Internet freedom of speech is under attack in a potentially far-reaching lawsuit that few have noticed. The potential implications of this suit are chilling, to say the least.

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In the Chinese classic The Thirty-Six Stratagems, the eighth strategy reads, "Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang." That is to say, set a decoy by appearing to attack along an obvious path while sneaking up on the enemy from a less obvious route. While many pay close attention to the obvious and steady decline of American democracy into corporate fascism, more subtle and devious tactics go virtually unnoticed. A little-known, yet terrifying, court case threatens to pave the way to a strangling of the freedom of dissent we still have. It has the potential to set a dangerous precedent for Internet free speech, without a single high-profile law being passed in Congress and without a single word of debate, either congressional or in public.

The lawsuits that become landmark cases generally start as small disputes that no one aside from those immediately involved pay attention to. They begin as something as simple as public school students wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War, as in the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. That case made it all the way from the Des Moines School Board to the U.S. Supreme Court, which handed down a decision on February 24, 1969. In that case, the Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment right of children on a public school campus to peacefully protest, but the political climate as well as the Supreme Court has changed since 1969. The First Amendment continues to undergo attack, and it is showing undeniable signs of buckling under the pressure.

The Case

Our story begins, appropriately enough, with an up-and-coming self-styled New Age "guru" named Eric Pepin. Based on what can be gleaned from his websites and self-promotion, he would seem to be little more than a snake-oil salesman preying on gullible people by selling enlightenment through a proprietary form of meditation and a pill called Magneurol6-S that, so he claims, enhances brain function and heightens paranormal experience. His promotional material states that his fee-based "Higher Balance" courses will impart secret, mystical knowledge, profound spiritual experience and modern tools for advanced awareness. In other words, he seems to be nothing more than a hustler making a easy buck on pseudo-spirituality.

It is a matter of public record, reported in several news articles (The Oregonian) that Pepin was accused by a former employee of criminal sexual misconduct. The accuser claimed he was only 17 when Pepin forced him into sexual relations, an act Pepin allegedly referred to as "crossing the abyss." The story of the New Age guru earning the trust of followers, then using that trust to manipulate those followers into feeding an insatiable lust is hardly new. Pepin even admitted to his voracious sexual appetites in testimony during his hearing, saying that he has had sexual relations with most of his 11 employees. Whether priest, minister, politician, Boy Scout troop leader, teacher, counselor, or psychologist, the authoritarian dynamic of exploitation is unnervingly and disturbingly familiar

It is also a matter of public record that Pepin was found "not guilty" which, it should be noted, does not mean that the alleged sexual misconduct did not occur. It simply means that the evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim was underage at the time the events occurred. There was no doubt that they occurred because there was a videotape. Unfortunately, the tape was not date stamped and the victim turned 18 before the case came to court. After the acquittal, Pepin hired attorneys to have the record expunged. Pepin appears to know well how to use the legal system to cover his tracks. Sound familiar? It should. It happens all the time in powerful and wealthy circles, and Pepin has shown that he can use the tricks like a pro.

Now, with his criminal record expunged - never mind that it was clear that the incidents occurred - Pepin has filed suit against an alternative media website for a discussion of his case in the public forum associated with that site. That fact - that such cases are even being heard by a court - is chilling. A case like this, if it makes it to the Supreme Court, could become a landmark case. A Supreme Court ruling in such a case could, potentially, put an end to free and open discussion on the Internet.

The name of the suit is HIGHER BALANCE, LLC, an Oregon Limited Liability Company, dba HIGHER BALANCE INSTITUTE, Plaintiff The Higher Balance Institute v. QUANTUM FUTURE GROUP, INC, a California corporation, and LAURA KNIGHT- JADCZYK, Defendants. It was filed over comments made on the public forum that is part of Signs of the Times, an alternative news aggregation and commentary website. A forum thread entitled, "Eric Pepin - Higher Balance Institute -- Discussion" was begun by an anonymous poster regarding the validity of the claims made by Pepin.

Eventually, following a generally unremarkable series of posts, the fact that Pepin had been accused of statutory rape, and the contents of articles that covered the details of the accusation and subsequent trial, were posted on the thread. After reviewing this information, Laura Knight-Jadczyk, an administrator of the site, made the statement, "It's really starting to look like this Eric Pepin and his Higher Balance Institute may be merely COINTELPRO and a front for pedophilia."

