Helena Kobrin complaint about song

a.r.s, 28 Aug 1995

From: gerdw@cougar.vut.edu.au (David Gerard)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Helena Kobrin complaint about song
Date: 28 Aug 1995 16:23:45 +1000
Organization: Prestige Elite Research Church of the SubGenius
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::Let's face it, Helena:  if you're going to be the legal point  woman for the
::Church <spit> of $cientology, and you're going to be quoted by the AP and
::the New York Times on stories having to do with $cientology, then you, by
::damn, are a public figure.  And as we both know (or as I know, and as you
::should know), it is next to impossible to libel a public figure.  You
::have to show malice aforethought.  That's such a difficult task that
::Jerry Falwell, when he sued Hustler magazine, tried to prove intentional
::infliction of emotional distress, rather than libel.  Well, the Supreme
::Court didn't allow that either.

Here's the letter she sent to my postmaster. There's a somewhat better writer
lurking in there than we may have expected.

Is there anyone out there who *knows* about the weird and complicated task
of interfacing Australian and American law?

The assertion that I had e-mailed such a letter are false. Nor do I remember
actually posting the thing ... In fact, I didn't even have a copy of the song
here until my postmaster gave me a copy of hkk's letter.

Your demolitions of this letter are welcomed. Cc: good ones to the postmaster
too, if you like.

-----begin excerpt-----

From hkk@netcom.comMon Aug 14 16:36:40 1995
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 21:13:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Helena Kobrin <hkk@netcom.com>
To: postmaster@cougar.vut.EDU.AU
Subject: Defamatory posting

Dear Postmaster,

     I am a member of the State Bar of California and The Florida Bar.

     Your user, David Gerard (gerdw@cougar.vut.edu.au), has e- mailed me
the message set forth at the bottom of this post, which he also posted
to a Usenet newsgroup.  This person is apparently e-mailing me an
anonymous posting made by another.

     Besides being utterly offensive and abusive to both me and my
clients, this posting is *seriously* defamatory to both me and my
clients.  I will not go into all the specifics of this, as there are
many.  Suffice it to say that as a minimum example, accusing an attorney
of being a criminal is libel per se.  Not only the initial publisher of
the libel, but also those who republish it, are guilty of this tort.

     I am requesting that you contact your user and warn him that
complaint has been made of his posting and that he is to cease from
further such postings, and also that I am not interested in receiving
his unsolicited and offensive e-mail.  I doubt seriously that it is the
intent of your educational system to support such abusive use of the
Internet.

     I look forward to your response in this matter.

                                        Sincerely,
                                        Helena K. Kobrin

----- end excerpt -----

--
Reverend Doctor David Gerard, KoX, SP4.02
Prestige Elite Research Church of the SubGenius
"Servicing the Prestige Elite since 1985!"
OK, clams. You want war? You've got war.
--
Please email important followups (crappy and constipated newsfeed).
Personal visits from Scientologists will be greeted with extreme hostility
  and the vigilant attention of VUT Security, but personal physical violence
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Rev Dr David Gerard, VUT SRC Footscray NoName.
gerdw@cougar.vut.edu.au (preferred); fun@suburbia.apana.org.au
July 5, 1998, 7 AM. Saucers. End of the world. Your US$30 is your trip ticket.