Consensus

I don't expect you all to know me, but those that do will grasp the significance of the fact that I am posting about the endgame.

I've posted several times using a chess analogy, and each time I was encouraging Chanology to think long-term, arguing AGAINST the idea that we're in the end game. You can find the relevant posts here and here.

It's important to keep in mind that, in a chess match, it's not uncommon for the end game to entail more moves than the opening and middle game combined. Don't expect a swift victory; but it's reached a point where victory is assured for very little effort, so long as we keep our head about us and pay attention.

OSA may take solace in the fact that we are less active than we were a year ago. Fewer of us log in, fewer of us protest, and those of us that do, do so with less frequency. But they're missing the most significant point: it requires far less effort from us to damage them than it did in February of 2009. And if it still required the level of effort, odds are good we'd produce that effort. In the Taoist philosophy, the guiding principle is 'non-doing, nothing left undone.' We are non-doing. This is what 'Fabian' means, in sci-speak.

And if we are Fabian, it means they are not.

On to the chess analogy!

The opening, as I've explained before, is setting up the pieces.
Their efforts failed completely; cops love us, we continued to fight, and if you showed the Guy Fawkes mask to random people and asked for an interpretation... sure, a lot wouldn't know what it is, and most would say 'V for Vendetta!', but many would describe it as the brand for the Scientology Critics movement, and NONE would suggest a similarity to the Ku Klux Klan.

So the middle game played out, and pieces were taken.

The media battle played out, and we won. Sure, we don't 'control' the media, but we made sure the media was emboldened, and unafraid of the cult. We'd certainly like to see the media take a keener interest in the story, but in the grand scheme of things this war is insignificant to most people. But when the media reports on it, it's overwhelmingly critical of the cult - and that's what matters.

The battle for the minds of Scientologists played out, and it was a victory. Australian Scientologists left in droves - resembling remarkably the 'exodus' prediction I was talking about last March. It hasn't happened everywhere, nor in the numbers we'd like, but if you've been paying attention to ESMB, every couple days some new ex-scilon posts there, and often it was in part due to our efforts that 1) they found the courage to leave the cult and 2) they were not intimidated into remaining silent after leaving.

The PR battle has been won. Sure, when Travolta's son died, we didn't get a flood of newspapers accusing John of allowing Scientology to kill his son, but that angle did get coverage, and persists. When David Carradine died, there was coverage about his Scientology connections. I don't think we got the press we deserved when Isaac Hayes died, but we're no worse off for it. There's currently a story about Nancy Cartright's ex-fiancee killing himself; we'll see if it has legs, but it's already had 'legs enough.'

The celeb war has been won. Scientology celebs are broke and out of work. They're all embarrassments to both hollywood and the cult. And everybody knows it.

We have the advantage on the legal front. There are several cases moving forward against the cult, from France to Mark Headley's case. The cult can't reasonably expect these suits to slow down, either - and the moment they lose even ONE of these cases, the torrent will open up.

The cult has lost influence with local police forces, as - over the course of a year and a half - patterns have emerged. Police aren't stupid; and they know that Scientology will accuse us of everything, and that we will consistently be the best-behaved protesters they've ever encountered. The cult has done itself no favors, and the current situation in DC is this coming to a head. Ideally, I'd like us to have someone on the DC force willing to speak to officers in other cities, if incidents break out there, to give them some idea of what to expect and how to interpret things.

We've liberated the exes. They feel free to communicate openly, to associate, and - in many cases - to reveal their identities. And they feel free to speak up, to voice their opinions to the public, to ask for refunds, and even to file lawsuits when they feel it's warranted.

The FBI's been rather silent, but that's how they operate. We should not assume prosecution is coming, but we should welcome it if it does. Nonetheless, we should not imagine that this tiny bit of the war is important; we can win without it. And we should not assume we have the advantage here, since we've no evidence that we do.

I can't prove this, but reason and observation is consistent with the claims that recruiting is severely diminished. I consider this a victory, but we must do what we can to monitor this situation and keep the pressure on.

We've won the information war. Anybody curious about Scientology, and seriously looking into it, will easily find the information they need to make an informed decision - the decision to avoid it at all costs. Really, this is where we had our greatest advantage going in. I mean, after all, we are The Internet.