The suit alleges that this comment made by Knight-Jadczyk and others in the user discussion forum of the Signs of the Times news site concerning Pepin has caused his Higher Balance Institute to lose a pretty sizable chunk of change in snake-oil sales and loss of reputation. In fact, it claims over $1 million in economic damages. Apparently there is quite a bit of money to be made in his line of work. Adding the special and general damages, the total sought is nearly $4.5 million. All of this because a few people dared discuss articles about Pepin that had been published in publicly available media sources.

The statement would hardly seem actionable when one considers that it was based directly on information provided in articles printed in Pepin's home state of Oregon following his trial, and when one considers the fact that what was said may actually be accurate. True, Pepin was found "not guilty" on all counts. According to Pepin, that is proof that the acts in question were never committed never mind the unequivocal statements of the prosecutor and judge, quoted in the news reports, that they did occur. Or at least, he seems to believe, that verdict should serve as a de facto gag order keeping anyone from ever mentioning the subject in public again. But that is not what "not guilty" means in a court of law.

According to a May 23, 2007 article in The Oregonian, "A Washington County Circuit judge called the leader of a metaphysical Internet sales company manipulative and controlling and his testimony unbelievable, even as he acquitted him today of charges that he had sex with an underage boy." It goes on to quote Judge Steven L. Price as saying it was "probable that the conduct alleged in all counts occurred," but he wasn't convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought before Judge Price after a grand jury agreed that the case had merit. Pepin's attorneys were clever, though. They realized that in cases of statutory rape, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is very hard to come by. It is usually a case of he said/she said or, in the case of Pepin, he said/he said. A jury may feel disposed to find the accused guilty in such a case, but a judge would not without very substantial evidence of a specific kind. This is, incidentally, a legal maneuver sometimes used by those who would later gain notoriety as so-called "serial killers." For example, Gary Heidnik who, charged with kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, interfering with the custody of a committed person and reckless endangerment, waived his right to a jury. Because the judge determined the witness too "retarded" to testify, Heidnik got off with only a couple of misdemeanors.

A judge would require what amounts to a smoking gun. The plaintiff nearly had one with the evidence of the video tape of a sex orgy presented as spiritual practice was produced. Why a self-proclaimed guru would be videotaping an allegedly "spiritual" orgy I leave to the reader's imagination. Unfortunately, as mentioned, the video tape did not have any sort of date stamp, so there was no "smoking-gun" proof that it was taken when the boy was still 17 years old, merely evidence that Pepin is a kinky sexual predator. So, Pepin waived his right to trial by jury, presented himself to a judge - about whom we know nothing - and found himself a free man.

To the casual observer, this case could easily look like an easy one to ignore, just like with most other suits that eventually lead to landmark decisions. After all, a cursory Internet search will reveal that Laura Knight-Jadczyk is involved in some things that might sound strange herself, namely the "Cassiopaean Experiment", in which she claims to communicate with a group of beings that call themselves the Cassiopaeans. That same search will also turn up accusations that Ms. Knight-Jadczyk is running a cult and is some sort of New Age guru, herself!

A recent article in Willamette Week Online titled A New-Age Smackdown and Free Speech for Bloggers even described sott.net as a New Age alternative news website. Personally, I don't see it, though I would definitely accent the alternative part. The folks at SOTT cover more political, psychological and scientific territory than than a room full of doctoral candidates. In the 80's I was tangentially involved in the New Age movement, meaning that I found it interesting, not that I ever contributed anything to it. Having read through sott.net, this has nothing to do with New Age thought. I think many of the New Agers I've known would find the site fairly horrifying as it takes a decidedly up-front and realistic position that things are not going well in the world, are only getting worse, and does not advocate anything like the position that thinking "nice" thoughts will turn things around.

So, what has been made to look like a turf war between New Age gurus turns out to be something else entirely. A little digging shows that all is not what it appears to be in this case. In fact, that digging reveals what appears to be a precedent-setting hatchet job that should set off some very loud alarm bells for anyone who holds their constitutional freedoms dear, most particularly their rights to free speech. To understand why and what the results of this case could mean to us all requires a little understanding of the parties involved in this suit.

