Operation Clambake

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"Xenu.net" redirects here. For other uses, see Xenu (disambiguation).
Operation Clambake

Logo, Operation Clambake
Logo, Operation Clambake
Motto Undressing the Church of Scientology since 1996
Formation 1996
Type Education, Information database, News archive, Message board
Headquarters Norway
Official languages English
Founder Andreas Heldal-Lund
Website www.xenu.net

Operation Clambake, also referred to by its Web address, Xenu.net, is a website and Norway-based non-profit organization launched in 1996 that publishes mostly critical information about the Church of Scientology. It is owned and maintained by Andreas Heldal-Lund, who has stated that he supports the rights of all people to practice Scientology or any religion.[1] Operation Clambake has referred to the Church of Scientology as: "a vicious and dangerous cult that masquerades as a religion."[2][3] The Web site includes texts of petitions, news articles, exposés, and primary source documents.[4] The site has been ranked as high as the second spot in Google searches for the term "Scientology".[5]

The term for the organization refers both to a traditional clam bake, as well as the notion from L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology: A History of Man that humans follow a "genetic line" which includes clams, and that our psychological problems are impacted by past experiences. The domain name Xenu.net is a reference to the character Xenu from secretive "OT III" Scientology documents.

In 1996, the site was one of the first locations on the internet to host secret Scientology documents pertaining to Xenu and OT III. Shortly thereafter, the Church of Scientology attempted to get this material removed from Operation Clambake and other internet sites, through letters written by counsel, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. After receiving a DMCA takedown notice, Google removed many Xenu.net pages from its indexes, which decreased the site's pageranking in searches for "Scientology." This inspired Google to contribute to the Chilling Effects archive, informing others about material missing from Google indexes due to DMCA takedown notices and other legal threats.

Operation Clambake has been consulted by news media organizations and other groups for information on Scientology and related organizations. Dateline NBC cited the organization in a 1998 investigative journalism piece, as have other publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Associated Press. Xenu.net has been included as required reading in a New York University course on "Copyright and Censorship," and in 2003 webmaster Andreas Heldal-Lund received the 2003 Leipzig Human Rights Award by the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA, an organization opposed to the Church of Scientology.

Contents

[edit] Foundation

Andreas Heldal-Lund, founder of Operation Clambake.
Andreas Heldal-Lund, founder of Operation Clambake.

Operation Clambake was founded in 1996 by Andreas Heldal-Lund, an information technology manager in Stavanger, Norway, who administers the site at www.xenu.net.[6][7] This domain name has been described as provocative, because it is seen by some as a caricature of the character Xenu from Scientology cosmogony.[8] Operation Clambake is registered in Norway as a non-profit organization.[9]

Heldal-Lund chose the name "Operation Clambake" for the organization, as a reference to statements made by L. Ron Hubbard in which Hubbard wrote that the problems of human beings today are a result of traumatic events experienced by their inner thetans when they inhabited the bodies of clams during Earth's evolution.[7] In Hubbard's Scientology: A History of Man, he asserts humans follow his notion of the "genetic line" of the "genetic entity", which include clams (as well as sloths, volcanoes, and a "sense of being eaten"), and certain human psychological problems descend from difficulties these clams experienced.[10] Hubbard defined "genetic line" as a collection of the total "incidents" which occurred during the evolution of what Scientology refers to as the "MEST body".[11]

[edit] Conflict

[edit] OT III documents

Prior to its own direct conflict with Scientology, Operation Clambake had described on its site how Amazon.com had pulled Jon Atack's book A Piece Of Blue Sky, a work critical of Scientology.[12] The site later became one of the focal points of what some have termed "the war between Scientology and the Internet". On November 8, 1996, Operation Clambake was one of the first sites to host the secretive OT III documents describing the story of Xenu.[13][14] Operation Clambake maintains the position that posting these internal Scientology documents is permitted under "fair use" allowance of internationally recognized copyright law.[15][16] The Church of Scientology threatened legal action against various Internet service providers that host the site, demanding it be removed from the Internet for hosting information copyrighted by the Church of Scientology.