We're winning on the political front. This is where Scientology had the greatest advantage going in - we could usurp them in the PR game, because most papers were 'friendly' to them out of fear, not because they genuinely benefited. All we had to do was make the papers unafraid, and they'd come to our side. With political influence, most Scilon allies are bribed in some way - campaign donations, help with campaigning, or the promise that their membership will vote for a candidate. But the advantage we have - and are using to great effect - is that every time Scientology calls in a favor from a powerful friend, it becomes obvious that they are an ally to scientology. And one of the fastest ways to sink a politician is to inform the public that they are an ally to scientology. Some will distance themselves from the cult in an effort to survive, others will not - and will lose the next election. Either resolution is a victory for us. Either way, the cult loses influence.

Overall, the strategy - in my view - has always been to 'starve the beast.' Dry up their donations. Dry up their recruiting. Force them to spend money, and then more money, and to throw money after money. It's the opposite of their goal - make money, make more money, make others make them money. If the cult is broke, they're powerless. We have no access to their financial data. But reason suggests that we've put a serious dent in their income and their savings - all the while the biggest economic downturn since The Great Depression surely amplified our effect. Their rich donors are going broke. Their investments have devalued. Public scientologists are leaving in droves. PR is massively against them, preventing them from recruiting fresh meat. And they're so busy working to stop the bleeding (and to 'deal with' us) that they can't invest their resources into finding new sources of money. This is like a plant which, faced with a fungal infection, ceases to spend resources on growing out its roots in order to fight off the fungus. Eventually, if it is unable to cure itself, it will succumb.

So now we're at a point where they're pinned to the ground by our pinky finger. It takes almost no effort at all on our part to keep them down - but if we pack up completely and walk away, we won't achieve our victory. I'm not going to make some grand call for a resurgence; I'm not going to tell you that you have to go find five former chanologists and get them back into the fold. I'm not going to pretend we need to have a showing like we did in early 2008 to secure our victory. There's no need for that. It wouldn't hurt, but it's completely unnecessary for our victory. But I am going to say, keep paying attention. And tell others that it's heating up. And tell others to be ready to step back in when it's necessary. At this point, very effective work can be done for minimal investment of time and resources. And that's PRECISELY why our victory is assured. Scientology is spending more and more to achieve less and less... and we're doing virtually nothing.

You messed with the wrong fuckin' internet, buddy.

Consensus

To finish the thought:

When you enter the end game, you want your opponent to have only bad moves. Then, you wait patiently and react to each bad move by showing them they can only weaken their position by persisting. When an intelligent, honorable player who respects their opponent is in this position, they tip their king. Scientology is not intelligent, is not honorable, and does not respect us. And, in my opinion, that's the best definition of a 'lulzcow' - a dishonorable, unintelligent entity in a weak position persisting against all reason. So this is where we sit, point, and laugh. You should be getting more enjoyment now than any previous point in the war.

But their persistence is their greatest strength - really, it's their only strength. With the clear advantage in every aspect of the game, we need only wait them out. It may be a long wait - but the wait IS the 'end game.'

Ladies and gentlemen, get out your popcorn and watch them crumble. It's not impossible that it will happen faster than we think; but as long as we keep watching, their failure is inevitable at this point.

You messed with the wrong fuckin' internet, buddy.

Anonymous

You mean ... Zugzwang!

Heh, not every day I get a chance to use that word..

Ann O'Nymous

You may be right, but I am not sure why it is important to publish it.

TL;DR Keep on the good work everybody.

Une histoire d'anonyme - An anonymous story - SwissAnons - Best troll 2008 - SMB rules

Anonymous

It ain't over 'til the tiny tyrant sings.

a) Hoist the anchor
b) Trim the sales
c) Stay on target
d) Raperaperape

webkilla

i like d

can i do that?



also, its first endgame when its endgame - we wont know when it is till it is... just keep on trucking

Did you know that Incident II is nothing more than the XENU story told in OT3? Also, OT8 = You mocked up your own past lives. Yup.

In the grim darkness of the interwebs, there is only lulz
"Cry Wiki, and let loose the chans of war!"

Jobs n stuff
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lvl 9 cake-anon (mostly candy...)
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lvl 6 anti-handler

Anonymous

Part of our endgame strategy should be doing what we can to facilitate and encourage so that 'many' becomes 'most' - although ESMB, ESK, ExSEAORG etc have more to offer here, we can turn up our messages that point wavering scilons in the right direction - better that a lifelong cultie quits and sues than an hero's - although we need to be aware that as the cult falters, so will a number of its victims.

