Tom Theo Klemesrud

Tom Theo Klemesrud geboren am 12.10.1950.
Er arbeite als Verrausgeber und Autor in den USA.

Scientology activism

Klemesrud never joined Scientology, although he met a member in October, 1982 when he was invited to go out with some friends. He took a personality test, known as the Oxford Capacity Analysis. The woman told Klemesrud she would no longer carry on a relationship with him unless he accepted that she was a Scientology member. The woman asked Klemesrud five months later about his sister, Judy Klemesrud [1] who worked for the New York Times. Klemesrud later found that she was a member of Scientology's Guardian's Office. During the 1980s Klemesrud made friends amongst Scientology ex-members and apostates. He also met with parents whose children had been enticed into cults, and had organized to raise awareness about cults and their illegal activities. One of the first members he contacted who helped him with research was Henrietta Crampton, the secretary of the Citizen's Freedom Foundation. [2] Klemesrud later began to share information with the New York Times, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. In 1984, the New York Times published a front page story replete with a picture of Hubbard, telling that former members said Hubbard absconded with millions of dollars from the organization and channeled the funds into private bank accounts in Lichtenstein and Zurich. [3] This was the basis for the IRS investigation of Hubbard.[4] In 1985 Tom Klemesrud started a computer BBS in Los Angeles called „The Cult Monitor“ which ran until 1988. Klemesrud began to receive so many phone calls for help that he turned over the sysop responsibilities to Priscilla Coates, [5] (former executive director of the Citizen's Freedom Foundation and former director of the Los Angeles Cult Awareness Network.

[edit] Scientology versus Klemesrud

In 1992 Klemesrud created a multi-line BBS as a school project for the Los Angeles Valley College. The domain name was „Support.com“ and was the Internet service that former Scientologist Dennis Erlich used, as well as many Scientology members. On December 24, 1994 Dennis Erlich had been posting fair use excerpts of what Scientology calls „confidential materials“ (see Xenu Revelation) to the Los Angeles Valley College BBS. Erlich also used the BBS node to access and post the materials through the Internet service provider Netcom (USA) to the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology. Erlich and Klemesrud were met with harassing e-mails, letters, phone calls and physical confrontations. On December 25, the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology began to receive „cancel bunnies,“ (cancellation of Erlich's messages by unknown „Senders“ known as the „cancel poodle“) of posts that Dennis Erlich was making. It was later determined that Scientology was behind this effort. Klemesrud began receiving e-mails from Scientologist lawyer Helena Kobrin, on behalf of the Religious Technology Center that both the BBS service Support.com and Dennis Erlich's postings through the ISP, Netcom were copyright infringements and should be removed. Klemesrud replied that he should be presented with evidence that they were in fact copyright infringements. Kobrin also wrote several times to Netcom, demanding they cut off Internet access to Tom Klemesrud's BBS, Support.com. Netcom refused. On February 8, 1995 Scientology filed a lawsuit, „RTC v. Netcom,“ and requested a restraining order against Dennis Erlich, Klemesrud's BBS domain, (Support.com) and Netcom. On February 13, Erlich's house was raided by Scientology attorney, Tom Small and seven others. A hearing on February 21 lifted the restraining order against Support.com and Netcom. However, on February 27, Scientology requested an injunction against Netcom and Support.com. On June 21, 1995, Judge Whyte issued a ruling that refused to dismiss Klemesrud, and Netcom. In October, 1996, the suit was settled without Klemesrud having to admit any liability. However a settlement in the amount of $47,500 was paid by his insurance company. [6] In the summer of 2000 Klemesrud sold the Support.com domain name to „Support.com, Inc.“ Now Supportsoft Inc. Today, Support.com helps many people overcome computer problems with their patented automation support software.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) effectively gave legislative backing to the principle laid down in RTC v. Netcom by codifying its ruling that passive automatic acts shall not become grounds for a finding of online copyright infringement.[7]

• „Clear Agenda for Sen. Grassley in 1998: report back“
• „IRS Refused to look at evidence of IRC 501(C)(3) violation“

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Klemesrud
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0459221/
http://www.spaink.net/cos/rnewman/erlich/home.html