Factnet wird von Scientology angegriffen

From: tommolly@ix.netcom.com (Tom Dillon)
Newsgroups: alt.journalism
Subject:  Scientology picks another target
Date: 28 Mar 1995 03:48:44 GMT
Message-ID: <3l80us$93a@ixnews3.ix.netcom.com>


	The following is an e-mail I recieved from Lawrence Wolersheim, 
co-director of FACTNet. The organization is a survior's support service 
for ex-members of a variety of destructive cults. It is also a 
repository for all sorts of information on cults.

	I am in no way a representative for the organization or 
affiliated with it. I previously contacted Mr. Wollersheim on a personal 
matter.

	If you are in the position to do so, please consider writing a 
story in your publication about the Church of Scientology's efforts to 
destory this organizaiton. This seems to be only one of several 
organizations the "Church" is harrassing. I'm sure everyone has heard 
about the actions taken against Mr. Erlich recently.

	If you would like more information there are two good world 
wide web pages. The addresses are:

	http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/`sloth/sci/sci_index.html
or      

http://rnewman.www.media.mit.edu/people/rnewman/scientology/index.html

		Tom Dillon
		Acorn Press Newspapers
		(All opinions and all that other legal mumbo-jumbo are 	
	mine, not that of my employer)

		Please e-mail for more information.

An un-editied copy of Mr. Wollersheim's message follows:

>SUBJECT: EMERGENCY MESSAGE TO INTERNET USERS INTERESTED IN PROTECTING 
THE FREEDOM OF information on the THE INTERNET 

FROM LAWRENCE WOLLERSHEIM CO DIRECTOR OF FACTNET

For those of you unfamiliar with me I am a co-director of the United 
States non profit 501(c)(3) victim advocacy organization and electronic 
library and archive called FACTNet. We provide electronic information on 
dangerous cultic groups like Jonestown, Waco, the Swiss Solar Temple, 
and Scientology. 
Lately we have focused on public records and research information on 
Scientology because of the dangerousness of this group, its economic 
size, and its worldwide history of criminality.

Scientology has responded to our collecting and electronic making 
available of these public records by threatening our organization with 4 
lawsuits using three different law firms covering everything from 
copyrightinfringement to libel and slander. They have followed and 
intimidated our staff, attempted to infiltrate to possibly sabotage our 
organization, threatened our Internet Web page provider with a lawsuit, 
and they have even threatened to sue our secure mail and offices 
services provider (Mail Boxes Ect.) if they even send out another fax 
out for us.

Through Scientology's now notorious overt and covert operations (just 
onewas as widespread anonymous  mailings calling FACTNet's Board of 
Directors and network associates everything from criminals, perverts, 
con men, CIA operatives to insane) Scientology seems to be taking every 
step to destroy our ability to archive and preserve public records and 
research and make those records available to the public who wants them 
now or who will want this information in the future. Over the past year 
FACTNet has been able to survive this onslaught, but we are a small 
humbly funded all volunteer organization and are getting to the point 
that if our insurance premium is raised because of all these new 
threatened lawsuits we will not be able to continue to exist. (We are 
paying $1,000 a month in insurance now.) 

We also are concerned the library and archive may soon be made 
unavailable to the public because we believe that we are about to be 
raided and our equipment seized. We believe Scientology is preparing to 
do a search and seizure of our premises based on false affidavits and 
illegal applications of copyright law as it applies to religious 
freedom. This raid expectation is not at all paranoid. This just 
happened to Dennis Erlick a outspoken Scientology Internet critic.

Although our organization is expendable and our staff have come to grips 
with we may be run out of operation by the nazi tactics of Scientology, 
the information in our library is NOT expendable and much of it is NOT 
replaceable. We urgently need you to help us frustrate this new 
"electronic book and library burning" evolution of Nazism for the 90's 
called Scientology. Do this by downloading as much of our library as you 
can to safe places around the world and helping get our report out. 

It is very important for you to help us tell the Internet and non 
internet world what is happening to us. Pass and copy this message to 
other BBS's, other libraries and library associations, and other 
Internet Newsgroups so that everyone who should know about this new 
Scientology form of electronic book and library burning and intimidation 
on the Net will be informed. (We simply do not know everyone to turn to 
and who is best out there that can help us frustrate Scientology's 
efforts to destroy our library and to curtail Internet freedom of 
information.)

If others are informed maybe they will know what to do to creatively and 
ethically to show this neo nazi cult the power of free and open dialog 
and what will happen to them when brave individuals and brave coalitions 
are willing to fight for this valuable freedom which libraries and 
archives such as we at FACTNet help preserve. For those faint hearted 
who have heard what Scientology does to its critics, take heart. It is 
not generally known, but if you can last the harassment  Scientology is 
horribly unsuccessful in the courts. It really has NO victories other 
than intimidating critics by spending or scaring them into silence. Like 
cowards Scientology usually only attacks those who have no insurance or 
whom they believe are weak or they can intimidate or wear down. 

I do not say the following lightly or for effect. Scientology really IS 
the new face of Nazism, a  "white" collar new evolution of Nazism drawn 
in substantial part from the worst of the secret society principles and 
occultism of the old Nazism. (FACTNet has a report coming out soon on 
all the details of this.) For those of you who understand what Nazism 
does if it is not resisted and understand the "NEVER AGAIN" painful 
lessons learned from the rise of the first generation of Nazism we 
invite you to stand with FACTNet to stop or frustrate this ruthless 
organization's efforts before it destroys our library.

If you are going to help you must act now! We have only a matter of a 
few weeks left before we may loose our insurance be forced to go off 
line because of Scientology's activities. Begin downloading all of or 
the best of our library so the information is preserved. 

Our direct BBS # in the U.S. is 1-303-530-1942. Call this number and 
follow the instructions on the screen.  (There is no downloading charge 
and the downloading is unlimited.)

Thank you for your help, ideas and courage in advance,

Lawrence Wollersheim 
Lawrence Wollersheim, Co-founder and Executive director of F.A.C.TNet, 
Denver, Colorado, USA e-mail: lawrence@factnet.org



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