The AntiCapitalists and a Cup of Shut The Hell Up

May 1, 2006 3:21 PM

Conspiracy Central hosts a torrent for The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea. Author, Tim Cohen, takes legal action. PayPal seizes CC's account. CC appeals to its members exlaining the situation. Tim Cohen joins the fray.
posted by airguitar (41 comments total)

Hereby, I copyright the word, "exlain."
posted by airguitar at 3:24 PM on May 1, 2006

The site illegally broadcast copyrighted material without permission. The author took legal action, including seizure of the funds obtained by the site. Sounds like the copyright-holder is ensuring he gets paid for his stolen IP.

Where's the problem?

What I find interesting is CC's initial reaction - "quick, we need more money and we may need to jump to a different server", not "quick, we need to apologize and pull the material off the server."
posted by FormlessOne at 3:37 PM on May 1, 2006

You know it's quackery when somewhat credible Christians denouce it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:41 PM on May 1, 2006

So... Prince Charles is the AntiChrist. I didn't see that coming.
posted by stavrogin at 3:42 PM on May 1, 2006

Tim Cohen: "It is also by God's direct call that I have pursued this research and writing; in fact, I resigned from the USAF Academy six months or so before graduation to do just this. (I started all these books while I was still a cadet, and left the Academy in November, 1987.) So, I have sacrificed a career as an officer in the USAF as well as income for years to pursue God's call. However, that is not all...."

I haven't followed this enough to know whether he is just a savvy marketer who is "in character" as he writes the above or he is mildly schizophrenic -- I currently vote for the latter.
posted by bhouston at 3:46 PM on May 1, 2006

The Amazon reviews for Cohen's book are pretty amazing.
posted by The Castle at 3:55 PM on May 1, 2006

I just love the editorial reviews on Amazon:

Dr. Larry Bates, Author, The New Economic Disorder
"thought-provoking, riveting"

William Schnoebelen, Author, Wicca, Satan's Little White Lie and Masonry, Beyond The Light
"Essentially, the entire book presents a fairly solid case for...a possible candidate for [the role of the] Anti-christ. It is definitely worth a read!"

posted by scalefree at 3:58 PM on May 1, 2006

Castle: indeed. "Tim Cohen writes as I have read few authors."
posted by undule at 3:59 PM on May 1, 2006

*shakes fist* Damn you, bhouston!
posted by scalefree at 3:59 PM on May 1, 2006

err, I meant The Castle. I think I'll stop now.
posted by scalefree at 4:00 PM on May 1, 2006

Hah. I didn't know who Tim Cohen was, and expected that his post would be just a patient and reasonable explanation as to why he took action against the torrents. Instead, I got a patient and reasonable explanation mixed with crazy "call of God" gobbledegook. How do you respond to this guy? He's clearly in the right, but he's so, so ridiculous....
posted by painquale at 4:00 PM on May 1, 2006

The CC forum thread is fascinating too. The subject turns to Paypal:

"I don't think Ctrl is going to get the money back from paypal. Paypal steals. Also, I still can't help but wonder if the name itself was picked as a plant as in papal/papacy. I looked up the paypal "whiz kid" story and it looks a bit flaky. "

Fun! I go there occasionally for crazy stuff (Alex Jones, Kent Horvind, JEW-UFOS DID 911!!!1!!, etc.). Never thought to check out the forums.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 4:01 PM on May 1, 2006

Have no fear, I for one certainly have no plans to help in any distribution of your material on any networks, I hereby sentence your work to obscurity.
posted by airguitar at 4:09 PM on May 1, 2006

FormlessOne
Where's the problem?

The problem is that this guy who believes he has received a mission to expose "The Anti-Chirst" looked in his wallet and decided it's better to take down others who are are on a similar quest rather than embrace them and merely ask them to remove his copywrited material.

