Previously, we posted video of Scientology leader David Miscavige giving his oration on April 2 to open the new “Ideal Org” in Atlanta, which was shot by a couple of very resourceful Underground Bunker readers who had secured a strategic position across the street from the festivities.
But our informants didn’t want our readers to miss the ribbon-cutting ceremony! And we want to thank them for the painstaking work of captioning the words of Scientology mouthpiece Erin Banks in this clip.
Just as an aside, we also mentioned Erin Banks in our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, because her mother, Paula Tyler, was one of the Scientology operatives who Paulette Cooper suspects ran the scheme to obtain her fingerprint on a piece of paper that was turned into a fake bomb threat and mailed to the New York org, resulting in Paulette being indicted and facing 15 years in federal prison.
We sure would love to talk to Erin about that some day. Anyway, please enjoy this happy scene in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with David Miscavige and his local whales…
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Roland Rashleigh-Berry heads for Target Two
Our friend and oldtime Scientology critic Hartley Patterson posted a notice yesterday on Facebook that Roland Rashleigh-Berry died earlier this week. We asked Hartley to send us some word about Roland for those who might not know who he is. He sent us this…
Roland Rashleigh-Berry was a long time critic, picketer and author of the Xenu leaflet.
On the Usenet group alt.religion.scientology he played the contrarian, making outrageous suggestions that we knew the clams were dutifully copying down – his dead agent page was a delight to read. Here is a link to a 1997 protest in London during which he was punched on the nose.
His finest picketing moment however came at East Grinstead in 2001. In his own words:
A penny and OT powers
30 Aug 2001When we were picketing the bookshop at East Grinstead we were met by a determined opposition. Because on the previous occasion I had been giving out Xenu flyers and telling the clams the story of Xenu, causing much enturbulation, they sent out their — OTs — to handle us. Once I had established that they were OTs (I asked them and they told me) I asked them if they had real OT powers.
Of course they said they did. So I consulted with the other picketers and asked them if they were willing to call off the picket for that day if one of these OTs could demonstrate clear OT powers in the form of levetating a penny off the palm of my hand using thought alone. They agreed. The OTs were listening. So I put a penny in my hand and said that if they lifted it with their OT thoughts alone then we would go away for that day. Do you know, they actually tried! Can you imagine it? Adults thinking they could perhaps lift a penny with their thoughts.
They gathered around it and looked hopefully and seriously at it as if it would lift. I said “go on, it’s only a little penny”, and they looked at it even more hopefully with their necks craned forward. I said “you did say you had OT powers, didn’t you?”. So after a while one of them said “we ought to charge you money for this. If we lift it then you should pay us money”. So I offered not only for us to go away but I would send them £2000 as well.
So they looked at the penny hard again. The penny still stayed in my palm. I said to the OT who was the leader “You are OT 5 I thought you said. Surely you can do this at your level”. He then said “OTs can do this at one of the higher levels.” I asked them if he had seen any OT 8’s do something like that. He had not.
Can you believe that adults can be so stupid?
Thank you, Hartley, for that fun look back at Roland’s sense of humor.
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A great Scientology parody you might have missed
We get asked by readers all the time — Did you see that great joke about Scientology last night on [insert name of television show here]? Or, when are you going to write about Hulu’s series The Path?
We appreciate all the messages we get about Scientology parodies, which seem to be popping up on television nearly every week now. It’s open season on Scientology in Hollywood, and it’s impossible for us to keep up.
The truth is, we have our hands full covering the non-fiction version of Scientology to pay much attention to the fictional ones.
That said, we did want to note a pretty amazing send up of Scientology that came out last year and largely went under the radar. The Decemberists, the very cool Portland group that’s been around for more than a decade, put out a genius video last year with maybe the best send up of Scientology since Saturday Night Live’s “Neurotology.”
The people behind this video for the song “Cavalry Captain” really did their homework. The leader of “Decemberism” even opens a new church in Basel, for Xenu’s sake. It’s a classic.
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Bonus items from our tipsters
Happening today in Clearwater…
It’s the L. Ron Hubbard birthday celebration in Karachi, Pakistan!
“I’m 17, I’m staff, and I’m celebrating my birthday at the Fort Harrison Hotel. Thanks, mom.”
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 16, 2016 at 07:00
E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield
