This raid was a small one, yes, but it was still plenty of fun…
5 minute read
July 13, 2009, 8:44 PM
I don’t know what it is, but it seems that there’s something about July that makes for low turnout at raids. Last year’s July raid, Spy vs. Sci, also generated a small turnout, though that was attributable to the diversion of much energy from the global raid to the Over 9000 Anon March, which was being held the following weekend. This time, though… who knows.
The theme for the July raid was supposed to be “Tiny Tyrants”, referring to Religious Technology Center head David Miscavige, whom newspapers recently reported as having a tendency to use violence as a means of managing people, and who is somewhat short in stature, measuring a mere 5’5″ – somewhat short as American men go. However, in practice, that idea got thrown out the window, and we just did a general anti-Scientology raid. After all, in the year and a half that we’ve been doing this, we’ve generated a fair amount of signage, and these once again were put to good use.
Meanwhile, I did my own costume a bit differently this time around. As you may know, I usually wear a zentai to raids during the summer months. This one was no exception, but surprise – I had a new zentai this time around. Usually, I wear a black zentai with eye holes in the hood. This new one was bright green, and is more pure in its form, containing a completely blank face – no eye holes. That caused a considerable limitation in my vision, but it definitely made for a new and different raid experience. And I’d practiced ahead of time, walking around the house with the hood up, so I wouldn’t look like a complete fool navigating the sidewalks around the Org with spandex over my eyes. Yes, you can see through the zentai’s hood, but only mildly well. I’ll have to take a photo from inside the hood some time so you can see what I mean.
Continue reading…Categories: Project Chanology
“Do what you want ’cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!”
5 minute read
June 17, 2009, 9:54 PM
This past Saturday, Anonymous DC held its June raid, protesting the Church of Scientology. This time, we took the always-popular pirate theme for our raids, which means that we dressed in stereotypical pirate garb. As was the case last year, the pirate-themed raid was a LOT of fun. And like last year, our raid was the same weekend as the Capital Pride festival, which ties in nicely with Scientology protests. After all, Scientology can arguably be labeled as homophobic.
Early on, we got visited by two people in bikinis. One of them went into the Org wearing just the bikini. Not all that surprisingly, she got kicked out, with the Scientologists citing that she wasn’t wearing enough clothes.
Exiting the Org after being kicked out, and making a sad face for the camera due to her getting kicked out of the Org.
Categories: Project Chanology
Keeping the pressure on until we can take to the streets…
< 1 minute read
May 3, 2009, 12:59 AM
In reaction to last weekend’s violence in the streets:
Categories: Activism
It was short, but it was a lot of fun…
3 minute read
April 27, 2009, 10:14 PM
So as expected, I went to the mainstream march for the World Bank/IMF protests. It was a lot of fun, though it only lasted for about 90 minutes. Thus this was short as far as protests go. But it was spirited, and went off without a hitch.
The march met up on Sunday at 2:00 PM in Dupont Circle. The crowd was diverse, as the World Bank affects a very diverse swath of humanity. Before the crowd of approximately 150 people stepped off on the march, people gave speeches:
Categories: Fire alarms, World Bank
I am shocked…
< 1 minute read
April 26, 2009, 12:58 AM
According to Luke, it would seem that the protests today against the World Bank and the IMF in DC this weekend turned hot and heavy on Saturday, with pepper spray and injuries:
I literally watched this video open-mouthed, as I was shocked by what I saw, as the protests turned ugly. I also realized that I really dodged a bullet on this one, because if not for the fact that I needed a day to prepare for a trip out of town next week, I would have probably been right in the thick of this battle in the streets, where pepper spray was used on demonstrators, and protesters were allegedly sent over a fence and into a park, and one demonstrator was sent to the hospital for a broken leg.
I consider many of these anti-capitalist demonstrators as my friends, and would hate to see anything happen to any of them. This distresses me greatly. I am planning on turning out for the mainstream march on the same issue on Sunday at 2 PM in Dupont Circle, and hopefully I will see all of my friends show up to that demonstration uninjured, and that the prognosis for those injured is good.
Categories: World Bank
And then today… flash raid!
2 minute read
April 22, 2009, 11:42 PM
Building on the success of the April “global raid” on Saturday, we flash-raided Wednesday evening. We were ready, too, and capitalized on the alleged assault on one of our Anons that happened on Saturday. I made a sign that said, “What kind of religion PHYSICALLY ASSAULTS its critics? The CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY!” Additionally, I brought forty copies of a “wanted poster” that another Anon made up about the assault that included the case number. I came over straight from work.
I actually had planned to flash raid on Tuesday, but a few things came up to throw that plan off. First of all, I had to take care of something for work that evening. Secondly, the weather didn’t cooperate, as I saw lightning on the way home on Tuesday. Good thing I wasn’t out flash-raiding! As a result, all my Anon stuff (the poster, the flyers, my Guy Fawkes mask) spent the night in my “man-sized safe” at work.