Basically, the mission to expose and disseminate info about "The Anti-Christ" has taken a back seat to the quest for narcissism, intellectual property and the all mighty dollar.
posted by Rashomon at 4:10 PM on May 1, 2006

You'd figure someone who believed really passionately about the Anti-Christ would be a lot more concerned with getting word out about the absolute incarnation of evilness than someone not paying him royalties to get the message out.
posted by bugbread at 4:14 PM on May 1, 2006

Wow, reading that whole thing was the paranoid-community equivalent of staring at an eclipse. You get so very few opportunities to do so, that when one comes along you want to look, but if you stare too hard you'll go blind. Or in this case, brain dead.

Reminds me a lot of metatalk, actually...
posted by SweetJesus at 4:24 PM on May 1, 2006

The site illegally broadcast copyrighted material without permission.

How so?
posted by aaronetc at 4:27 PM on May 1, 2006

Actually, I take that back. Crazy as the guy is, he has stated that he'll release the book for free when the Tribulation starts. Right now the goal is dual sustenance of both his message and his means to research it further and write about it more. When push comes to shove, he's going to give up his means in favour of his message. Commendable.
posted by bugbread at 4:28 PM on May 1, 2006

IF YOU CHOOSE TO IGNORE ME, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELVES FIGHTING NOT JUST AGAINST ME, BUT GOD HIMSELF

I have to remember to use that in an argument sometime.
posted by bugbread at 4:30 PM on May 1, 2006

Basically, the mission to expose and disseminate info about "The Anti-Christ" has taken a back seat to the quest for narcissism, intellectual property and the all mighty dollar.

No, he says in his opening post that he needs the money to self-publish his 7-part magnum opus:

The consequence for me and my family, of the above, is that today, my only real source of income for myself and my family is the book, "The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea" (i.e., royalties on it), and soon, God willing, royalties on other items that are new to Prophecy House, Inc., the publishing corporation that I created to publish all this material. So, any precipitous drop in sales has a great impact not just upon my financial situation, but also upon my very ability to continue to pursue God's call. For example, the cost alone of the first print run for the seven-volume "Messiah, History, and the Tribulation Period" set will be between $50,000.00 and $150,000.00. I have no resources currently to cover that, so the money will have to be borrowed and the print run thus financed.

The thing that puzzles me about this whole genre is what do they hope to accomplish? If this is all in God's plan, why are they trying to disrupt it?
posted by scalefree at 4:31 PM on May 1, 2006

(I KNOW MUCH MORE THAN ANY OF YOU REALIZE.)
posted by airguitar at 4:33 PM on May 1, 2006

scalefree : "If this is all in God's plan, why are they trying to disrupt it?"

Are you referring to the Tim Cohen types, or the Conspiracy Central types?

If the former, remember that many Christians believe in the "God works in mysterious ways" school, vis "God doesn't write his message in giant letters in the sky, He talks to individual folks who then have to work their Tails off to get His message Out". So, from that perspective, God's plan is to have the good folks recognize and shun the antichrist, and the bad folks to party with him, and for folks like Tim Cohen to get the word out to the good folks: "Don't party with Prince Charles!" Not disrupting God's plan, but acting as his vehicle for carrying it out.
posted by bugbread at 4:40 PM on May 1, 2006

When you set the strange perspectives aside, it's an interesting conversation between people who really want access to information and someone who really wants to provide information. Then when you add the strange perspectives back to the conversation, you can laugh and wonder whether the AntiChrist guy is dumb for trying to stamp down the distribution of his message (how important is it?) or if the CC fellows are just stung for giving forum to the ideas of a man most of them half believe--in the first place--at best...
posted by airguitar at 4:55 PM on May 1, 2006

scalefree

No, he says in his opening post that he needs the money to self-publish his 7-part magnum opus.

Thanks for the clarification.
That is, indeed, a little more noble.
posted by Rashomon at 4:56 PM on May 1, 2006

Seven volumes? Why not publish the first, and use the proceeds to pay for the other six? He's just not thinking this whole thing through!
posted by SweetJesus at 5:17 PM on May 1, 2006

We are all using a system of loans. In such a regard, all information should be free, or you have (un)consciously decided to act as a tool of the financial system.

