by Steve Schultze

Staff Writer

On Wednesday, March 20, there was a new development in the struggle that has been called ``The Church of Scientology vs. the Net.'' All references to xenu.net, an outspoken critical site of Scientology, vanished from popular search engine Google. Scientology (not to be confused with Christian Science) is a controversial religion, started in the early 1950's by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, that many have called a cult.

As critics of Scientology spread the word online, the situation gained widespread coverage. Xenu.net's administrator emailed Google and was informed that a Church of Scientology (COS) subsidiary had filed a complaint with Google based on the much-criticized Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The complaint charged xenu.net with infringing on COS copyrights, and requested that Google ``either remove or disable access to the web site.'' Rather than investigate the claim, Google silently removed the long list of pages.

Widespread outcry was almost immediate. After slashdot.org, a popular ``nerd news'' site, featured an article about Google's actions, a group of conscientious geeks dubbed themselves the ``Mountain View, California, Xenu Independent Study Group'' and picketed Google's headquarters. They were invited inside, and Google staff dialogued with them. Soon after, xenu.net's main page was restored to its 4th ranking position on Google searches for ``scientology.''

The COS has a long history of aggressively pursuing critics with litigation and other tactics. Critics claim that in return for speaking out, the COS has harassed them by following them, spreading rumors that they are child molesters, killing their pets, planting false evidence about them, and using various other legal and illegal tactics. Keith Henson, an outspoken critic who is currently seeking political asylum in Canada, was forced to flee the United States when the COS and its California government contacts leveled major accusations against him. These accusations were based on a joking post to the online newsgroup, alt.religion.scientology, which attracts both Scientologists and critics, and is a popular place to find news on the fight against Scientology. The COS has also tried, unsuccessfully, to shut the newsgroup down.

Xenu.net, also called ``Operation Clambake,'' is named after the galactic overlord that Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard described in ultra-secret COS documents that are now freely available on the web. Xenu, he claimed, ruled a galactic federation of 76 planets 75,000,000 years ago. When overpopulation became a problem, he slaughtered all the inhabitants, froze their bodies, put them near volcanoes in Hawaii, and ``put an H Bomb on the principal volcanoes''. All of our problems, he claims, stem from clusters of ``body thetans'' that are the remnants of many of these souls in each of us.

Part of the process of solving these problems involves use of a primitive device that originally consisted of two soup cans connected to a simple electronic meter. Users held a soup can in each hand and the ``e-meter'' registered electric impulses in the body. There is evidence that Hubbard was using hallucinogens when doing his ``research'' in the early 1950's. Many critics claim that the COS is a cult.

Xenu.net traffic has jumped in the past few days. Critics of Scientology say that the COS's actions often cause the opposite of their intended effect. The critics call this phenomenon ``Operation Foot Bullet'' and have been sponsoring advertisements on Google; the COS has responded with its own counter-ads.

Scientology began in the early 1950's after Hubbard published his self-improvement book, Dianetics, which outlines the basic techniques still used in Scientology today. The science fiction author has been quoted from 1949, a year before the book was published, as saying that ``writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be for him to start his own religion.''

Scientologists claim that Hubbard never said such a thing. Critics claim that Scientologists are brainwashed. Decide for yourself.

More information on the Google/xenu.net situation visit:

http://www.operating-thetan.com/google

http://xenu.net/news