totally and completely cracked. My opinion of course. The early work reflects mostly the genius, the later work reflects mostly the cracked.
Scientology is not a scam nor a con, it is a true religion, a very fine one that encompassess the best of man's wisdom to present time on the technical nature of the soul and how to achieve enlightenment for the masses. However it is also a militaristic religion, like Islam, with a Holy Jihad to take over the planet at all costs. In my opinion they have the possibility of doing it. Add the cracked aspect into the Holy Jihad aspect and you get a recipe for terrorism, only in this case it is not physical terrorism but LEGAL terrorism. It is a legal jihad to "Keep the Tech Pure". This of course attracts all manner of legal vultures who have no interest in the religion, but lots of interest in the cash flow generated to their legal firms for furthering the cause of the legal jihad.
What do you get when you cross Religion with the Legal Profession?
Scientology.
If you keep these things in mind, you will better understand the actions they will take and the lengths they will go to accomplish their ends.
Homer
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
But things were not all lightheartedness. Less than a week after the raid on Dennis, Julf Helsinghus, owner of the famous anon.penet.fi server, posted the following:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I am pretty shocked! Based on a request from Interpol, the Finnish police have gotten a search&seizure warrant on my home and the anon.penet.fi server, and gotten the real mail address of a user that has allegedly posted material stolen from the Church of Scientology. Fortunately I managed to prevent them from getting more than this one, single address.
There is going to be a very high-level public debate on how it is possible that a country that prides itself on honoring human rights and privacy very strongly has allowed this to happen. Maybe we can use the publicity to stop this from happening again.
But in this situation, I find it pretty understandable that some of you might want all traces of your ID removed. I have now added the alias "remove@anon.penet.fi" to my server. If you want to be removed, just send a (possibly empty) message to that address. But I am hoping it won't be empty. I am hoping that you do outline *why* you have needed the server, and what you think about the actions of the Finnish authorities.
The messages will be anonymized using the normal anon.penet.fi procedure, and used to support the demand for a re-interpretation of the privacy laws in Finland.
If you *don't* want to be removed, but still want to send a comment, you can use the addresses anon-support@lists.otol.fi (if you are *for* keeping the server) and anon-against@lists.otol.fi (if you are *against* the server). If you want to be anonymous, use anon-support@anon.penet.fi and anon-against@anon.penet.fi.
Julf (admin@anon.penet.fi)
------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
The compromise of anon.penet.fi sent a shudder through Usenet. Penet had never been raided or compromised before. Many people, beyond those on a.r.s who had been using Penet to post to the newsgroup, were affected.
Grady Ward gave the following advice to people after the compromise of Penet. This post also marks the first time he solicited information from others on the Net about Scientology.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In spite of yesterdays bust of the penet.fi server and the Scientologist storm troopers at Dennis Erhlich's home a few days ago, we still can organize effectively against these Scientologist assholes.
One thing the Shitologist thugs can't do a fucking thing about is the effectiveness of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) to keep material absolutely locked up from their inquisitive eyes.
This program comes executable and source (so you can check it yourself, if you wish) for a variety of computers from PC, Mac, Amiga, Atari, many flavors of Unix, etc.
Keep your source materials and criticism of the Church of Shitology locked up tight and prepare to defend your home against this thug cult.
In the US, telnet to net-dist.mit.edu, using the login of "getpgp" and follow instructions.
Can't FTP?
Send E-mail to hypnotech-request@ifi.uio.no Subject: Get pgp26i.zip
At a minimum think of a good private pass-phrase and post your newly generated public key to the PGP key servers. That way we won't have to ask for your key to send you more information to fight this thug cult.