In 1998 Salon reported that Scientologists were now blocked from viewing sites critical of Scientology including Operation Clambake and alt.religion.scientology, through the use of a content-control software program referred to by critics as Scieno Sitter.[17] The Church of Scientology was unable to shut down Operation Clambake's internet service provider in Norway.[18] However, they did succeed in shutting down the upstream connection to the site's internet service provider, Netherlands-based Xtended Internet.[19] In November 2002, Xtended Internet's upstream provider, Cignal Global Communications received a letter from Church of Scientology counsel alleging copyright and trademark infringement involved with Xenu.net.[19] This letter led to Cignal Global Communications, a United States based company, terminating its service with Xtended Internet, which had to move their company to a new backbone provider.[19][20]

[edit] DMCA and Google delisting

In various incidents documented in such publications as The New York Times, Slashdot and Wired, Scientology has also used the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to force notable Web sites (including the Google search engine) to remove the Operation Clambake homepage, and several leaflets containing copyrighted information, from their indexes.[21][22][23][24] Because the Xenu.net site itself is based in Norway, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the DMCA.[25][15][26]

In March 2002, Google agreed to limit access to material critical of Scientology on www.xenu.net, after it was sued by the Church of Scientology for copyright infringement.[26][27][28] Information the Church of Scientology had objected to included an internal report on the death of Lisa McPherson, and images of L. Ron Hubbard.[29] Google received criticism for its actions, and The Guardian reported that Operation Clambake suspected the Church of Scientology was mainly concerned about secret documents where "L Ron Hubbard is said to describe how an alien galactic ruler called Xenu is the root of all human woe."[30] After Operation Clambake was delisted by Google, free speech advocates besieged Google, complaining that the company was censoring search results.[31] Prior to Google's delisting of the Operation Clambake site, CBC News reported that the site was listed fourth in a search for "Scientology."[32] However after Google's actions, Xenu.net did not appear in searches for "Scientology".[33]

[edit] Aftermath

Operation Clambake listed fourth in a Google search for "Scientology" shortly after being relisted on the Google search engine.
Operation Clambake listed fourth in a Google search for "Scientology" shortly after being relisted on the Google search engine.[34]

Though Google did remove links to Operation Clambake for a short time, in place of the actual links, Google posted a notice explaining the links were removed due to the DMCA, and where the internet surfer could go to find more information.[35][36] In April 2002 the International Herald Tribune reported that the net effect of the copyright controversy actually drove up the number of links to www.xenu.net, which improved its search results in searches for "Scientology" on Google to number two on the results page – just below the official site of the Church of Scientology.[5] Reflecting on the controversy in a February 2003 interview in The Boston Globe Magazine, Google founder Sergey Brin stated: "Ultimately where we ended up was the right conclusion, but we didn't initially handle it correctly."[37] Some groups critical of the Church of Scientology's actions have later used the Google bomb technique to increase Operation Clambake's Google rankings to the number three slot in a search for "Scientology" on the search engine, by linking the term "Scientology" on their Web pages to http://www.xenu.net/.[38][39] The Church of Scientology itself has also been accused of an attempt at Google bombing for making a large number of websites linking terms "Scientology" and "L. Ron Hubbard" to each other.[40][41][42]

The publicity stemming from this incident was the impetus for Google contributing to the Chilling Effects archive, which archives legal threats of all sorts made against Internet users and Internet sites.[26][43][44][45] Chilling Effects contains the original complaint letter from the law firm used by Scientology, Moxon & Kobrin.[46][47] Scientology lawyer Helena Kobrin stated she took offense at the name of the Web site, saying: "It implies that the First Amendment gives people some special right to infringe copyrights."[48] Sergey Brin and Larry Page were both questioned on Google's response to the Church of Scientology's complaints in a 2004 interview in Playboy Magazine, and they appreciated Chilling Effects as a "nice compromise."[49] Brin explained the new scenario: "So now, if you do a generic search on Scientology, you get a link to a site that discusses the legal aspects of why the anti-Scientology site isn't listed."[49]

Also in 2002, Internet Archive removed all Wayback Machine archival pages of Xenu.net at the request of lawyers for the Church of Scientology. Initially queries reported that the pages had been removed "per the request of the site owner", which Andreas Heldal-Lund denied. This was later changed to a generic "Blocked Site Error" message.[50][51][42]

[edit] Internet, freedom of speech issues

Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain
Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain

The academic and legal issues raised through the Church of Scientology's actions against Operation Clambake have been discussed in books on the internet and on freedom of speech. Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World notes that "the secret library of Scientology" was blocked from Google for a short time, and Google's actions in this matter shed light on its policies when confronted on links it allows to be displayed.[18] These incidents are also discussed in Beyond the First Amendment: The Politics of Free Speech and Pluralism, where the author raises the question: "Why should a private actor (Church of Scientology) in the United States have the power to restrict the speech of a Dutch citizen publishing in the Netherlands whose speech is protected by Dutch law?"[52]

