Arrived on the scene at 4:30 and observed 8-10 picketers congregated at the intersection of Bronson & Franklin Street. I presumed they were taking advantage of the shade provided by the trees there because it was a hot day with some humidity. I recognized Mark Bunker with his camcorder, Jeff Jacobsen, Zinjifar, Tom, and a few others who I've seen at other pickets.
Picket was peaceful and with exception of a few honking horns and pedestrians walking by, the picketers were generally ignored. Mark Bunker was being handled by a lanky man with glasses, not saying much, but just following him wherever he went. There was Scientology security stationed at the street corners with their radios. Soon thereafter, a young OSA rep showed up with a camcorder filming the picketers and Mark filmed him as he was filming Mark. I walked around the guy telling him how incredibly attractive he was and what I could do with that body of his. When I got behind him, I told him he had a great looking ass and lifted his shirt a bit to get a better look. The OSA guy jumped, spun around, walked backwards continuing to film, and ranting crazily into his radio that I had assaulted him. He then ran to the Tamarind Street location where LAPD officers were stationed. Mark told me he observed the guy complaining to the LAPD, and they just ignored him. He later returned, and said "Be nice now...no touching." I replied that I was just admiring his ass and didn't mean to scare him. He said, "So you enjoy being the gay thing? You like putting things up your butt, pervert?" I replied, "Yeah, I like to get it up the ass as much as David Miscavige gets it, but I know he gets more of it than I do." No response.
I also pointed out to Mark, "Javier", the head chef of the Renaissance Restaurant who was standing behind a tent facing Franklin trying to call someone on his cell phone.
Later, the critics stopped picketing to go eat at Sizzlers, inviting the Scientology handlers to accompany them, and one OSA rep, "J.R." who looked like a mix of James Garner and Wayne Newton) took them up on their offer.
When the critics returned, the took their picketing to the Tamarind Street area where the people and cars started showing up for the 30th Anniversary Party taking place tonite at the CC. Soon, Scientologists started showing up in droves with plaster boards, and signs advertising the Gala Party feverishly working to block our signs and prevent the WWW.XENU.NET banner being held by "Brian" and Zinj from being seen by the street traffic and passerby. The two OSAbots, "J.R." and "Vicki" and the sign-blocking Scienos worked overtime to engage the critics in conversation, and to letting their guard down. I went to Zinj and told him what they were doing to try to stop the picket. I saw one instance where this was occurring between Vicki (OSA) and Brian, who had stopped picketing at this point, and was engaged in friendly conversation. I asked Vicki why she was engaging us to draw our attention away from picketing, and she replied "I know you. You're obnoxious". In a heated reply, I told her she was a "bitch" which brought heated criticism from J.R. and other Scientologists and Brian (critic) who jumped to the defense of the Scientologists. I apologized to Vicki, she said OK, but the Scientologists were yammering on about how it was not possible for me to say I was sorry, and mean it, because of the intent behind my picketing.
Soon, a horde of Scientologists in tuxedos and evening gowns showed up with posters announcing the gala party, and one even brought out a poster board filled with Polaroid pics of a previous party, too small to be seen by the passing traffic, but hey, at least he tried to be useful. Something to put in his KR.
Later, J.R. approached me when I was talking to Vicki & Brian and asked me what my story was because he had asked Jeff Jacobsen and his female friend about me, and both Jeff and she said that I "worked for Scientology" and did not care for me. I told them that there are critics on ARS who believe that I am an OSA spy and a Scientologist, which Brian responded, "Garry, I don't believe that you are a Scientologist. I don't believe you are working for Scientology. I just think you're totally psychotic. You're a sociopath" which brought forth laughing and taunting from the OSAbots there. Vicki said "So, he lies about everything on Scientology?" Brian responded "yes". I told Brian that he was entitled to his opinion and left it at that.
I asked one of the picketers who held the sign that SCIENTOLOGY IS A FRAUD to give it to me to hold while he engaged in conversation with a Scientologist.
As usual, the Scientologists engaged in conversation, twisted the information, made claims that I said something that I did not, just to cause confusion. J.R. was incessant in drawing Mark Bunker's attention, and constantly calling him over to film him taunting me. Standard engagement technique.
I went to the curb on the street with my sign and immediately was confronted by 3 Scientologists blocking my sign. I looked to my right and saw a woman dressed to the nines in evening wear and jewelry holding a sign over her head doing everything she could to block Jeff Jacobsen and his sign. Jeff finally put his sign out sideways which the woman was unable to block because of a parked LAPD motorcycle, but immediately, another OSAbot showed up to Jeff's right cutting off Jeff.
As I was standing with my sign, being shoved back and forth by the aggressors trying to block my sign, one guy who was smaller than me and could not hold his sign as high as I could, kept leaping in the air to block my sign and falling onto me. I pushed him away from me which drew the yells of the Scientologists around me that I had assaulted one of them. The police officer shook his head, acknowledging that they were harassing me, and refused to do anything. I then moved 10 feet up the street and told the officer to watch the Scieno stalking me, and he did so, until I approached a crowd of Hispanics watching the action and I asked them if they noticed how Scientologists struggled to cover up our signs, and they said yes, all laughed and mocked Scientology. Immediately, the two that were all over me ran away back towards the CC.