Part of our endgame strategy should focus on the global real estate (like collating more data) - To stick with the chess analogy - I suspect checkmate will involve relieving them of a few of the historic and signature buildings they've been buying of late - perhaps sold to fund local lawsuit settlements.

---

The most fun is usually towards the end of a chess game - for the winner at least, it's more intense, often faster, with a sense of expectation, and a certain pleasure in watching one's opponent hopelessly and furiously attempting different strategies, which merely hold off the inevitable.

ZeLyt

A good post, as usual from Consensus.
This is a good read, if a little tl;dr. It's worth it.

Thanks for the advice and viewpoint.

State of the Chanology anyone?

Anonymous

gb2ARS.. they have way too much money to be thinking endgame.

Also, you have forgotten the media bounce they will attempt under the cloak of fursecution. No matter what happens in France they are doing all out media blitz, one with national TV ad buys. And two, they will hit the press with tales of woe and religious bigotry and hatred.

Also, Anon EFB footbullets are still up in the air and waiting to come down with the dull thud of a tube of anal lube. The minor prefect storm is coming with hacker sentencing, AO jail sentence, minor AGP news like restraining order countywide possible sanctions. It's not clear if the media will bite and make a story out of internet activism gone wrong. (Wired might)

One other reason the media might spin it that way is the more visible Time magazine stuff which gives them a backdrop for a story. Also, slowly plodding along (unknownst to WWP awareness) is state legistlations and even Congressional to shore up some of these "cyber-bulling" statutes. So depending on the timing of more and more of these passing in the fall, they might try and tie in.

Also, I am still waiting for them to pounce on some websites for comments and images they claim are hate speech or at least a court order for IP logs. I think they are keeping that powder dry for now, but there have been some iffy comments on various boards that could convince a judge to go along.

azonymous

well said...and

ur optimisim...is encouraging

Jett Travolta
Kyle Brennan
PAST LIFE IMPLANTS
AUDITING BODY THETANS

Anonymous

Wired will, because we're "griefers" and Scientology is an august institution that can do no wrong.

the anti

we are a long ways away from end game. now and then new people do join in. talk to your friends more and try to get them to join to, let them know it is kind of a party as well

Consensus

I think this is exactly right. Some of us are too emotionally invested - we need to remember that we're here for the lulz. Right now, every time Scientology makes a desperate move, we get indignant and shout 'Those arrogant bastards!' Rather, we should view it as comedy. 'Lol, look what those fuckers are trying now. Idiots.' It would take nothing more than a slight shift in our perspective to achieve this - I think HT has precisely this view, regarding the violent attack on her, and that's why she's 'doinitrite.'

And you're right about their real estate. Scientology invested heavily in highly visible real estate, figuring it would put into the minds of possible recruits (and their captive members) that Scientology is vastly successful. This was a major miscalculation, as real estate is a terrible place to have money right now. And it's not very liquid, either.

As far as forcing the liquidation, we need two things: 1) We need to end the financial shell game. Right now, most of those buildings are owned - on paper - by a large number of 'independent' entities. We need the Wollerheim dox that prove they're all owned by one entity. 2) We need to cause a 'run on the bank.' There are a lot of people that Scientology owes money to. We need more lawsuits, and more awarded damages, to demonstrate that Scientology is over-leveraged. Then we need to get everybody that is owed money by scientology to start suing for non-payment. The fact that Scientology is invested in non-liquid real estate means that very likely they're past-due on many bills to many many lenders. The shell game keeps them afloat despite this fact. When this happens, Scientology assets will start going up for auction, which by itself will seriously harm Scientology's 'image.'

You messed with the wrong fuckin' internet, buddy.

Consensus

I won't outright dismiss your points; and this thread wasn't so much me trying to tell you all how it is, as to get a conversation going.

You're right that some press may jump on the 'cyber-bullies' stuff. Of course, we don't have to come out smelling like roses for Scientology to lose. In fact, that's our biggest advantage - if we BOTH end up looking like fucking retards in a tard-fight, we'll achieve our aim.