The incident between Google and Scientology involving the Web site was also discussed in an annual meeting of The State Bar of California, and cited as part of the caselaw for "Domestic Copyright Law in Cyberspace."[26] Fred von Lohmann, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, also raised free speech concerns in the Xenu.net case, stating: "The danger is that people will attempt to silence critics under the guise of copyright infringement."[53] In an interview on the Xenu.net controversy, Harvard Law School professor Jonathan Zittrain predicted that more conflicts involving the Church of Scientology were likely to occur in the future.[37] Zittrain stated: "The cutting edge on such battles is often the Church of Scientology..They have very well honed procedures and tactics to remove information that they find objectionable."[37]

[edit] Perception in the media

On June 16, 1998, Dateline NBC aired an investigative journalism piece on Scientology, and Operation Clambake was referenced on-screen as a resource to learn about "Xenu and the exploded souls."[54] The St. Petersburg Times called Operation Clambake: "the best known of the critical Web sites" on Scientology.[55] New Straits Times referred to the site as "a fantastic source of information for anyone interested in the Scientology cult."[56] In July 2000 The Wall Street Journal included Operation Clambake among its list of "Our Favorite Sites" under the "Opinion, Commentary and Gossip" section.[57] The Seattle Times described Operation Clambake as "one of the most popular" sites critical of Scientology.[58]

BBC News has characterized the organization differently, stating in an article: "The Operation Clambake site portrays The Church as a money-hungry cult."[22], and an article in The New York Times stated: "The site portrays the church as a greedy cult that exploits its members and harasses critics."[15] Still other news articles have called Operation Clambake "an anti-Scientology Web site,"[59] and the program "Technofile" on Sky News called it "one of the most controversial sites on the web."[60] The Associated Press cited the Xenu and OT III story in describing the Web site: "Critics at www.xenu.net and elsewhere say advanced Scientologists are taught that 75 million years ago, the cosmic ruler Xenu paralyzed billions of people in our galaxy, stacked them on Earth and destroyed their bodies with H-bombs, though the traumatized souls survived."[61]

More recently, news media have consulted Operation Clambake and its proprietor when seeking out information for background on stories involving Scientology and related organizations. The Sunday Times utilized Operation Clambake's resources, while doing a January 2007 story on Narconon and its links to the Church of Scientology.[62] The Daily Reveille consulted Operation Clambake resources for an article on the "Second Chance" program, specifically for background on the Scientology doctrine known as the "Purification Rundown."[63] In April 2007, the Daily News cited an "emergency bulletin" disseminated by Church of Scientology leaders that was posted on Operation Clambake, which seemed to refute claims by Scientology representatives that their ministers were forbidden from proselytizing on campus after the Virginia Tech massacre.[64] In August 2007, the Associated Press included information from Operation Clambake in an article on Scientology's attempts to connect with religious leaders from other faiths.[65]

[edit] Recognition

2003 Leipzig Human Rights Award
2003 Leipzig Human Rights Award

Operation Clambake is included as part of the Library of Congress "September 11 Web Archive,"[66] and in Spring 2002 www.xenu.net was listed as required reading for the course "Computers in Principle and Practice" at New York University, under a section on "Copyright and Censorship."[67]

On May 17, 2003, Operation Clambake webmaster Andreas Heldal-Lund received the 2003 Leipzig Human Rights Award from the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA, an organization which states it is composed of "Scientology opponents from all over the world."[68] Operation Clambake was cited by the Committee for exposing what it referred to as "fraud and human rights violations" of the Church of Scientology in the United States.[69][70][71] The former Secretary of State of France, Alain Vivien, presented Heldal-Lund with the Award, and stated that his work had revealed the actions of Scientologists with "respect and intelligence."[72] In his acceptance speech, Heldal-Lund spoke about freedom of speech, and emphasized the role of the individual citizen.[72]