Here is my PGP public key: (can be verified on the servers or by phone at +1 707 826 7715)
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6
mQCPAi35lYsAAAEEAKlQh8kXZJud5jMqMHN6FVWBwgPEShHdJAN348myr2kH3nlm cVZm7jxPKyWzwVWsBK3K4SAJ556hark7EJXPKNtVDbaC2juUUzXZxtNpWEOfMGYw apN+hnkJlV94tpMPF1e17jA1s3+HvVOo5RlmoKokmIivDSrkd3ZesDZpuNydABEB AAG0QEdyYWR5IFdhcmQgIDxncmFkeUBuZXRjb20uY29tPiAgKzEgNzA3IDgyNiA3 NzE1ICh2b2ljZS8yNGhyIEZBWCmJAJQCBRAubX/kqxDTjVMu8iEBAX1CA/Y3C32X Y1nMdhY8RGspvI0/99q5lJc6IhNcpg2FKXYd7WBSctPswSlculWPCUgC3cEbx9uL grz+rJrJ6RzI2ET/NBar4yS7G+8NKewOWFQgWTPVnfReBA91xJpkil9yL5nCM5Xo oGplIhFcObevK/vFgH3KRupIhY+7CabOFomgiQCVAgUQLlEFI1ATUFXEbyElAQF+ VQP/ZnqLw0sxgWyd/at9m8UhByTHFSMRcVQngwBoKGQAC7gSLIWlD2Gb8ftpdw9v ECcAeSAojIqgPVZPyqaNIPFrYZcRSKslGeDyykuW48tvnK7/jv+zO1x3F5afHuei zl3Ih5BkspCepjGZfzCrdCWCwR+geG8/l5SXQaJg9JPn6XiJAJUCBRAt+ZXhdl6w Nmm43J0BAWCqA/9OoZaeuEwmmg0lJldJKXG5q2IGJou9bvUtMOB6s5yGdwB0uGiY 7P5Zo9PtPngbxmUbbh7zYRm8CYC0Ujpm2RqA4aTLKLKbuZUuw8fWk1PBjI30YrfZ esqUXo83QQozoeZwM3I9fiGXvprvqmhrHlA5M3FUPIigFzqrJ8+BrKWYAQ== =PsSw -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Please feel free to send me any material about the thug cult of Scientology so I can plan on how to distribute effectively to fight these parasites.
-- Grady Ward +1 707 826 7715 (voice / 24hr FAX) grady@netcom.com
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
On February 21, Dennis Erlich had his day in court. Much to the dismay of his supporters, he was without representation. However, Judge Whyte chose to dismiss Netcom and support.com (without prejudice) from the suit, while extending the TRO. Newspaper articles generally called it a victory for Dennis. The CoS posted the following after the hearing.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From: koreenb@aol.com (Koreen B) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Judge Enforces Restraining Order on Erlich Date: 21 Feb 1995 18:06:49 -0500
I just received this press release regarding the hearing on the copyright infringement case brought against Dennis Erlich.
February 21, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT: HELENA KOBRIN (213) 960-1933
JUDGE EXTENDS RESTRAINING ORDER ON INTERNET COPYRIGHT INFRINGER
(San Jose) A federal judge in San Jose confirmed and extended a temporary restraining order on Glendale, California resident Dennis Erlich, prohibiting him from illegal posting of copyrighted and trade secret religious materials to the Internet computer system.
The complaint was filed on February 8, 1995, by Bridge Publications, Inc. (BPI) -- the Church of Scientology's publishing company -- and Religious Technology Center (RTC) -- holder of the Dianetics and Scientology trademarks.
District Judge Ronald M. Whyte asked to be provided by February 24th with additional details of Erlich's copyright abuses and theft of trade secrets. The TRO is held in place until the Judge formulates an injunction based on the specific information he has asked for.
The Church is seeking a preliminary injunction against Erlich which forbids him from making further unlawful postings of religious materials onto the Internet until the time of trial, violations of which will place him in contempt of court.
According to the suit, Church lawyers made numerous attempts to persuade Erlich to halt his unlawful infringements. Erlich refused to do so, then bragged on the Internet that he would continue his illegal actions because "[n]o local government or court in the U.S. has the power to tell me otherwise."
Last week, police officers and Church lawyers executing a federal court order entered Erlich's home and seized computer disks and other materials which were evidence of the violations.
"We are very pleased that the judge has extended the temporary restraining order against Erlich," said long-time copyright attorney Tom Small. "The laws of the land apply to those who use the Internet. This valuable resource should be used for free discussion and information exchange, and not to violate the rights of others."
Those who value the freedom of the Internet have expressed increasing concern that violations of the law pose a danger to all users of the net. With the recent arrest of computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, federal authorities have shown increased willingness to crack down on crimes in cyberspace. Mitnick, who had looted computer files on the Internet and evaded capture for two years, was tracked down after FBI agents enlisted the aid of San Diego computer security expert Tsutomu Shimomura.