Nonetheless, one of the topics I want to get into on this discussion is the 'bigger picture.' I've become convinced that, within the next 30 years, there's going to be some sort of 'internet war.' There's proposed legislation to limit anonymity on the net. There was a proposal that the President should have an internet 'kill switch.' Many governments are moving to censor or limit access to the internet. And many people - me included - are coming to think of themselves as 'citizens of the internet' first, and citizens of their own country second. When China blocked twitter, many of us felt enraged - not because it actually inconvenienced any of us, but because it was attack on our citizenry, an attack on the Internet.

In a large way, Chanology is an important precursor to such a conflict. It is us establishing that anonymity and griefing can do good, and are essential aspects of a free society. We're demonstrating that, as much as ridicule and satire piss off its victims, it's essential to undermining tyrants. And I think this is as good a reason as any to appear to be a 'douchebag.'

We must be prepared for the backlash. We must fight for our freedoms, fight for a future that is dramatically brighter BECAUSE of the freedoms afforded us by this vast information network. I know slashdot and such is watching Chanology, but they are largely uninvolved because it doesn't really affect them. The moment governments start seriously attacking the internet as some sort of 'threat' that needs to be 'controlled', those slashdotters (and members of every existing online community) will be looking for a way to 'fight back.' And Chanology is in the best position to reform, to organize, and to incorporate all those future defenders of the freedoms we are currently fighting for.

But now I'm going all futurist and sci-fi. Still, I keep hearing troubling rumblings on this topic in the media.
I almost hope Scientology tries to push this, because Scientology's association with the 'censor the internet!' movement will seriously hurt that movement, and exposing that movement early for what it is will diminish what they can accomplish.

In a way, the 'internet is a series of tubes' was one of the best things that could have been announced on the floor of congress - it woke up the internet to just how little the powers that be understand it, and just how much of a threat those powers can be to it.

Not saying we need to do anything about it right now, I'm just saying you should be aware of it, and your experiences in Chanology should flesh out your contingency plans in the event that such bad legislation is proposed.

You messed with the wrong fuckin' internet, buddy.

xenubarb

We're not there yet. Scientology is spawning front groups that address "hot button" items beloved by politicians.

Volunteer Ministers are evolving into "disaster response teams" and participating in community disaster awareness and training projects.

The cult has numerous "human rights" fronts, from Youth For Human Rights to several addressing the Middle East issues.

Earth Organization addresses environmental issues, and is marginally beneficial irl.

Applied Scholastics is offering "free" schooling for slum children.

These are harder things to address. Who is not in favor of peace and understanding in the Middle East, helping people suffering from disaster, educating the poorest children?

We're not as close to the end game as you might think. The chess board has turned into, I dunno, Snakes and Ladders? It's going to be a bit harder to reach the politicians, particularly the ones Scientology has invested in.

Still, this shit is moving a hella lot faster now than it ever did, and the denouement is inevitable. The cult is doomed, mostly because of its own nature and doctrines. By following the mad drug addict Hubbard's destructive, psychopathic, vicious and greedy "doctrine," and by being locked into a reality framed by Hubbard without any chance of change or evolution, they're finished.

I think the political arena is ripe for Scientology as a campaign issue. People in general hate the cult if they know anything at all about it.

If Jeff Stone's opponent for the Senate seat can use this without falling into the "religious bigotry, intolerance" trap, it would be a good omen for the future. It would mean that Scientology is losing its hold on their religious facade. In France, spokesclams claimed the cult was on trial for 'heresy,' and they were ridiculed for obviously not knowing the meaning of the word.

We're closing in, I have no doubt. We are going to put this thing in the can. If the Headleys and Decrescenzo win in court, not only will the cult be forced to reimburse them, they'll have to face dozens of other cases. They'll also probably be forced to pay minimum wage to those still in. (suspect they'll be charged for room and board, hmmm? I do.)

Exposure of these front groups as cynical attempts by the cult to align itself with legitimate human rights and disaster relief groups is key.

It's always been like a game of Whack A Mole, but now there are so very many more hammers.

San Diego Anons: They Troll Deep.

ZeLyt

Personally, I give a personal estimate that within one year, we will truly see the damn burst. Though I don't estimate that it will be all of a sudden, rather that one week we'll take a step back and realize how much we've accomplished.

You can already see some of that now with ESK(as Consensus said) and with how unafraid the media is.

