> But now, since the purpose of a cult lawsuit is to harass and discourage
> rather than to win, Mark is going to be travelling back and forth to
> Chicago and using lawyers as often as they can make it happen, for as
> long as they can make it happen. The eventual outcome of the case
> doesn't matter much, if the cult wins it's just a bonus, that's not the
> purpose of the lawsuit.

I really think, though, that the cult has crossed a line here. If LMT and people here on ARS coordinate the effort to *get the story out* the cult may have a *major* PR flap on its hands. The press in this country does *not* take kindly to people paying hired goons (*especially* when they are off-duty cops) to rough up journalists on the streets. This case is a MAJOR violation of Mark Bunker's First Amendment rights -- especially since it was done to a) prevent coverage of a specific event a b) to intimidate Mark and others from covering Scientology-related stories.

Incidentally, there has been a background murmer of doubt that Mark qualifies as a "journalist." I'm sorry, but I can't see where there can be any doubt. He provides valuable, current information to an eager audience. His purpose is to inform, and there are a lot of people out there who turn to Xenu-TV for the latest news about the cult. The fact that he has a bias against the cult is irrelevant -- because his audience knows and expects that. Anyone who reads "The Daily Worker" knows what to expect -- that doesn't mean its reporters aren't journalists. After all, can anyone really say that there is in this country such a thing as an "unbiased" media outlet? Mother Jones, for example, is widely regarded for its investigative reporting -- but you will rarely find a more biased publication in the "mainstream" press (yes, I know it's on the liberal fringe of the mainstream. The point, though, is that the courts have widely recognized people like Mark as journalists.

Frankly, I don't see how the prosecution even thinks it has a case. It will have to brand the two doctors and Mark as liars, rely on purjured testimony from the cops and cultists, and somehow explain away the fact that the most valuable piece of evidence has "gone missing." The claim by the prosecution that there never was a tape in the camera is prepostrous and goes to show how prosecutors in this country often check their common sense at the door when they think they can get a conviction. Mark has an audience that would have *loved* to see that footage. Any thing he gets on tape has value, as there is an immediate interest for even the most mundane events -- primarliy because it gives us all a sense of comfort and satisfaction to know that ARS essentially has its own web TV station...which is more than the cult can say.

OK, I realize I am rambling. I truly believe, though, that the treatment of Mark will be a *disaster* for the cult, and I will do everything in my power to make it so.