The Church also stated that it will reapply for a preliminary injunction against Erlich's gateways onto the Internet: Tom Klemesrud, the systems operator of Erlich's bulletin board service, and Netcom On-Line Communication Services, which provides Internet access for the BBS. "A means of control should exist whereby access operators and their organizations are held responsible for what is posted on the Internet," said Church of Scientology lawyer Helena Kobrin.
"The Internet is too valuable a resource for us to allow criminality to flourish on it. Individuals like Erlich cannot be allowed to violate the law and threaten the freedom of all lawful net users."
-- ENDS --
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,comp.org.eff.talk,misc.legal From: strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) Subject: Re: Judge Enforces Restraining Order on Erlich Date: Wed, 22 Feb 1995 17:42:39 GMT
[...]
> (San Jose) A federal judge in San Jose confirmed
> and extended a temporary restraining order on Glendale,
> California resident Dennis Erlich, prohibiting him from
> illegal posting of copyrighted and trade secret religious
> materials to the Internet computer system.
>
There was no finding that he did this.
> The complaint was filed on February 8, 1995, by Bridge
> Publications, Inc. (BPI) -- the Church of Scientology's
> publishing company -- and Religious Technology Center (RTC)
> -- holder of the Dianetics and Scientology trademarks.
>
> District Judge Ronald M. Whyte asked to be provided by
> February 24th with additional details of Erlich's copyright
> abuses and theft of trade secrets. The TRO is held in place
> until the Judge formulates an injunction based on the
> specific information he has asked for.
I think this to be a huge smear. The judge made no findings of "copyright
abuses and theft of trade secrets". It's an ACCUSATION by the CoS. The
judge, after the CoS got the search order and raided his house, and thus
were presumably in posession of enough prima facie evidence to justify that,
asked in open court how much of the copyright material Dennis had quoted (in
one case it was one paragraph out of a book), in order to see if Dennis'
quotations were protected "fair use".\. The CoS attorneys were unable to
answer. I'm surprised and outraged at that, but the judge, being a judge,
gave them three days to answer. When they do and he sees what they have, I
predict he's going to lower the boom on them big time and send Ehrlich on
his way.
> The Church is seeking a preliminary injunction against
> Erlich which forbids him from making further unlawful
> postings of religious materials onto the Internet until the
> time of trial, violations of which will place him in contempt
> of court.
I think a second smear. It hasn't yet been found that Erlich's posts were
unlawful. Note the clever use of "further" in furtherance of this smear.
> According to the suit, Church lawyers made numerous
> attempts to persuade Erlich to halt his unlawful
> infringements. Erlich refused to do so,
I believe this is a third HUGE smear. Dennis told the CoS if they could
demonstrate what materials were infinging of copyright, he'd not only
withdraw them but apologize publicly. The judge now has been told this in
open court.
> then bragged on the
> Internet that he would continue his illegal actions because
> "[n]o local government or court in the U.S. has the power to
> tell me otherwise."
"bragged"? I guess this was written for internal consumption by the true
believers. What's next--if and when they lose, a claim to the faithful that
the Judge was out to get the CoS, and part of some international conspiracy
against them?
>
> Last week, police officers and Church lawyers executing
> a federal court order entered Erlich's home and seized
> computer disks and other materials which were evidence of the
> violations.
Makes it sound as if the Feds were out to get Erlich. The court order was
sought and obtained by the CoS, not the Feds.
I think a fourth HUGE smear is above--"which were evidence of the violations" is as yet unproven.
> "We are very pleased that the judge has extended the
> temporary restraining order against Erlich," said long-time
> copyright attorney Tom Small. "The laws of the land apply to
> those who use the Internet. This valuable resource should be
> used for free discussion and information exchange, and not to
> violate the rights of others."
As I read it, he gave the CoS three days to produce evidence, which I think
they should have had with them in court yesterday or included in moving
papers, that there has been any infringement at all. Then he'll rule. They
seem to be making this look like a victory. In fact, as I read it, instead
of throwing the thing out on the spot or finding there was a case to answer,
the judge asked them for evidence, they had none, and he gave them three
days to produce it. This is not an action against Ehrlich but the giving of
the CoS lawyers some more time before he lowers the boom. Since they had no
evideence in court to prove Erlich wasn't engaged in fair use, he could have
thrown the matter out on the spot and strongly sanctioned the search and
seizure.