The Parties

The above mentioned Willamette Week Online article takes the view that, "The lawsuit is really a battle between two people." Nothing could be further from the truth. While it was Pepin who was allegedly libeled on the sott.net forum, he did not file the suit. Instead, Pepin used his company, Higher Balance LLC, as a sort of legal shield to file the suit, naming not only Laura Knight-Jadczyk but seemingly every organization he could find that she might be involved with or connected to. One might imagine, given the fact that Pepin had the court records of his statutory rape trial sealed, that he chose not to file the suit himself for fear of those records being unsealed during the proceedings.

If this were only a battle between two people it would be of less interest. What is important about this suit is it's potential ability to bring down an entire news and research organization because of a public conversation.

Quantum Future Group, the first defendant named, maintains a website at http://quantumfuturegroup.org/. The site, rather than promoting anything even remotely New Age in nature, states as its objective, "to bring together people to engage in and to promote the study of scientific ideas and research in all scientific and socio-cultural fields that further the deepest understanding of our world and our place within it without regard to nationality or ethnicity." To that end, they have engaged in the usual activities for such a group, such as supporting science in various ways.

Further searching leads to the Quantum Future School, with a website at http://www.cassiopaea.org/. That site seems to serve as something of a portal to a startlingly large body of research that involves advanced mathematical physics, world history, a critical look at UFOs, and the Cassiopaean Experiment---the aforementioned channeling.

The physics work is conducted by Laura Knight-Jadczyk's husband, internationally known theoretical - mathematical physicist Arkadiusz Jadczyk. His CV reveals that he is currently a guest professor at the Institute of Mathematics of Toulouse, University Paul Sabatier, for 30 years was a professor at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Wroclaw, has been a guest scientist at CERN Geneve, extensively published in peer reviewed scientific journals and is a member of the International Scientific Advisory Board of the Clifford Algebra Conference ICCA8, the International Association of Mathematical Physics, and the International Avisory Board of 3rd Int. Conference on Applied Geometrical Algebras In Computer Science and Engineering AGACSE'2008. He is not one to be taken lightly in the scientific world, to be sure.

The "channeling" is also something other than what it seems at first blush. According to the description of the experiment found on cassiopaea.org, it is essentially an exploration of something akin to Carl Jung's idea of the Collective Unconscious, a sort of "field of images" or archetypes to which everyone is connected. In other words, this was not an attempt to use channeling as a means of getting advice from the "other world" as one might tend to think at first. Instead, it was simply an experiment into using a form of what is popularly called channeling as a means of exploring an observed psychological phenomenon.

In short, it would seem that what the Jadczyk's have going is, frankly, one of the most interesting and far-reaching research projects I've personally ever laid eyes on, and they also seem to be offering the results of this research available for free to whomever will take the time to visit their sites and do the reading.

The idea for using a form of channeling for exploring this "field of images" was inspired by the writings of Barbara Honegger. This is the same Barbara Honegger who, to quote her bio, "worked as a researcher at the Hoover Institution before joining the Ronald Reagan administration as a researcher and policy analyst in 1980. Honegger headed Reagan's gender discrimination agency review before resigning in August, 1983."

Apparently, the reason for her resignation is that "she discovered information that convinced her that George H.W. Bush and William Casey had conspired to make sure that Iran did not release the U.S. hostages until Jimmy Carter had been defeated in the 1980 presidential election." Honegger would go on to write a book on that dealt with Iran, the title of which would become the popular name for those events---October Surprise. After September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Honegger would also become an active participant in the 911 truth movement.

Interestingly, before Honegger went to work in the late 1970s for Martin Anderson at the Hoover Institute , the man she followed to the White House as an assistant to the Reagan/Bush transition team in 1980 and who remains as a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute, Honegger was allegedly into parapsychology and was involved in an experiment that supposedly resulted in channeling voices of supercomputers from the future!

After Honegger split from the Republicans and began to expose them for the Right Wing Fascists that they really were, Newsweek, in May of 1985, ran a hit-piece on Honegger titled The Munchkin's Musical that stated "White House aides began whispering that Honegger was a believer in ESP who claimed she'd ridden on Halley's comet." It was a clear case of someone revealing too much of the truth and being marginalized and trivialized. Note that her interests, which might seem strange to some, and the use of those against her had nothing to do with the veracity of her information. They were simply used as a means of marginalizing her in order to dissuade others from hearing what she had to say.