[edit] See also

Internet Portal
Scientology Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Heldal-Lund, Andreas. Operation Clambake FAQ: Why do you hate Scientology?. Operation Clambake. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  2. ^ Didcock, Barry. ""Hubbard love": Barry Didcock puts his scepticism aside and goes in search of the truth behind one of the world’s most controversial religions", Sunday Herald, February 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  3. ^ Marney, Holly. "Cult or cure?", Scotland on Sunday, May 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  4. ^ Gallagher, Eugene V. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. Greenwood Press, Page 271. ISBN 0313328072. 
  5. ^ a b Staff. "Google adds sites by subtracting", International Herald Tribune, April 24, 2002. 
  6. ^ Bugge, Stella; Harald Vikoyr. "Scientologi-Hemmeligheter Stoppet Pa Internett", VG, Verdens Gang AS, November 15, 1996. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  7. ^ a b Ortega, Tony. "Sympathy for the Devil: Tory Bezazian was a veteran Scientologist who loved going after church critics. Until she met the darkest detractor of all", Los Angeles New Times, September 9, 2001. 
  8. ^ Dawson, Cowan (Routledge). Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet. Routledge, Page 261. ISBN 0415970229. 
  9. ^ Heldal-Lund, Andreas. "Disclaimer", Operation Clambake, pp. Main Page. Retrieved on 2008-01-03. "Operation Clambake is registered as a non-profit organisation in Norway, state reg.no.: 982 983 126"
  10. ^ "Remember Venus?", Time, 1952-12-22. Retrieved on 2007-05-02. 
  11. ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (First Edition). Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary. Bridge Publications, Page 176. 
  12. ^ Ryan, Nick. "The gospel of the web", The Guardian, March 23, 2000. 
  13. ^ Høiness, Helle. "Den religiøse jakten fortsetter", Dagbladet, November 25, 1996. (Norwegian) 
  14. ^ Staff. "The Scientology Problem", The Wall Street Journal, March 25, 1997. 
  15. ^ a b c Gallagher, David F. (2002-04-22). New Economy; A copyright dispute with the Church of Scientology is forcing Google to do some creative linking. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  16. ^ Staff. "Service providers as speech police?", CNN, Time Warner, April 7, 2002. 
  17. ^ Brown, Janelle. "A Web of their own: Scientologists say their Internet filter protects the faithful. Critics call it "cult mind-control."", Salon, July 15, 1998, pp. 1-2. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  18. ^ a b Goldsmith, Jack L.; Tim Wu (2006). Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World. Oxford University Press, Pages 74-75. ISBN 0195152662. 
  19. ^ a b c Loney, Matt. "Scientologists shut ISP's Net connection", ZDNet News, March 22, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  20. ^ Wouters, Paul. "Priority Telecom disconnects Xtended Internet over anti-Scientology website", Xtended Internet. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  21. ^ Wendy M. Grossman. "alt.scientology.war", Wired magazine 3.12, Wired, December 1995. Retrieved on 2006-12-14. 
  22. ^ a b Anderson, Kevin. "Scientology Church fights Google", BBC News, 25 April 2002. 
  23. ^ Declan McCullagh. "Google Yanks Anti-Church Sites", Wired News, 2002-03-21. Retrieved on 2006-06-19. 
  24. ^ Loney, Matt (2002, 21 March). Cult forces Google to remove critical links. ZDNet. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  25. ^ Northcutt, Stephen (2004). IT Ethics Handbook: Right and Wrong for IT Professionals. Elsevier, Page 250. ISBN 1931836221. 
  26. ^ a b c d Appelman, Daniel L.. "Copyrights in Cyberspace and Digital Rights Management", The State Bar of California Annual Meeting, October 10, 2002, pp. Page 5. 
  27. ^ Krauss, Alan; David F. Gallagher. "Technology Briefing: Internet, Google Removes Anti-Scientology Links", The New York Times, March 22, 2002. 
  28. ^ Staff. "Engineering searches & Church of Scientology", LA Business Journal, April 1, 2002. 
  29. ^ Staff. "Google Yanks Anti-Church Sites", Wired, March 31, 2002. 
  30. ^ Burkeman, Oliver. "Engine trouble", The Guardian, September 5, 2002. 
  31. ^ Lutzker, Arnold P. (2003). Content Rights for Creative Professionals. Focal Press, Page 69. ISBN 0240804848. 
  32. ^ Staff. "Google removes anti-Scientology Web links", CBC News, March 22, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  33. ^ Staff. "Google Yields To DMCA-Wielding Church", The Online Reporter, March 25, 2002. 
  34. ^ Heldal-Lund, Andreas. "Operation Clambake is now back on Google!!!", Operation Clambake, March 22, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  35. ^ Radin, David. "Events occur more quickly on the Net", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 25, 2002. 
  36. ^ Staff. "A Google-esque solution for copyright infringement on the Web", Miami Daily Business Review, July 3, 2002. 
  37. ^ a b c Staff. "A Nation of Voyeurs", The Boston Globe Magazine, February 2, 2003. 
  38. ^ Garner, Rob. "Google Bombing And SEM Is Evolving Into 'Search Engine Activism'", SearchInsider: The Inside Line on Search Marketing, MediaPost Communications., January 30, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-02. 
