From: Joe's Garage <swatron@hotmail.com>
Subject: Operation Clambake webmaster honored
Date: Tue, 6 May 2003 19:20:46 -0400
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1030506191726.112A-100000@darkstar.zippy>

http://www.ntskeptics.org/news/news2003-05-04.htm

Operation Clambake webmaster honored

On May 18, the 2003 Leipzig Human Rights Award will be given to Andreas Heldal-Lund, a Norwegian freethinker who has worked to expose the Church of Scientology with his Operation Clambake web site at www.xenu.net. The award ceremony is to be held in Leipzig, the home of a large human rights movement in what used to be East Germany. It is hosted by a citizen's committee composed of Europeans and Americans of diverse beliefs who support "human rights and religious freedom in the USA."

Over the years, Scientology representatives have used a variety of not-so-subtle methods to suppress information at Heldal-Lund's Operation Clambake site. Their contrived efforts have not infrequently backfired.

Last year, for instance, the lawsuit-happy Church invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to have Google remove "Clambake" links from its base index. To the relief of free-speech advocates, however, the widely acclaimed search engine found a way not to totally give in to the litigious sect.

In his approach to Scientology, Heldal-Lund operates on the principle that people have a right to know what to expect -- prior to handing over increasingly exorbitant amounts of money in exchange for unproven claims.

Therefore, he created and maintains a web site that has appeared on national television and is known throughout the world for documenting and counteracting practices ranging from unethical sales to potential human rights abuses, especially with regards to children. In return, Scientology has grimly made its presence known both to Heldal-Lund and his ISPs over the site's six years of existence. Through it all, Heldal-Lund has unflinchingly demonstrated that Scientology conceals important features of its doctrines that would, if they were known, keep people from acting rashly, a benefit that is easily generalized to other areas.

The award committee is also concerned about a timely message, "the European-American friendship for which we have all been working so hard in the past decades." In this regard, they "are concerned about the attacks by the Scientology organization on the lives and human dignity of not only its own members, but also of its critics" on both side of the Atlantic.

The official award site, including how to get registered in the Tabula Gratulatoria, which is presented to the recipient along with a beautifully scripted Award certificate http://www.leipzig-award.org/englisch/begruendung_2003.htm

Suggested background sites:

http://www.politechbot.com/p-03929.html, look for post by Dave Touretzky, Subject: latest Scientology snow job

"The Clam FAQ", http://www.xenu.net/clam_faq.html

---

Joe Cisar http://cisar.org

The Press and Public Relations Policies of Layfayette Ronald Hubbard http://www.xenu.net/archive/thesis/cisar-home.html

To all those on ARS who say that the wolf will alway come to the door wearing the same disguise, I say go read some history ... Bob Minton

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