But Wednesday worked out – we had beautiful weather, though it was a touch on the cold side. We had great fun, the Org was hopping, and we enturbulated the people at the Org. We also gave out ALL of our flyers.
Categories: Project Chanology
With clear skies, and temperatures in the mid-70s, what better day to have a raid?
4 minute read
April 22, 2009, 9:53 PM
You really couldn’t ask for a better day to raid. You really couldn’t. This past Saturday, the sun was shining, and temperatures were in the mid-70s. Perfect raid weather.
And thus April 18, 2009 was when Anonymous DC had its monthly raid against the Church of Scientology. We had better turnout than we’ve had at the last several raids (we counted 22 people at one point), and we had fun, with a theme of Watchmen.
As we arrived, one thing stuck out prominently. We usually write messages all over the sidewalk in front of the Org and on the triangle across the street from the Org, but this time, the sidewalk was pre-chalked! Turned out that it was a little counter-protesting, as the “chalk tech”, as we called it, promoted the Youth for Human Rights International organization – a Scientology front group. Take a look:
Categories: Project Chanology
GENTLEMEN!
5 minute read
April 12, 2009, 10:19 PM
No one expects the Inquisition. And this time, Anonymous, as part of Operation Inquisition, raided the Scientology “Mission” in Richmond, under the theme of “Operation GENTLEMEN”.
Richmond was a little different than most, because in Virginia, wearing a mask is illegal. Seriously – it’s a class 6 felony. Thus Anonymous went unmasked. That’s not to say, however, that people didn’t go to this raid completely out in the open. While some people didn’t care about being seen and photographed completely unmasked, others used fake facial hair to disguise themselves. One Anon wore a set of “Groucho glasses” with a fake nose and mustache, while the women used spirit gum to attach fake mustaches and goatees to their faces. And so here we are, raiding in Richmond:
Categories: Project Chanology, Richmond
Anonymous DC does Philadelphia…
5 minute read
March 30, 2009, 1:21 AM
On Saturday, March 28, Anonymous DC pulled off a surprise raid outside the Church of Scientology in Philadelphia. We told no one, not even our own parents. We called it “Operation Inquisition”, because no one was expecting us, just as no one expects the Inquisition. And at 9 AM, we departed, arriving in Philadelphia just past noon. Thank goodness for HT’s GPS, which guided us straight to our destination without problem.
And having parked the cars, our raid began outside the Church of Scientology in Philadelphia. This was a very different experience than raiding outside our own local Founding Church of Scientology. For one, we have more room in DC. We have the sidewalk in front of the Founding Org, as well as the triangle across the street. In Philadelphia, we had half of a somewhat narrow sidewalk in front of – get this – a “storefront church”. Yes, the Org in Philadelphia is a storefront location, with two “Free Stress Test” signs on the door. How fail.
But regardless of what it might have looked like, we raided it. The cops, who came out to see what was up, even noticed that we weren’t the usual Anonymous that raids outside this Org. Yes, we were from DC, and Philadelphia Anonymous had been “pwned”.
The storefront Org.
Categories: Philadelphia, Project Chanology
And this is why we don’t normally write Journal entries in the early morning…
2 minute read
March 18, 2009, 11:09 PM
So I was reading over the previous Journal entry, and I remembered why I don’t normally write Journal entries in the early morning. Yeah, I was a bit scattered, as my writing was kind of all over the place, there. I don’t even remember writing about the conservatives being back on their meds, for one thing, but there it is, and then I kind of went off on a shoe tangent at the end.
Lesson to take from this: Writing Journal entries while still half-asleep is bad.
But nonetheless, I’m excited for tomorrow. Funk the War ought to be fun, as long as I’m smart about my cameras. It’s supposed to rain on and off, and after losing Big Mavica in a rainstorm, the policy is that as soon as it begins raining, Duckie becomes the active camera immediately, even if it means I am denied use of the Canon at a protest for the second time in a row. So we’ll see what happens on this final day of winter, as we, like, rock out in the streets and denounce the war.
Categories: Anti-war, Schumin Web meta
Two demonstrations in three days?
3 minute read
March 18, 2009, 4:50 AM
Yeah, I’m going to two demonstrations in about three days’ time, which is something unusual for me. Usually things aren’t spaced so closely, but this is what happens sometimes.
Thursday is the sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, and that day will be full of activism in DC for it. I’m planning to attend another Funk the War demonstration with DC SDS, and hopefully, unlike last year, all my equipment will come out intact this time. The Canon didn’t get to come out for the Anon raid last weekend, so Funk the War will be its first protest, provided the weather cooperates. According to AccuWeather, it will be in the mid-50s, and raining on and off throughout the day. Thus it might be Duckie’s time to shine again, but hopefully I’ll get to see how the Canon does in the bouncy conditions of a protest. Duckie, meanwhile, is a known quantity at protests, and does quite well in the daytime, as it was pressed into service, by necessity, as the primary camera for the NSM Counter-Protest last April.