>
> Those who value the freedom of the Internet have
> expressed increasing concern that violations of the law pose
> a danger to all users of the net. With the recent arrest of
> computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, federal authorities have shown
> increased willingness to crack down on crimes in cyberspace.
> Mitnick, who had looted computer files on the Internet and
> evaded capture for two years, was tracked down after FBI
> agents enlisted the aid of San Diego computer security expert
> Tsutomu Shimomura.
>
I think this to be pure bullshit. Mitnick cracked others' computers
illegally and abused the net, it's alleged. Erlich did nothing remotely
similar to cracking computers and stealing credit card numbers. In fact, if
anything is similar to some of what Mitnick did, it seems to me it is what
the CoS seems to me to have done in (as I read it they've admitted) what
seems to me to be cancelling the posts of others and attempting to remove a
Usenet newsgroup. Their acts MAY be violations of the Electronics
Communications Privacy Act--dunno. Talk about trying to hand-wave people's
attention in another direction.
> The Church also stated that it will reapply for a
> preliminary injunction against Erlich's gateways onto the
> Internet: Tom Klemesrud, the systems operator of Erlich's
> bulletin board service, and Netcom On-Line Communication
> Services, which provides Internet access for the BBS. "A
> means of control should exist whereby access operators and
> their organizations are held responsible for what is posted
> on the Internet," said Church of Scientology lawyer Helena
> Kobrin.
Translation: The judge refused to grant those injunctions, and the CoS is, I
believe, going to try to continue to use the legal system to harass
Klemesrud and Netcom. I think someone should immediately ask the judge for
an injunction against the CoS to prevent them from further harassment of
this kind, since the judge has ruled on that matter.
> "The Internet is too valuable a resource for us to
> allow criminality to flourish on it. Individuals like Erlich
> cannot be allowed to violate the law and threaten the freedom
> of all lawful net users."
>
The Internet is too valuable a resource for us to allow criminality to
flourish on and off it, or even in downtown Memphis and eastern North
Dakota. Individuals like Fred Flintstone cannot be allowed to violate the
law and threaten the freedom of all lawful net users.
(Note that in the above parody I make no claim that they violated the law or threatened anything. Just as they did, I say they can't be allowed to do it. John Smith cannot be allowed to beat his wife, eh?)
David
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
On Sunday, February 26th, Dennis Erlich wrote and posted a series of eight messages entitled BRINGING LAW TO THE INTERNET 1/8. The posting was in response to a question asked by a reader of a.r.s. I have amalgamated and censored the posts, because of what happened to Dennis afterwards.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* satire *
+---------------------------------+
For the thinking-impaired ... the following is satire [ :) ] of the inFormer: refering to this post ...
wbarwell@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (William Barwell)
>Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
>Yup. Wait til the Judge finds out CoS mislead him about the extent
>> No, he asked the eedjit CoS lawyers to show any evidence at all since
>Did you read what the Judge told Dennis? Simply to not break
>> The usual lying distortion by the most ammoral "church" in the West.
>Gosh Mr. Bill, seems you got a bit mixed up maybe? Your starbase must
>And why are you only a "sub" genius? Do you graduate up to being
z [ ...Continued From Previous Message ]
>
Faithful Reader,
Lets get the psychodrama over with. I believe the following
use is fair. If I am wrong, the scienos can put a motion for
contempt before Judge Whyte (better wait til monday). If it
is granted, I musta had a serious, as the scienos say, MU
(misunderstood) on what the Judge said.
The following was published and is being put on internet as a
public service and criticism of scientology for the purpose
of ridicule and satire. These seem to be my only weapons
against their army of lawyers and hired thugs. So I use
them.
+--------------------------------+
When I was publishing my little ministry rag, "the inFormer",
I was sent through the US mail, a disk. On the disk was a
text file with what may have been words I remember hearing
when I studied the Class 8 course in my minister's training
in scn in the seventies at LA Org.
I found the text stimulated my thinking process (and
memory) to such a degree that I decided to share it with
my readers.
Here is the text I published with no complaint from the
scienos:
* * the inFormer * *
This was sent to me annonymously. I heard the real [unedited]
tape back in 1973 before it was vetted of Tubby's strange sci-fi
cosmology. I couldn't *swear* that this is a word-for-word
trabscript . . . but . . .
I know lots of people, most of whom have never done the Class
VIII course [or did it after 1973] who will swear this is not
what El Tubbo said.
