I love the smell of a cool frosty morning That biting feeling in your nose It smells like .. Victory Photos from outside the court, including Victor Charlie (anonymous), being interviewed starting here Now, for the clam counter-demo (hrmph!! ) Best Regards Jens
just back from the clam counter-demo. Anonymous decided to let the court speak for itself and leave the clams to brave the freezing weather. An hour (just over, I think) of inept drum-beating, confused slogan shouting and leafletting ensued. While there may have been as many as 200 clams towards the end, I think there are some 44800 clams missing (according to teh cult, they have 45000 members in France). Photos following the morning ones Best Regards Jens
Is a link ^^ Could you gauge the general public response Jens, either to the decision or the sci demonstration?
(Hey, I didn't chose the forum highlight styles ) Haven't had time to interact with the public - busy taking photos of the clams and rubbing my hands. (Cold, it was.) One of the clams passed through the cafe where I as having lunch. He dropped his "I'm a clam and I'm angrrrry" badge and a waiter and some regular customers had great fun passing it around and sticking it to each other's coats. Best Regards Jens
I know, I just didn't want anyone to miss the link. Thanks for the anecdote. Hope you've warmed up by now.
A Paris court has fined the Church of Scientology in France for fraud and handed five of its members fines and suspended sentences. Scientology critics are calling the decision historic - while the church says it will appeal to France's highest court. The appeals court ruling confirms a 2009 fraud charge that the Church of Scientology in France pressured its members to pay for books, courses and so-called "purification remedies" or questionable medical treatments. It fined the church and its bookshop a total of 600,000 euros or nearly $800,000. The court also handed suspended sentences and fines to five Scientologists. That included Alain Rosenberg, the head of the French church, who received a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of nearly $40,000. The church's spokesman in France was not available for comment. But a spokeswoman in the United States told the Associated Press news agency the church would appeal to France's highest court of Cassation, and the European Court of Human Rights. Lawyer Olivier Morice of UNADFI, a national association fighting religious sects in France, hailed the verdict as historic. Maurice told French radio the verdict paved the way for other legal decisions that may lead to the church's dissolution in France. He said many European countries had been waiting for the verdict - notably Germany and Belgium, which currently have legal proceedings against the Church of Scientology. Founded in the United States nearly 60 years ago, the Church of Scientology is legally a religion in the United States, Sweden and Spain. It has a number of celebrity members, including American actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise. But in France, Belgium and Germany, Scientology is considered a sect or cult and viewed with suspicion. Copyright (c) 2012 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.
Legally a religion? Bullshit! They extorted tax exempt status out of the IRS is all. The nation is not in the business of bestowing legitimacy on superstitions.
Some legal findings in Australia did call Scientology a religion. But context is everything. They used the phrases "sham religion" and "a mockery of religion" to describe Scientology.