By preventing information from being distributed freely, nations continue to be manipulated by wealthy elite, controlling the uniformed. This is something that can change at any moment. In the past year, I have never been able to afford *ANY* printed materials or videos, and of course this includes your book or dvd. All the information I have had access to has been free, and that is how I have received education on these issues.

Experientially, I have also learned through living a life of extreme poverty how difficult money is to come by. There are those that have it, and they will spend it instead of helping those without it. This is an unfair system that continues to degrade individuals to despotism and suicide. I write only to inform, that at this moment, financial gain should not be sought by anyone. Anyone informed knows that the monetary system is finite and not built to last. Those that want to distribute truth do it because they are called to, and that does not have a cost.

If you are responsible for the closing of this tracker, you will have eliminated one of the most powerful voices for truth on the internet. You can stand before your God and know this as the truth, and do with that as you will.

The truth will find a way to come out, with or without your help. That is the nature of the Truth.
posted by airguitar at 5:25 PM on May 1, 2006

(I KNOW MUCH MORE THAN ANY OF YOU REALIZE.)
posted by airguitar at 4:33 PM PST on May 1 [!]

damn you airguitar I had that in my clipboard and was all ready to paste it here when I saw that you had the exact...wait a minute - are you reading my MIND?!?! I'm on to you now! *fumbles with tinfoil chinstrap*
posted by freebird at 6:04 PM on May 1, 2006

SweetJesus: Seven volumes? Why not publish the first, and use the proceeds to pay for the other six? He's just not thinking this whole thing through!

Because the world isn't ready to accept the truths they contain. The powers that be will see that his first volume fails, even though it is true...

<ahem>
posted by blue_beetle at 6:23 PM on May 1, 2006

Does it really matter about who is the Antichrist? Truthfully No., October 18, 2005
A Kid's Review
The idea is really about the Arrival of Our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ and not about who is the antichrist. We must prepare for the rapture and obey Bible scripture....who cares if Prince Charles is the Antichrist.....

Fuck'n A! Prince Charles is the Antichrist?!? Fuck, and here I thought it was the pope... or Ronald Reagan... stupid kid.
posted by wfrgms at 6:49 PM on May 1, 2006

Tim Cohen dropped out of the Air Force academy six months short of becoming an officer?

THANK YOU JESUS!
posted by kindall at 7:29 PM on May 1, 2006

My Favourite from the Amazon link:

OHM'GOD, IT'S REALLY HIM!, August 1, 2005
Reviewer: C. M. Whittaker

TIM COHN HAS A MASTERY OF THE SCRIPTURES THAT FEW MEN IN HISTORY HAVE POESSESSED. THE DEPTH OF HIS RESEARCH IS UNBELIEVABLE. WOW! I HAVE 28,000 HOURS STUDING THE BIBLE AND I FELT LIKE A LITTLE KID, WHEN I MET HIM AND I AM GOING TO READ EVERYTHING THIS MAN WRITES. DO I BELIEVE HIS ASSESSMENT OF WHO THE ANTI-CHRIST IS GOING TO BE.......YES, YES, YES I DO! EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN AND EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN WARRIOR NEEDS THIS INFO, NOW!

Wow....
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 8:12 PM on May 1, 2006

Prince Charles can not be the antichrist, he lacks the charisma and beauty required for that position.

I would enjoy seeing the service record for this Cohen guy. I would bet there are rational reasons why he left the academy so soon before graduation. Perhaps because he was declared unfit.
posted by Goofyy at 9:36 PM on May 1, 2006

You mean Jew-Ufos didn't do 911?
posted by QuietDesperation at 9:42 PM on May 1, 2006

If Prince Charles is meant to be the Antichrist, I can only surmise it must be one of those Good Omens mixup situations.

