As of 17th November, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has made official accusations against the Church of Scientology in the Senate. He has called for a police investigation into the organization and an official review of Scientology’s tax exempt status.
We are moving full steam ahead into planning for the next raid. While alot of the details have not been finalised at the moment, we have made headway in discussing many points.
All details are subject to change, please keep updated through the forums and for the announcement on the front page. If you don’t like any of these details, get on the forums and get discussing, these raids are yours and they are not possible without your contribution.
Route:
We will follow a similar route to the last raid, except doubling back for epic exposure
Start at Victoria Square at 2:00pm
Walk down King William St at 2:15pm
Turn onto Rundle Mall
Split into 2 groups and Continue down either side of Rundle St
Walk down to Rymill Park
Catch our breath, and turn around
Head back down Rundle St, again, in 2 groups
Back through Rundle Mall
Back up King William St
Turn onto Waymouth St
Protest out the front of Scientology
Continue down to Victoria Sq to conclude the Raid where we started
This month, we might do the “Tax the Cult”/”Tax the Bastards” theme again. It is an extremely hot topic at the moment and should continue to be the focus of our protest in an attempt to make the government perform a review of Religious Charities, and ATO to check their records to make sure the tax-exempt businesses have been keeping the high level of transparency and strict record-keeping required for accepting donations peoples money.
Masks:
Whoever put their name down for a Guy Fawkes mask in this thread, one of our resourceful anon, AnonVocis has received the shipment and they will be available for pick-up on the day, at the cost of $7.00 each. There may be some spares available, send AnonVocis a private message in our forums to see if there is one available, or to arrange some alternate form of picking it up.
Business Cards:
We have 1000 Anonymous business cards on order, they will be made available to any Anon who may want some to hand out.
Event Tickets:
We are looking into organising event tickets with some of the donation money for the raid to hand out to people to invite them along to our protest. They will be handed out to the public and left in places for people to find before the protest to invite them along.
Flyers/Pamphlets/Info/Mini-Raids/Misc Stuff:
We always need new flyers and other handouts for our protests, if your creative, get making em, post them to our media gallery and people will hand them out.
We also need mini-raids to help spread the word and visibility of Anon, we need to get them organised and people postering/handing out flyers and invites to the protest. This will be extra important once we get the event tickets, we don’t want em to goto waste.
CITY of Adelaide Minister Jane Lomax-Smith unknowingly appears in an internet video in which she brands members of Scientology as “bastards” while criticising the group’s entitlement to tax exemptions for religious organisations.
Her comments were secretly filmed in May by the internet collective Anonymous, which has been conducting protests against Scientology and posted on the online video site, YouTube.
Anonymous members, often wearing eye-catching disguises, have been holding monthly protests against Scientology and its teachings.
The YouTube video shows Dr Lomax-Smith in front of a restaurant in Waymouth St, next door to Scientology, asking a group of masked people: “Are you all related to someone who’s been sucked in?”
The video, which appeared to be taken without Dr Lomax-Smith’s consent, then hears her discussing Scientology’s tax exemptions, a status shared by other religious organisations and charities.
“They should be taxed, the bastards,” she is heard saying. “They shouldn’t be tax free, we’re subsidising them.”
In an emailed statement from the ministers’ media adviser Leah Manuel, Dr Lomax-Smith said: “It was a private conversation and I was expressing a personal view. There’s nothing more to add.”
Scientologist spokesman Nigel Manock said he was aware of the video and had sought clarification from the State Government, which had responded by saying Dr Lomax-Smith’s views did not reflect State Labor antidiscrimination
MICHAEL OWEN, POLITICAL REPORTER July 10, 2008 03:20pm
EDUCATION Minister Jane Lomax-Smith has been caught on tape declaring Scientologists “should be taxed, the bastards”.
Footage from a video recorded during a protest on May 10 by internet activist group Anonymous has emerged which shows Dr Lomax-Smith casually chatting to protesters in Adelaide.
Clearly not a fan of the controversial Church of Scientology, Dr Lomax-Smith asks protesters how frequently they gather and exclaims, “oh, it’s great”.
She then asks about the protest group, which is dedicated to “dismantling and destroying” the Church of Scientology.
Watch the video here – the footage featuring Jane Lomax-Smith begins at the 8:05 mark, towards the end of the recording
It wants the church’s tax-exempt status rescinded, alleging it is a cult rather than a religion.
The religious organisation is regularly in the news for its beliefs and high-profile celebrity spokespeople such as Tom Cruise, as well as its fundraising activities.
