Empire of the Odd

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Enterprise Security, 7th February 2011 10:15 GMT

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The Anonymous hacking collective took revenge on a security firm that had investigated its membership on Sunday.

HBGary Federal has been seeking to uncloak the identities of senior members of Anonymous involved in attacks against financial services firms, such as PayPal and Mastercard, that had suspended accounts run by WikiLeaks. The security consultancy had infiltrated IRC chat sessions and Facebook groups used by core members of the Anonymous collective. HBGary Federal wanted to present its research at an upcoming security conference.

In response, Anonymous did a number on HBGary by hacking into its email system and uploading 60,000 emails onto file-sharing networks. Anonymous also defaced HBGary’s website with an image explaining their motives as well as taking over the Twitter feed of HBGary’s chief exec, Aaron Barr, to tweet abuse as well as supposed details of his home address and social security number. LinkedIn accounts of other senior HBGary execs were also targeted for attack.

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Members of an FBI task force on human trafficking have been investigating the Church of Scientology for more than a year according to an article in this week’s New Yorker. It’s the scientology expose we’ve been all waiting for.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright?currentPage=all

As expected, New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright’s massive profile of ex-Scientologist writer-director Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) contains many interesting revelations about the Church of Scientology and the life of a prominent member. Chief among these is the existence of an ongoing FBI investigation into allegations of abuse by Scientology’s leader David Miscavige, and the enslavement of members of Scientology’s religious order, “Sea Org”. (Recently, former Sea Org members claimed to have been forced to have abortions.)

According to the article, agents from an FBI task force on human trafficking have been interviewing former members of Scientology about abuse in the church since at least December, 2009, and the case remains open. Why human trafficking?

Lawrence writes:

The laws regarding tra?cking were built largely around forced prostitution, but they also pertain to slave labor. Under federal law, slavery is de?ned, in part, by the use of coercion, torture, starvation, imprisonment, threats, and psychological abuse. The California penal code lists several indicators that someone may be a victim of human tra?cking: signs of trauma or fatigue; being afraid or unable to talk, because of censorship by others or security measures that prevent communication with others; working in one place without the freedom to move about; owing a debt to one’s employer; and not having control over identification documents. Those conditions echo the testimony of many former Sea Org members…
Scientology’s financial exploitation of its members and brutal, stalkery retention practices always seemed to barely skirt the edges of legality. Looks like they might have crossed over into outright slavery. How Biblical.

There’s a lot more good stuff in the 28-page article that hits the web tonight at midnight. And it’s just a fraction of what Wright will be unloading in an upcoming book about Scientology. Plenty of ex-Scientologists have told-all in the past, but Haggis’ prominence and Wright’s reporting chops should have high-powered Scientologists’ E-meters going haywire right now.

Send an email to Adrian Chen, the author of this post, at adrian@gawker.com.

[[[[FROM]]]]

[[[[The New Yorker, The Apostate. Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology.]]]]

Literally, I just received a text from Mr. Hawes announcing Grant’s cousin 12 yr old Chad Ray Stilson just walked in the door and is home safe!!! This is a perfect example as why we (society) should take a missing child alert seriously. In addition, fabricating a missing child should not […]

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SECURITY was tight as hundreds of Scientologists and their guests gathered to open the controversial church’s new headquarters in Ascot Vale, Melbourne, on Saturday.

All afternoon, a procession of well-dressed church members could be seen making their way to the Mt Alexander Rd site, which was guarded by about 20 security guards.

High-profile Scientologist Kate Ceberano arrived about 4.30pm.

The massive compound, which was bought from the Catholic Church for $7 million in 2005, has been renovated at an estimated cost of $20 million and includes a large chapel, a public auditorium, course rooms and a multimedia public information centre.

Guests – including Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Robert Doyle – arriving for the opening were greeted by a small number of protesters wearing masks and chanting anti-Scientology slogans.

“I am here because my friend Kate Ceberano invited me to be here, and people should take nothing more from it than that,” Mr Doyle said.

But he was attacked by independent South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon.

“He is the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and indirectly he is lending his support to this organisation,” he said.

All afternoon, a procession of well-dressed church members could be seen making their way to the Mt Alexander Rd site, which was guarded by about 20 security guards.
High-profile Scientologist Kate Ceberano arrived about 4.30pm.
The massive compound, which was bought from the Catholic Church for $7 million in 2005, has been renovated at an estimated cost of $20 million and includes a large chapel, a public auditorium, course rooms and a multimedia public information centre.
Guests – including Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Robert Doyle – arriving for the opening were greeted by a small number of protesters wearing masks and chanting anti-Scientology slogans.
“I am here because my friend Kate Ceberano invited me to be here, and people should take nothing more from it than that,” Mr Doyle said.
But he was attacked by independent South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon.
“He is the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and indirectly he is lending his support to this organisation,” he said.