Interestingly, her work parallels the work of Laura Knight-Jadczyk who, in autumn of 2002, wrote Comments On The Pentagon Strike on which a small flash video called The Pentagon Strike was based. This video went around the world in a "flash" and, according to the Washington Post's Carol Morello, singlehandedly revived the 9-11 Truth Movement.

So, here we have two women, both with interests in unusual phenomena who are primarily interested in exposing governmental lies and misfeasance, and very much involved in 9-11 research. One has leaked vital information from within the Beltway, the other is part of fascinating and potentially important research who was intimately involved with reviving the 9-11 Truth Movement. And both of these women have been/are being attacked.

There is really no more to say about Pepin. He appears to be the sort of hustler that was all too common during the height of the New Age movement. There is nothing I could find on the Internet about him beyond his own self promotion and the articles, still online, that were discussed on the sott.net forum.

The Implications

Knight-Jadczyk and Honegger are not the only truth activists to be attacked, to be sure. The difference in this particular case is the fact that a lawsuit against writings unrelated to truth activism has been filed against a truth activist that could well lead to a crackdown on all speculation and the free exchange of information that is not officially endorsed, across the Internet.

In other words, this case really appears to be about silencing dissent and controversial research via a variation on the "Thirty-Six Stratagems". The fact that it easily flies under the radar of most public awareness, appearing to be some sort of turf way, may be deliberate if one looks at this with a wider view. Make no mistake about it, this IS a turf war, but the turf is the Constitution of the United States. The turf is our right to examine the world in the way we see fit, to share the results of our examinations and to speak out against what we perceive as lies and injustice.

What is at stake could well be the ability of any of us to speak truth in public at all, ever.

Ms. Knight-Jadczyk seems to be making the most of the time we have left to speak openly. She has freely posted the various legal documents filed in this case, providing a truly unique inside look at a very important suit. A summary of the charges filed by Pepin can be found here with the full complaint and demand for jury trial here. Documents filed in response can be found on the forum in question here. I would encourage you to read the entire forum thread, though it is quite long. It is very informative and interesting reading, providing an inside look at the way the truth is twisted to silence any search for the truth.

For example, in the original complaint, Pepin's attorneys state, "HBI is dedicated to helping its customers relieve stress, reduce anxiety, and achieve emotional balance and spiritual enlightenment through meditation techniques." All of that seems pretty much in line with mainstream meditation.

However, the HBI website claims that by taking their "Core 1" course, "you will acquire a foundation of knowledge and techniques that will develop your Dimensional Consciousness and begin to activate your Sixth Sense...learn how to feed and enhance your energy body with prana...cultivate and harness energy that you can direct towards experiencing profound states of consciousness." Typical snake-oil, reminiscent of the convolutions and outright fabrications of the Bush administration in justifying attacking Iraq.

Pepin's attorneys go on to claim that, "Many of HBI's existing and potential customers read the SOTT [sott.net] website as a source of alternative media." There is the heart of the matter. Even a cursory reading of SOTT shows that this is a site that encourages you to think, to look at things in a way you probably haven't before. Pepin's site, on the other hand, reminds one of a hypnotist chanting, "Listen to my voice, you will do everything I say. Go to sleep and forget about 9-11 and Truth and activism."

If this suit was only about this suit, I suppose you would be justified in asking, "So what?" But this suit is about much more. Those who write for the alternative media or follow the evidence that denies the official story about 9-11 or the war in Iraq face this every day. You understand how the snake-oil salesmen do everything they can to marginalize you and shut you up.

This suit is about legal precedent.

What I find most interesting about the claims made by Pepin and his attorneys is that, "According to the SOTT website, 'cointelpro' is essentially 'any covert or underhanded activity aimed at destroying movements or ideas the power structure finds threatening while maintaining deniability.'" This is what he is fighting against? Well, I'm sorry Mr. Pepin, but that makes me want to join hands with the folks who run SOTT. Clearly, they have a clue about what is going on.

The question is, of course, how, exactly, can someone can get away with suing over a comment made on a public forum about articles printed in public media and conclusions they have come to after reading those articles? It's very simple, and it should strike fear in the hearts of every commenter, blogger and journalist, and even ordinary citizen out there. How many times have you read the facts about anything at all and formed an opinion based on those facts and then expressed that opinion by voice or in writing?