Dr Lomax-Smith tells protesters: “They should be taxed, the bastards. They shouldn’t be tax-free, we’re subsidising them.”
She then says: “I like your masks.”
In an emailed statement issued today, Dr Lomax-Smith said: “It was a private conversation and I was expressing a personal view. There’s nothing more to add.”
Church of Scientology Australia president Vicki Dunstan said the organisation was entitled to the same rights as other churches “and the full bench of the High Court of Australia unanimously confirmed this in 1983″.
“Dr Lomax-Smith is an elected official and as such represents the voice and rights of the many different races, cultures and creeds in their electorate,” Ms Dunstan said.
“She has a duty to follow the policy of her party and refrain from making derogatory public comments that promote intolerance and violate the very basis of our democratic constitution.”
State Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith said Dr Lomax-Smith’s assertion that the church should not be exempt from tax “flies in the face of federal and state decisions to exempt the church from taxes”.
“The Treasurer has signed off on exemptions from state payroll taxes and they include organisations such as the Church of Scientology,” Mr Hamilton-Smith said.
“If Dr Lomax-Smith thinks that’s wrong, then she should raise her concerns with (Treasurer Kevin Foley) and justify her case.”
A SOUTH Australian minister has attacked the Church of Scientology, branding its members as “bastards”.
Education and Children’s Services Minister Jane Lomax-Smith made the comment to a group of protesters outside the church’s offices in Adelaide.
She was recorded and the video was posted on You Tube sometime after the protest earlier this year.
Ms Lomax-Smith was critical of Scientology’s tax-free status as a religious organisation.
“They should be taxed – the bastards,” she told the small group of protesters from an internet collective called Anonymous.
“They shouldn’t be tax-free, we’re subsidising them.â€
The minister approached the group whose members wear masks and asked whether they were all related to someone who had been “sucked in†by scientology.
She has described her comments as personal views made in a private conversation.
Scientology attracts high-profile converts around the world including actor Tom Cruise who is believed to have introduced one of Australia’s richest men, Jamie Packer, to the church and its practices.
[Edit: WE JUST MADE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA - UPI reported on it:]
ADELAIDE, Australia, July 10 (UPI) — The South Australian government said Friday that the education minister had a right to call Scientologists “bastards” in a video posted on YouTube.
Jane Lomax-Smith made the comments in May when she encountered demonstrators from a group that calls itself Anonymous outside the Church of Scientology headquarters in Adelaide, The Australian reports. Lomax-Smith asked the masked protesters if they were related to people who had been “sucked in” by Scientology.
“They should be taxed, the bastards,” she added. “They shouldn’t be tax-free; we’re subsidizing them. I like your masks.”
Anonymous posted the video on the Internet, leading to an official protest from the church to South Australian Premier Mike Rann. In a statement Thursday from Sydney, the church said that Lomax-Smith should not promote intolerance.
Rann’s office said that Lomax-Smith was giving her own views in a private conversation as she has a right to do.
The church, founded by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, has a number of high-profile members, including movie stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
It was also reported on on Channel 7 News Adelaide on the 10th of July, but I am unaware of any cap of it – if you have one, could you please share it to us and link to it in the comments. There was also a much longer print version of the Messenger Article, published in the “Issues” section of The Eastern Courier on the 3rd of July, which we would also like to get a copy of.
The Video in question that they are reporting on is the May 10th Raid video:
And finally, The Today Tonight reports (Scientology: If your listening, we had nothing to do with the making of these videos, we do not work with Channel 7 or Today Tonight in any way)
Part 1:
Pilkington: What about Jane Lomax having a go at the Scientologists and she says, it’s a con and they ought to be taxed, and it’s been put up on the ‘net this morning! Conlon: The context is that when that anonymous group, the white faces … did their protest a few weeks ago she went and talked to them and this is the soundtrack from the video. So it wasn’t a public statement by her, she was just chatting to them ,but she quite clearly thinks they’re a cult and that they should be taxed. Of course, they should be tax free because they won the right to be a church in Australia Pilkington: They won … a High Court decision … in the eighties … Conlon: Somebody should take it on again some time! Pilkington: Gary’s here … Jon Blake (As Lomax-Smith) No, sorry it’s not Gary, sorry that must be from some previous caller. It’s Jane Lomax-Smith. Conlon: Hello there Jon Blake Hooo, hello. hahahahahaha, look I was going to ring you about this, because it’s really a *missing word* issue and I knew it was close to your heart Keith because you hate them as much as I do. Conlon: I do, yes. Jon Blake So … why don’t we have a yelling match? I’ll start off with an abuse and then you come back with one. Bastards. Conlon: Yeah, shocking. Jon Blake No, no … You come back with asshole, and I say, ‘mongrels’, and you can say ‘turds’, and I’ll say ‘money driven wackos’, ‘volcano living spaced out goonbars’ and then you can ‘twats’ and then we can use the c-word – call them a bunch of ‘cults’ , a bunch of cults! … Come on, you’re not joining in Keith. I thought you’d be, it’s right up your alley isn’t it, really? Hmmmm? Are you wearing your magic underwear. No, that’s the Mormans isn’t it? we’ll get them next. Byeeeeee, hahahaha Conlon:…The Mormans don’t charge you thousands of dollars to improve your personality. Pilkington: So they won a High Court decision back in the eighties … to be considered a church and as such it’s tax exempt … Conlon: Unlike Germany where they’re banned.