  39. ^ Miller, Jason Lee. "Confirmed: Crusaders Google Bomb Scientology", WebProNews: Breaking eBusiness and Search News, iEntry, Inc., January 31, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
  40. ^ Hiler, John. "Google Time Bomb: Will Weblogs ruin Google's search engine?", Slate, The Washington Post Company, March 25, 2002, pp. Webhead: Inside the Internet. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  41. ^ Staff. "Websites link up players for numbers game", Financial Times, December 19, 2003. 
  42. ^ a b Bar-Ilan, Judit. "Google Bombing from a Time Perspective". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (3): Article 8. 
  43. ^ Staff. "Google Begins Making DMCA Takedowns Public", Linux Journal. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  44. ^ Staff. "Google Asked to Delist Scientology Critics Clambake", Chilling Effects. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  45. ^ Thompson, Mark. "Overzealous Lawyers Beware: Today's Sites Are Fighting Back", Online Journalism Review, September 15, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  46. ^ Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic. Google Asked to Delist Scientology Critics (#1). Chilling Effects. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
  47. ^ Sherman, Chris. "Google Airs Scientology Infringement Demand", DevX News, April 15, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-11-11. 
    Google provided a copy of the letter from law firm Moxon & Kobrin to online rights watchdog Chilling Effects, a joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, and University of San Francisco law school clinics.
  48. ^ Gordon, Margery. "The Google Way: Faced with cease-and-desist letters from Scientologists, the search engine pulled the offending links -- and told all", Law.com, June 25, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  49. ^ a b Staff. "Playboy Interview: Google Guys", Playboy Magazine, September 2004. 
  50. ^ Bowman, Lisa M. (2002-24 September). Net archive silences Scientology critic. CNET. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  51. ^ Staff. Blocked Site Error.. Wayback Machine. Internet Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
  52. ^ Nelson, Samuel Peter (2005). Beyond the First Amendment: The Politics of Free Speech and Pluralism. JHU Press, Page 165. ISBN 0801881730. 
  53. ^ Loney, Matt; Evan Hansen. "Google pulls anti-Scientology links", CNET News, March 21, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-11-11. 
  54. ^ Hoffman, Sharon Isaak. "The Crusader", Dateline NBC, NBC, June 16, 1998. 
  55. ^ Morgan, Lucy. "Internet is battleground in foes' war of information", St. Petersburg Times, March 29, 1999. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  56. ^ Staff. "Getting an online glimpse into cults", New Straits Times, July 20, 2000. 
  57. ^ Staff (July 29, 2000). Our Favorite Sites. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  58. ^ Weiss, Jeffrey. "Scientology: What it really is and isn't", The Seattle Times, July 7, 2005. 
  59. ^ Staff. "War of the Worlds: The Devil vs. Xenu?", Lufkin Daily News, July 5, 2005. 
  60. ^ Staff. "This Week on Technofile", Technofile, Sky News, February 21, 2001. 
    "Ravi Vadgama, our resident webhound and games master took a look at a couple of sites this week. Ravi looks at one of the most controversial sites on the web. Operation Clambake is an anti-scientology website and is causing rage amongst the community who subscribe to that particular religion."
  61. ^ Ostling, Richard N.. "Controversy has dogged Scientology: Cruise's comments put church back in glare of public controversy", Associated Press, July 8, 2005. 
  62. ^ Staff. "Revealed: how Scientologists infiltrated Britain's schools, Insight: Drugs charity is front for ‘dangerous’ organisation", The Sunday Times, Times Newspapers Ltd., January 7, 2007, pp. 1-4. 
  63. ^ Harris, Will. "Avoid the dangers of Scientology: Where There's a Will...", The Daily Reveille, January 28, 2007. 
  64. ^ Debler, Lance D.. "Side Dish", Daily News, April 20, 2007, pp. Page 11. 
  65. ^ Sedensky, Matt. "Scientologists find unlikely allies in other faiths", Associated Press, August 8, 2007. 
  66. ^ Staff. "Operation Clambake", September 11 Web Archive, Library of Congress, Dates Captured: October 10, 2001 - December 17, 2001. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  67. ^ Hull, Nathan. "Copyright and Censorship", Computers in Principle and Practice, New York University, April 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  68. ^ Staff. "Frenchman honored with 2002 Leipzig Human Rights Award for his work against cults", Associated Press, November 5, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  69. ^ Bowman, Lisa M. (2003-05-01). Anti-Scientology site spurs award. CNET. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  70. ^ Staff. "Norwegian IT professional wins Leipzig Human Rights Award 2003", Dialog Zentrum Berlin, December 29, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  71. ^ European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA. "2003 Leipzig Human Rights Award of the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA", Official Web site, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  72. ^ a b Staff. "Leipzig Human Rights Award conferred upon Norwegian Heldal-Lund", Freie Presse Chemnitz, May 18, 2003. 

[edit] External links