I was disturbed to hear several of the critics attacking Ted Mayett, something to do with his opposition to the "SCIENTOLOGY KILLS" shirts and picketing the Las Vegas org. I replied that people can yammer whatever they want, but it takes a special courage for one man to face down an entire org., an on a continual basis. So much for "agreeing to disagree, but remaining united", huh?
I later engaged Vicki in a conversation and again, apologized to her and had a very cordial conversation with her. She asked me why I chose to be there at the picket when there was so much rumbling among the other critics present that I was a "Scientology spy" and "OSA spy." I told her that Scientologists are not the only ones in the world that are deluded and paranoid.
Mark, who was very considerate and respectful to me throughout, asked me questions about my loyalties and mentioned my role in destroying the Cult Awareness Network. J.R. asked, "Are you talking about the good one or the bad one?" I said the first one, whereas Mark pointed out that the bad one was the one currently being run by Scientology.
I reaffirmed that I am not a Scientologist, or a Scientology spy, but people are free to doubt, make false claims, and act from a sense of paranoia all they want. It doesn't bother me. Or they can believe the comment once made by Dennis Erlich...that I had a mental implant placed in my brain when I was in OSA, that Scientology could turn on and off, at will. Whatever!!!!
I also pointed out to Mark, on camera, one of the Scientologists, Patrick, in a tux directing traffic. Patrick accompanied Mike Rinder & Elliot Abelson on the full-scale harassment campaign in Los Angeles against German journalists Mona Boutros and Egmont Koch. I also pointed out one of the OSAbots covering up the WWW.XENU.NET banner as the one that locked the gate across the county road leading to the RPF camp in Happy Valley last year, preventing Bob Minton, Stacy, Frank Oliver, and I from driving to the camp. When I began vocalizing the identity of this guard, he put the sign down over his face and kept it there to prevent him from being filmed.
Perhaps, one of the more enjoyable interludes of the day (and evening) was the middle-aged woman who was filming everyone with her camcorder. Though the Scientologists were blocking our signs and putting them in front of the cameras of critics, they became quite belligerent when the tables were turned on them. The woman kept telling me "don't touch my camera", so I did the next best thing. I gave her THE TONGUE. I seductively waved my tongue in frot of her camera whenever she filmed and it enturbulated the daylights out of her.
At approximately 8:30, the picket was beginning to break up and Vicki and J.R. said they were leaving because they needed to change clothes to attend the party. I walked back to my car to find that someone had been in my car. All the window were rolled down and my headlights were turned on. I had a backpack in the front seat that had 2 bottles of prescription medication. The bottles were opened and the pills flung asunder inside my car. Some of the magazines in the backpack were removed and placed under the car seats. An unfinished cup of coffee that had been sitting in the car container was now on the floor, lid removed, and coffee all over the floor. Very nice guys!! Just shows how much maturity we can continue to expect from Scientologists..
Todays and tonight's picket turned out to be most eventful, confirmed in the manner in which ScienoBots aggressively sought to hide our signs which was noticed by quite a few people, resulting in the wrath & objections of passerby and once again, provided the Church of Scientology to utilize their workforce in a manner that made them look stupid, idiotic and acting like they very much have something to hide. GOOD JOB, CRITICS!! GREAT JOB SCIENOS MAKING THE CRITICS LOOK EVEN BETTER!!!!!
From: Garry <garry@newsguy.com>
Subject: OSAbot attacks Gerry Armstrong at picket....
Date: 31 Jul 1999 23:35:35 -0700
Among the few notable subjects of discussion brought up by the OSAbots assigned to handle me & Mark Bunker was Gerry Armstrong. The OSAbot, J.R., claimed that he "heard from someone" (yeah, right!) that Gerry and I did not like each other and had "attacked each other on the Internet." He then attempted the "good cop, bad cop" routine by degrading Gerry while praising me (a far cry from just 20 minutes earlier when he was ranting all kinds of vulgarity about me.)
I told the OSAbot that irrespective of the personal differences between Gerry and I, he was not all the garbage that this OSAbot chose to define him as, and the fact that Gerry received a substantial financial settlement from Scientology, and the cult has made every attempt to silence him, makes Gerry a continuing dominant threat to the Scientology corporation.
At this point, J.R. called Mark Bunker over and wanted to be filmed talking about how I "agreed" with his opinions reversing myself in something I said earlier. I calmly, for Mark's camera, explained what I said and how J.R. was using standard Scieno tech to twist and fabricate information, at which time, J.R. started barking "irrelevant, irrelevant." Mark interceded saying he thought it was very relevant, and J.R. backed down with his usual hemming and hawing trying to come up with another zinger to throw out.
It's amazing how much Scientology continues to brew and froth over the fact that they have not been able to silence Gerry Armstrong.
From: Garry <garry@newsguy.com>
Subject: Re: Dinner Invitation
Date: 31 Jul 1999 23:39:01 -0700
I want to thank the two critics who invited me to have dinner with them at Sizzler tonight. I became engaged in a long and cordial conversation with another critic who had to leave the picket early. I did not intend to snub you. As you know, talking is something I do all too well sometimes.
Next time, OK?
Garry