Are you ready to give up that right?

When one has a good deal of money, as Pepin clearly must if his sales are such that this comment could cost him over $1 million, one can easily hire an attorney and file the suit. When the suit is filed against someone who apparently has no money, which seems to be the case here as sott.net actually had to ask its readers for donations in order to hire an attorney to defend itself, one also has a tremendous head start toward winning the suit. As a matter of fact, in this case Pepin has even more of a head start since Knight-Jadczyk apparently does not even reside in the United States. What a setup.

But it's not just a set-up for sott.net or Knight-Jadczyk, it is a set-up for society, for the Internet in particular, and for activism and dissent specifically. That should give us pause to consider what is driving Eric Pepin besides money?

If Pepin should win, we will all be one step closer to consulting attorneys before we so much as comment on a blog, let alone do any sort of investigative journalism that might expose the misdeeds of anyone. In Pepin's world, an investigation of Enron would have resulted in litigation against the investigators rather than the company and its blatant fraud. Certainly Enron could claim, as has Pepin's Higher Balance Institute, that any doubts of Enron's honesty in the press or on a blog or forum could mean a loss of sales for them!

Are you beginning to see what is at stake, here? Comments were made questioning what Eric Pepin, a voluntarily public figure, and his Higher Balance Institute is all about on a public forum, comments that seem reasonable given the fact of Pepin videotaping orgies and having sex with all his employees and claiming that homosexual activities are spiritual practice. At least one of those comments was made by Laura Knight-Jadczyk. Now this deep pocket organization (HBI) is attempting use that comment to shut down everything Laura Knight-Jadczyk is attached to and THAT is the clue to follow.

What Knight-Jadczyk said, and whether that is constitutionally protected free speech, is clearly not the only - or even the main - issue here. It is about the existence of websites that allow people to voice their opinions, share their research, and come to conclusions based on their own work, their own thinking, their own choices.

To many, this suit is so absurd it can even be described as frivolous - read it for yourself - yet Pepin could succeed by waging a war of attrition. If he does succeed, we are all in big trouble. Obviously, the intent was to win by default. Go after a website that has few resources, the comment made by a person in a foreign country where response to the suit might not be mounted. If Knight-Jadczyk had ignored the suit, it wouldn't have made much difference to her personally. She would have lost by default, but her living in a foreign country without assets that could be attached would make any judgment essentially meaningless.

However, it seems that Knight-Jadczyk recognized this a matter of principle, a fight for the rights of others. Indeed, it is. That is the point we must recognize about this suit. It can really mean nothing to Pepin and his business. Filing the suit will bring him no financial remuneration and only serves to bring more attention to the statements made. Clearly, there is an ulterior motive, an agenda, if you will: "Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang."

In Pepin's world, successfully covering up the evidence of misdeeds means silencing any further inquiry or discussion for fear of prosecution. If Pepin succeeds in his suit, what happens to those who dare question the orthodox view of the events of 9/11, those who object to torture being done in their name, those who investigate the harm done by tasers, those who investigate and comment on the treasonous actions of Bush and Cheney in outing Valerie Plame? What happens to those of us who investigate current events and publish stories that are critical of the officially sanctioned view of events?

What could well happen, if Eric Pepin succeeds, is the silencing of the alternative voice. It would take nothing more than a court declaring that the evidence thus far discovered does not prove the case beyond a legally defined "reasonable doubt" to shut down any further investigation along with a whole host of websites dedicated to exploring the evidence beyond the official story of virtually anything at all. Truthout.org gone, 911Truth.org gone, OpEdNews gone, adereview.com gone, quantumfuture.net, cassiopaea.org, sott.net, all gone. In their place, every website will list the same official story, ad nauseam.

Pepin's world sounds a lot like Brave New World, the sort of world George Bush has been working toward.

Authors Bio:
I am a concerned citizen. I've been around long enough and have seen enough to realize that we are undeniably at a crossroad both culturally here in the U.S. and as a species.

Has there ever been a time in human history of such blatant disregard for human life and dignity met with such utter ignorance and apathy as we see, today? If there was, I don't know about it. The only fight I see worth fighting is this one: to end the ignorance and apathy.