[[[FROM]]]

An uprising in Tunisia led to the overthrow of the country’s 23-year long dictatorship of President Ben Ali. A new ‘transitional’ government was formed, but the protests continued demanding a totally new government without the relics of the previous tyranny. Protests in Algeria have continued for weeks, as rage mounts against rising food prices, corruption and state oppression. Protests in Jordan forced the King to call on the military to surround cities with tanks and set up checkpoints. Tens of thousands of protesters marched on Cairo demanding an end to the 30-year dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Thousands of activists, opposition leaders and students rallied in the capitol of Yemen against the corrupt dictatorship of President Saleh, in power since 1978. Saleh has been, with U.S. military assistance, attempting to crush a rebel movement in the north and a massive secessionist movement growing in the south, called the “Southern Movement.” Protests in Bolivia against rising food prices forced the populist government of Evo Morales to backtrack on plans to cut subsidies. Chile erupted in protests as demonstrators railed against rising fuel prices. Anti-government demonstrations broke out in Albania, resulting in the deaths of several protesters.

It seems as if the world is entering the beginnings of a new revolutionary era: the era of the ‘Global Political Awakening.’ While this ‘awakening’ is materializing in different regions, different nations and under different circumstances, it is being largely influenced by global conditions. The global domination by the major Western powers, principally the United States, over the past 65 years, and more broadly, centuries, is reaching a turning point. The people of the world are restless, resentful, and enraged. Change, it seems, is in the air. As the above quotes from Brzezinski indicate, this development on the world scene is the most radical and potentially dangerous threat to global power structures and empire. It is not a threat simply to the nations in which the protests arise or seek change, but perhaps to a greater degree, it is a threat to the imperial Western powers, international institutions, multinational corporations and banks that prop up, arm, support and profit from these oppressive regimes around the world. Thus, America and the West are faced with a monumental strategic challenge: what can be done to stem the Global Political Awakening? Zbigniew Brzezinski is one of the chief architects of American foreign policy, and arguably one of the intellectual pioneers of the system of globalization. Thus, his warnings about the ‘Global Political Awakening’ are directly in reference to its nature as a threat to the prevailing global hierarchy. As such, we must view the ‘Awakening’ as the greatest hope for humanity. Certainly, there will be mainy failures, problems, and regressions; but the ‘Awakening’ has begun, it is underway, and it cannot be so easily co-opted or controlled as many might assume.

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I have been part of scifake for over two years and I have learned through research, reading emails, reading comments right here …that there are some “real” crackpots and wicked people within the paranormal community. Seriously …some take battling for the Holy Grail of evidence too far and the absence of a clear mind is incontestable.

Threats have been made, evidence invented and stones have been thrown and for what reason (s)? To dethrone a ghost empire and be considered for the next unconvincing paranormal show? Laughable and cynical.

Seriously, if you think for one second (because of your significant ghost hunting skills) that you’ll be standing tall next to Jason Hawes or Zak Bagans hunting ghosts, then I’d like to show you my collection of W.M.D.S buried in my backyard next to where I entombed Saddam.

Team on team attacks!

These range in nature and severity from smear campaigns to theft of equipment and even identity.

In recent days, I have received credible information about one reformed person who has a long criminal record (many felonies) and he is a founder of paranormal team located in Tennessee. The sender (person who provided me with this information) insisted on my exploiting this paranormal gangsta and I refused! Why? Because the sender (in my opinion) is another paranormal screwball looking to hitch his wagon to the Scifake Goodness train! In addition, it’s also my opinion the sender is begrudging the success of his adversary and contacting scifake was for ALL the wrong reasons and I refuse to be part of his harebrained fishing expedition.

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Foremost …this is not about TAPS, the collar tug or Ghost Hunters. It’s about the alleged exploitation of a child and Jason Hawes helping Scifake spread the word about this abominable hoax. Put your personal feelings aside about Ghost Hunters and let’s focus on Maddie. After all, you don’t see Zak and crew spreading the word about this story http://scifake.com/?p=3925.

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Most Americans say it is very likely or somewhat likely that humans are not alone in the universe and that intelligent life exists on other planets.

Only a third of adults, however, believe it’s either very likely or somewhat likely that intelligent aliens from space have visited our planet, according to a survey of 1,003 adults conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.

The poll revealed that one in every 12 Americans has seen a mysterious object in the sky that might have been a visitor from another world, while nearly one in every five personally knows someone who has seen an unidentified flying object.

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Editor’s Notes: If this information is correct (appears to be), this may be the most disturbing story ever reported by scifake and a HUGE slap in the face to ALL parents who reported a child missing.

This story reminds me of the Hot Air Balloon hoax. The father claimed the boy went missing in the balloon (after it took off) hoping to appear on a reality TV show.

Keep this one thought in mind, the domain name www.maddieismissing.com was purchased three months prior to this little girl’s alleged disappearance.

Scifake will keep you updated with more information when it is available. NOW … go grab your barf bag because you will need it.

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