Somewhere out there is a middle-aged man with the ability to call unnamable mind-flaying spirits from the vasty deep, who's wasting his life in a photocopier maintenance company in Milton Keynes. Meanwhile, the somewhat dotty big-eared bloke with an affinity for pot plants who was meant to be doing that job will, upon Elizabeth II's death, be very surprised to see Satan appear in his bedchamber and order him to start the Final Battle.
posted by dansdata at 10:02 PM on May 1, 2006

For the love of Pete people, they're called JewFOs!
You damn, blind fools!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:20 PM on May 1, 2006

Ugh. Now I have crazy all over me.

Great. Just great.
posted by quite unimportant at 11:50 PM on May 1, 2006

The man talks to plants, of course he is the anti-Christ! Why in Gods name do you think GWB is so hell bent on destroying the environment.... i'ts because he knows! He knows that Satan's minions are really plants in disguise. KILL ALL NATURE!!!! OIL IS CHRISTS BLOOD AND WE MUST DEVOUR IT TO MAKE HIM HOLE AGAIN

I KNOW MUCH MORE THAN ANY OF YOU REALIZE.

PEACE
posted by twistedonion at 3:42 AM on May 2, 2006

I can't believe you guys missed this tidbit of his resume:

At the age of sixteen, I was perhaps the top computer programmer my age in the entire world, and acknowledged by a variety of sources as such; I had worked on city, state, and federal government projects; I had been a research intern with Atari in Sunnyvale, California; I had won the Colorado-Wyoming State Science Talent Contest (an offshoot of the Westinghouse contest), etc. Today, I am a senior software engineer, but I have also sacrificed much progress I could have made even in that arena to enable me to continue the pursuit of writing, researching, and publishing — God's call. (emphasis added)

So yeah. Whoever was going to check on his service record might want to look at the "top computer programmers in the entire world" list if that's available somewhere.

But...

I'm getting really tired of the free culture at any price folks... look, torrenting internet videos and tv shows (which are already given away for free) is one thing, but there really is no valid argument for freely distributing something that was meant to be a product for sale. That's theft, and it's always been theft, and it's not fair use. It isn't. Yes, you should be able to back up your DVD and it's bullshit that that is illegal. But there is nothing in fair use that even implies that giving the world the ability to "back up " your DVD an unlimited amount of times is ok.

And the argument that he should have asked nicely for them to remove it is bullshit. I'm sure the CC knew it wasn't some creative commons project that they were torrenting, and I don't think that when someone steals your IP that you should have to send them a friendly cease and desist letter first.

I don't understand why people keep giving this bullshit a free ride. It only gives the RIAA and MPAA the justification to be the total assholes that they are.
posted by illovich at 9:58 AM on May 2, 2006

Amen.
posted by sneebler at 11:44 AM on May 2, 2006

jUST aS cROWLEY (CROW-LY), alistaIR (a-lISTER-hOLLYwOOD cONTAINS THE nEW bABYLON) aND hUBBARD (hUB-bAD - cENTER cANNOT hOLD - sLOUCHING bABYLON bORN) tRIED TO sUMMON THE mOONchILD (A'n (t & ti = at&t)-cHRIST, AND dIANAspawn (DIANA'S pAWN cALLED croW-LY'S bABYLON, OR isIS) TO sUMMON aRMEGEDDON AND breAK tHE wORLD OF cHRISTjESUS.

so tIM cOHEN AND THE jEWISH cONSPIRACY POINT TO tHE fATHER (cHARLIE'S tHERE oN THE PAGE - chARLIZE tHERON, THE pAIGE OF THE tAROT mAGUS!) IN BLASphemY (bAST - FEM - cAT gODDESS OF egypt, wHERE jEWS=sLAVES) BUT the son is the ac (the cuRRENT tHAT fLOWS alTERNATAL (bROKEN bIRTH) TO god.


(Wow, that's strangely fun).
posted by Sparx at 2:27 PM on May 2, 2006

I MUCH MORE REALIZE THAN ANY JEW-FO'S KNOW OF.
posted by papercake at 5:17 PM on May 2, 2006