Around this time last year it was considered epic win if Scientology got negative spin in any article. Now we post em by the handful, and its SSDD. That alone is truly damaging to them.

Consensus

It occured to me very early on that Scientology's best chance at defeating us would be to seriously invest in REAL humanitarian work. Thing is, real humanitarian work costs money. If they actually pursue that, I won't stand in their way at all - let them spend the money, and why would I stop a group from doing good?

Thing is, Scientology teaches that charity is bad. They buy into a very naive version of behaviorism whereby you only reward success. If someone is in need, they 'pulled it in' and should not receive assistance. So pretty much ALL of Scientology's 'humanitarian' work is simply distributing 'way to happiness' books (paid for by members) in a desperate bid at recruiting. And to the scilons paying for or distributing those books, they think they're doing real good - because the recipients are clearly in a bad state, and ONLY scientology can help them!

We need to make this fact well-known. We need it to be on record and public knowledge that Scientology's humanitarian works consist exclusively of evangelizing, and that any other form of charity is expressly forbidden by their beliefs.

The fact that there are no non-scientologists who will say 'Scientologists helped me get through a hard time via charity, and they didn't try to evangalise at all' works hugely in our favor here.

You messed with the wrong fuckin' internet, buddy.

Consensus

A year ago, I was seriously concerned about Scientology moving into Africa and South America, and escaping justice. A year ago, I was seriously concerned about the freewinds. A year ago, I thought that Scientology was a massive organization with incredible financial and political resources. A year ago, I felt like David against Goliath.

Now, I see their legal team as Ken Moxon+assistants, I see their management as an absent David Miscavage and a shattered Tommy Davis. Now, I'm not the least bit concerned about private detectives. Now, I can't imagine them surviving outside the first world countries. Now, I can't see them surviving WITHIN the first world countries. Now, I see a handful of highly visible (and largely dilapidated) buildings, operated by a tiny number of people.

I have no access to their financial information, and this is the possible flaw in my reasoning. But everything I see tells me they're near-broke and seriously hurting. If they're faking it, they're going all out to convince us.

And there's strong evidence that Scientology Management is overworked, overstressed, and coming apart at the seams - and money can do many things, but it doesn't relieve stress (quite the contrary) and it doesn't ensure sanity (again, quite the contrary).


edit -
seriously, go back and reread this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/orga...gyturnthetable
That's an article from The Guardian in 2007 about the Panorama episode airing, and Scientology's reaction. That was big news back then. And Scientology HATED that it was big news. Compare it to the last year - it's a fitting foreshadowing, but it's almost insignificant next to everything that's gone down.

And consider all the big name scilons that have died in the last year. Geiman, Hayes, Travolta, Carradine, etc, etc. Consider those that have blown - James Packer, Jason Beghe. Any one of these events would be a serious blow to Scientology. Then there's Epic Sword Guy, Cartwright's ex-fiance, etc. Even Lawnsdale's death - something Scientology surely cheered about (fucking assholes) - was ultimately a small 'flap.' And these all happened in a year.

Maybe it's just that I'm paying attention now. Maybe this sort of shit has been going on around Scientology from the very beginning. I can't imagine that's the case, I don't think it would survive if that were the case. But if it's not the case, then the ship is sinking, and fast. How many blows have we taken? Some dude we never heard of arrested for hacking, Gregg getting a slap on the wrist in order to make the bullshit go away, and a dude arrested for smearing vasoline and pubes all over himself and running around an org. Oh, and AO bein' dumb. And a restraining order against AGP. Did any of these hurt us? Does the press *really* care about any of these? Sure, if someone does a google search for 'Angry Gay Pope', they might turn up something about an arrest - but who the fuck googles 'angry gay pope'??? People *DO* google 'Scientology', and the shit that will come up is all the flap I just listed.

You messed with the wrong fuckin' internet, buddy.

Anonymous

I've been thinking about the end game since Feb 10th. I had dozens in mind then and I'm glad to see many of them are still valid (DM going into hiding as we really start pounding on him, and exes suing for damages)

The end of the RTC is nigh. When the RTC goes away there'll still be the CST to deal with. I don't know what we can do with them.

Anonymous

Add Scientology to the mix and you have a real mess.

Truth be told, if both Scientology and money problems at the same time don't fuck you over permanently, you truly are a Homo Novis.