Then on Saturday, March 21, there will be another march on the Pentagon, sponsored by ANSWER Coalition. This hopefully will not be a repeat of the March on the Pentagon from two years ago, but we shall see, I suppose. Recall that I described the previous Pentagon march as a poor idea, since it was in not-very-visible locations, and the final rally was in the Pentagon’s somewhat-isolated north parking lot – in front of an office building that would be mostly empty on the weekend. Of course, what a difference two years makes otherwise, though – last time, I had received numerous threatening messages from right-wing wackos just ahead of the event, and this time, I seem to have slipped in under the conservative radar. And when you consider that the de facto leader of the Republican party is Rush Limbaugh, of all people, they have more pressing matters to worry about than threatening activists. And with the right-wing wackos safely back on their medicine, AccuWeather indicates that it will be sunny and again in the mid-50s on Saturday. Excellent!
Something about the rain that keeps people home…
4 minute read
March 15, 2009, 10:39 PM
Anonymous had its March raid on Saturday, and those of us who came out to brave the cold and the rain had a great time protesting the Church of Scientology. It was raining on and off all day, and it was a bit cool, which makes for cold rain. It was enough to where I had to leave the Canon in the bag and shoot with Duckie all day. I had kind of figured that the Canon’s first protest would be an Anon raid (specifically, this one), but it looks like that distinction will go to a Funk the War demonstration later this week.
Nonetheless, though, for those of us who came out, we had a blast, “celebrating” L. Ron Hubbard‘s 98th birthday. And of course, we got photos…
JB got us started on the right foot, with a “Honk if you oppose Scientology” sign for MaidofWin to troll the cars with. The use of “oppose” was new this time, since consensus was that the previous “Honk if you hate Scientology” was playing too much into the Church of Scientology’s hands. We don’t hate them, after all, and we would welcome any Scientologist who escapes the cult with open arms. We oppose Scientology’s practices.
Categories: Project Chanology
So what is this supposed to accomplish?
< 1 minute read
March 9, 2009, 5:55 PM
Okay, check this out:
(Apologies for the butt crack – I have no control over that)
Categories: Project Chanology
Why is it that I always seem to finish photo set projects at two in the morning?
2 minute read
March 1, 2009, 2:49 AM
Yep… it’s almost 3 AM on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, and in the last hour or so, I finally finished Midnight March, which is about a protest against the World Bank and IMF during their fall 2008 meetings.
This set was more challenging than most protest sets I’ve shot. I’ve done plenty of protest marches before, both in daylight, as well as at night. I believe my most recent nighttime protest photo before that one was October Rebellion, specifically the Georgetown march. That was shot in some of the worst weather conditions that I had ever experienced during a protest march. After all, it was raining hard, and it was cold. Plus everyone was on edge due to the way that march was promoted. But for Midnight March, I had the weather on my side, as the skies were completely clear. And it was only slightly cool outside, much to my delight. Very comfortable protest weather. But the camera was something of an unknown quantity. I had barely done any shooting at night with the Kodak, with most of the nighttime shooting consisting of two Anon raids, and a day out with Katie. And all those were cases where I could carefully line up my shots. Can’t do that at a protest march, unfortunately. You have to go with the flow and keep up with the crowd.
Categories: Photography, Schumin Web meta, World Bank
We had far more than enough win to go around on Saturday night thanks to a model UN conference…
3 minute read
February 16, 2009, 12:35 PM
So I had fun on Valentine’s Day, and it had nothing at all to do with love. After all, I am single, and all these couples getting kissy on Valentine’s Day makes me nauseous after a while. I am one of the many who calls the day “Singles Awareness Day” for that matter.
But yes, the fun came not from actually getting a date or something, but rather, I, along with a small group of other DC Anons, raided outside the Founding Church of Scientology. This was Part 2 of a two-part strategy for that day. Part 1 was a visit to Katsucon, which is an anime and manga convention for enthusiasts of the genre, being held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, where we had previously held AnonyCon. The mission there was basically trolling, going around and handing out literature in the non-paid areas to Katsucon participants. I’m told it went well until Anonymous was booted due to fire code issues – Katsucon was at capacity with the paid participants, and Anonymous trolling put them over the limit as far as occupancy loads went.
I skipped Katsucon mainly because of Metro. Metro took the entire Presidents’ Day weekend to do a major track maintenance project on the C&L Junction (where the Blue and Yellow Lines join just north of Pentagon), and thus Pentagon station was closed, cutting off Pentagon City and below from the rest of the system. I didn’t want to deal with a bus bridge between L’Enfant Plaza and Pentagon City, so I skipped it.
Categories: Project Chanology