You be the judge.
Are these the words of L. Ron Hubbard or some insane madman . . .
or BOTH??
[CENSORED / CENSORED / CENSORED / CENSORED / CENSORED / CENSORED]
Now I've done it. No one has responded to my query until
this suit. So if I am guilty of a copyright violation by
making public, in this humorous way, words from a lecture of
the source of scientology that I studied as a minister of
scientology, Judge Whyte has a right to throw me in jail
for contempt. However I truely believe that I am not doing
anything other than asserting my right to speak freely in
public; a right which Judge Whyte's ruling, if I understood
it correctly, did not alter at all.
With all due respect, your honor, please do not take offense
at this action. It was offered in the spirit of those who've
lived and died to perserve my right to do what I've done.
Sincerely,
+---------------------------------------+
Rev. Dennis L Erlich * * the inFormer * *
<dennis.l.erlich@support.com>
that person (tm)
In God We Trust.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
[END PART 3 OF 10]
>Subject: Re: BRINGING LAW TO THE INTERNET: THE ERLICH HEARING
>Date: 25 Feb 1995 19:16:40 -0600
>In article <3ims9k$38u@mars.earthlink -
>Vera Wallace (scieno agent)
>wbarwell@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (William Barwell), the Pope, wrote:
>> No problem since Dennis never did illegally post copyright materials.
>> Nor trade secrets, or at least your eedjit lawyers couldn't remeber which
>> was which. I am sure Judge Whyte will be very amused to see their half
>> witted atempts to prove anything illegal or beyond fair use rights.
>
>Willie -- my how you rant and flail? My, how short your memory is...
>
>Isn't this the same judge that ordered the seizure of Dennis' materials?
>He didn't seem too amused about things then?
Nor after when he found out I was a satirist, engaged in a
holy war with only his humor and knowledge of the evil to
fight with.
>to which Dennis posted material and about Dennis's unwillingness to
>'communicate' with CoS over the issue. I do not think this judge is going
>to be a happy man when this comes out.
Can't see how he could.
>> they didn't seem to have an adequate grasp that evidnence is needed to
>> show that they have any right to actually sue.
>
>Oh, thanks for explaining that. Now, with your infinite wisdom we can
>all understand why the Judge extended the TRO against Erlich. It was
>because he hadn't done anything wrong. Amazing.
He didn't stop me from doing anything I wasn't already not
doing.
>copyright law. He is free topost as long as he sticks to 'fair use'.
>Which he has all along. Literally, nothing has changed!
"Gotcha" has changed the scieno smuggness.
>> Dennis had very right to use the copyright provisions of fair use
>> and Judge Whyte will shortly be explaining this amazing freedom of speech
>> concept to the clueless wonders of Small and Larkin Ect..
And perhaps to the rest of the world.
>have dipped out of orbit momentarily. Seems that Judge Whyte was
>explaining to Erlich with a raid on his house and a TRO that he was
>doing something wrong. Obviously it takes a while for things to sink
>in, but even he will get it sooner or later.
>
>No. Let me explain the OBVIOUS to you since you do seem to
>be able to grasp it without help. The CoS made allegations.
>Now what are the hearings going under way now? The Judge
>wanted to see if the CoS allegations had merit. The CoS for all it's
>bluster and bluff was not able to show anything but a list
>of such allegations, and told them to get their tales in
>gear and do it right. And he wanted to know what percentage
>of the original materials vs. the exceprts these 'copyright violations'
>represent. Dennis in the mean time can post here as always.
>All Dennis has to understand is fair use.
>
>> Try me! I'LL GIVE YOU LAW AND FREEDOM! Try me!
>>
>> Pope Charles
>> SubGenius Pope Of Houston
>> Slack!
>
>Do you prefer Willie, Mr. Bill or Charlie???
>
>Charlie.
Nice to know you're a man of the people, Charlie.
>a genius when you can hold a job?
>
>Vera
z [ Continued In Next Message... ]
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: dennis.l.erlich@support.com
Subject: BRINGING LAW TO THE I 2/8
Message-ID: <9502260844.0C9W600@support.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Feb 95 08:44:15 -0800
>Try alt.slack. Ask for "Bob".
>Answer unclear. Try again later.
>
>Pope Charles
>SubGenius Pope Of Houston
>Slack!
+--------------------------------+