It’s may be hard to believe it Anonymous, but here we stand at the brink of our fifth protest against the cult of Scientology. Our message is slowly filtering through:
tax exempt status is for non-profit/charity organisations, not greedy cults
Scientology policies of ‘Fair Game’ and ‘Disconnection’ deserve a Governmental inquiry
the definition of ‘religion’ needs to be altered to ensure protection of the human rights of those in a religion, or leaving a religion
Clearly we do not present radical or extreme views. When given the opportunity to examine for themselves, the public understands this too. Our movement can only grow. But it’s up to all of us to get out and show our numbers, on the streets, this Saturday June 14 at 2pm for Operation Sea Arrrgh! All hands on deck!!
For the n00bs (or to refresh), here’s some recommended items to bring on the day:
A fun attitude (and your friends) we need music & lulz & dancing & chants & more lulz
Masks (and black clothes/suits, where possible) if u can’t locate a guy fawkes mask, there are plenty of El Cheapo masks in various stores, or become a t-shirt ninja for the day
Pirate booty hats, eye patches, balloon swords
Signs think: short, legible message about our protest against Scientology
Flyers (or Cards, Brochures, Info Disks etc) print em out, photocopy them, cut them out, burn em off: give em out
Food/water caek, chocolate dubloons, lollies – water is a must & consider a crazy straw or plan HOW TO drink with your mask on
A backpack or greenie bag might help you too
AND educateyourselfaboutthecause, so you can answer any Qs you might get about the Sea Org or other Scientology related stuff.
Good training video for New Anonymous:
Yarrr let’s make the maiden voyage of the Sea Arrrgh a total lulz fest!
Give people something to smile about on their Saturday afternoon, while keel-hauling the progress of Scientology in South Australia and beyond the furthest seas! Onwards – yarrr!!!
A great protest was had, a very high energy protest, as you can see by the video below.
A high energy—and at times, acrobatic—protest started off at 2pm. We talked with the police, as they had asked to contact Anonymous. It’s funny seeing a policeman say an IRC nickname seriously.
We headed off the same path, we handed out over 300 flyers and even Jane Lomax-Smith dropped by and made a few choice comments that you should really see for yourself.
A great time had by all, even the security guards were laughing with us, scientologists coming and going (albeit taking our photos) and we were informed by the police that there were children inside, so we played some battletoads and fun songs for them.
So why not come down next protest? We had a blast, you will too.
Have fun taking down a dangerous cult in your spare time.
Today we would like to announce another part of our next protest:
Mass Mail Effect.
Put simply, one of the best way to effect change is to contact your politician, in this case federal representatives.
We live in a democracy, so it’s best we start treating it exactly like that.
So before the next protest, we will collaboratively create a form letter to address to issues such as the churches tax exempt status, it’s policy of disconnection and more.
Once finished, we will post the letter on this website ready for download and printing. Next protest, we ask that anon bring a copy of this letter, a stamp and a self addressed envelope.
Once we start, we will form a line next to a postbox, and upon a given signal, we will one by one post each letter to your local representative in a single democratic act our voices will be heard. YOU will be the one to post the letter, so your anonymity will not be broken.
This will be filmed and any responses that are received afterward should be emailed to AnonSA.
We also encourage non-anonymous (and Anonymous whom cannot attend the protest) to post the letter on the date of the protest to show their support and help ensure the anonymity of members.
We encourage you to spread the word and this idea.
