Posted for the purpose of circumventing censorship


Note: I have CCed this to several other people from our group so we
can get input from all of them.

Dear Anne,

Thank you for critically thinking about the content I produced for the
blog. As I stated on the blog, the information should be taken with a
grain of salt because both the interviewer and the person being
interviewed are not in favor of Suzanne Shell, her activities, or her
organizations.

In Response To:
Billy, I want to offer this in response to allegations that Shell is
affiliated and supported by Scientology. I do not have access to the
blogger who interviewed you. I don't want to put this out on his site
as it is and I don't want to post something that might incite a flame
war. Would you give him the following and tell him he may contact me
if he has questions?

"This is written in response to speculation that Ms. Shell is a
Scientologist. Ms. Shell was interviewed by the Citizens Commission
on Human Rights "Freedom Magazine" several years ago. Freedom
Magazine interviewed a number of people known to me who are not
Scientologists. I was surprised that it would be automatically
assumed that Ms. Shell was a Scientologist or a member of CCHR, and
that if she were, it would somehow be an explanation for her conduct."

Freedom Magazine is a magazine run by the Church of Scientology and
they generally only interview people who are in favor of their beliefs
(the vast majority of them being Scientologists). Because the profit
from this magazine goes to Scientology, anything (such as an
interview) that could increase the chances of it being bought indicate
an endorsement of the magazine. The Church of Scientology is notorious
for silencing its critics through threats, blackmail, murder,
lobbying, and a number of other underhanded techniques. I will not
support Scientology because of these actions. This is not to say that
all Scientologists approve of, engage in, or even know about these
things happening but money going to Scientology certainly makes these
actions possible.


"I am not a member of the Church of Scientology, however I've
collaborated with CCHR on various projects for a number of years. I
have never once been pressured for donations, nor has anyone every
tried to recruit me into the church or asked me to explain or change
my beliefs. I know many decent, moral, highly educated, tolerant, and
ethical people that are members of CCHR, and yes, many are
Scientologists. I am very proud of our association because of the
work we all do regarding human rights. While CCHR was founded by
Scientology, membership is not a requirement of belonging to or
associating with CCHR. I see that relationship in the same light I
see Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, or Lutheran Services,
which are religious based organizations supporting many social and
medical programs in the general community."

While I'm surprised to hear that you have not been pressured to be a
member, it doesn't change the facts that it is associated with
Scientology. Scientology is an organization that has engaged in human
rights violations so I believe claiming to fight for human rights is a
fallacy. I know this is a big charge to levy against an organization
and I believe in defending human rights through groups like Amnesty
International and The Anarchist Black Cross but I will not approve of
any organization that helps the church of Scientology. I would be more
than willing to work with CCHR if they chose to associate with a sect
of Christianity, Islam, or any other major religion aside from
Scientology. Even though human rights violations have occurred in the
name of religions such as Islam, they have not been institutionalized
and carried out by the organizational structure as they have been in
Scientology.


"What I don't see is CCHR receiving public funding for their work,
which is to expose psychiatric abuses which includes forced
institutionalization, electroshock therapy, and compulsory use of
psychiatric drugs (which benefits the pharmaceutical industry with
their powerful lobby). People associated with family rights
organizations frequently encounter problems where children are forced
into taking psychiatric drugs in order to treat such "mental health
disorders" as ADD, ADHD, and my personal favorite, Oppositional
Authority Disorder. Anyone live with teenagers?"

I am in agreement with many of the things Scientology says regarding
this issue especially considering ADD, ADHD, and ODD but again, it's
still the church of Scientology. Just because I'm attacking Suzanne
Shell and her association with Scientology doesn't mean I unilaterally
disagree with them or have any type of party line that I'm using. I
believe the major roadblocks stopping public funding to the CCHR are
the association with the church of Scientology and the lack of belief
in the founding basis of the organization.

"I understand many people are wary of Scientology. I know a few who
are afraid of Catholic Priests. Others are annoyed or threatened by
Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Atheists,
Wiccans, etc. Each group has its extremists or bad apples who give a
bad name to their members. I do not write this to incite anyone,
simply to ask that you consider the mission of CCHR and the fact that
there are children who are forced to take powerful drugs as a
condition of attending school or remaining in their home, or if they
are distressed or disruptive in foster care. Too often mental health
care is that "there's a pill for that." CCHR is working to stop that,
as are many of us involved in family rights groups."

This is certainly true but it is different with Scientology. Unlike
Scientology, all of these other religions are unorganized. There is no
central authority to which they report and they all have their own
sects and churches/temples/leaders. Scientology is centrally organized
and the orders to murder, rape, blackmail, and threaten its critics
have come from the top of the organization's structure. Again, I agree
with many of Scientology's views on the institutionalization of
medicine and the medical-industrial complex.


"I believe that Ms. Shell's conduct has nothing to do with either
Scientology or CCHR. Behavior, such as posting a minor's information,
is not in keeping with the conduct I've observed of Scientologists. I
know that such conduct is not condoned by CCHR. Personally, I don't
believe she would be welcome in either group and ask that you not
consider her acts representative of either Scientology or CCHR. As to
Ms. Shell's credibility among the majority of grassroots family
rights organizations, I will not comment."

Again, my blog posting is not an attack on CCHR. It is an attack on
Suzanne Shell, her campaigns, and her association with the church of
Scientology. While Suzanne's behavior is downright childish and it's
doesn't reflect the actions of Scientologists, it unfortunately does
reflect the actions of the church of Scientology. Baseless lawsuits,
posting people's personal information, misuse of copyright law,
harassment, threats, and blackmail are all actions that the church of
Scientology has engaged in. Again, I did not state that she is a
member of the church of Scientology, or that her actions reflect it. I
stated that she has connections with the church which I believe we can
now see is a statement adequately backed up with evidence. What has
been said in this email and my blog is solely my personal opinion and
not that of Binary Freedom Boston (binaryfreedom.info) or its members.
As I mentioned earlier, this has been forwarded to several prominent
members of the group and if they wish they may make their own personal
statements but if they choose not to, then it should be assumed that
they are neutral on the issues presented.

Respectfully Submitted,
Comrade Ringo Kamens