Rod Keller keeps an eagle eye on Scientology’s building projects. He’s got a great “Ideal Org” update for us today.
In the past year Scientology has opened seven new Ideal Orgs. Budapest and Harlem opened in July 2016, San Diego in November, Auckland in January 2017, San Fernando Valley in March, Miami in April, and Copenhagen in May.
Scientology leader David Miscavige wants the Ideal Org openings to be interpreted as Scientology growing as a movement. But there’s no evidence that more buildings are producing more new members. After their grand openings, Ideal Orgs gradually become empty after the initial enthusiasm.
Empty Ideal Orgs, however, isn’t keeping Miscavige from planning new ones. We think six more Ideal Orgs could open in the next year. Let’s go around the globe to see which ones are nearing completion.
The historic Pitmaston House is currently under renovation to become the new Birmingham, England Ideal Org. Lizzy Calcioli announced that funding for the planned October opening is complete, but more donations are being solicited.
It’s typical in Scientology to raise money all the way up to opening day to be used for neighboring Ideal Org projects. Calcioli is the Executive Director of Wealdon House, a life improvement center near Saint Hill, and she is the sister of fantasy author Neil Gaiman.
Austin, Texas finished raising $15 million this week and will be renovating the existing org on one of the main party streets of the University of Texas campus, Guadalupe Street. Renovations will now be started to add two stories to the building to increase the floor space above the 50,000 square foot minimum for Ideal Orgs.
We previously reported Joburg North in South Africa is preparing to open. One of the key preparations is to distribute as many copies of The Way to Happiness as possible in the neighborhood. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard called the process “safepointing” and directed that reaching opinion leaders in the area is critical for Scientology’s expansion.
We were able to get the Way To Happiness accepted by 6 different churches with the intent to use it for in educating their congregation. We approached a Dutch Reformed Church and after showing the pastor the Way to Happiness DVD, he was very impressed and said he definitely wanted to use it.
One of our teams approached the custodian of another church and she was very nervous at first. But our team spoke to her for over 20 minutes handling her questions and objections. She wouldn’t let them in the gate. But in the end, she happily took the Way To Happiness and was going to go watch it herself.
One of our teams went to an Anglican Church and we were very surprised to find there that the lady we met with saw the Way to Happiness and said she loves that book. We inquired as to how she knows about it. She said she got it a couple years ago and is doing a course online on it. She didn’t know there was a DVD and she was eager to watch it. This was great.
One church, Christian Science, the guy met with us. After quite a lot of conversation, he said he thought what we were doing was vital. He said he feels that we are actually working on something that is so important, it could save the world. He encouraged our team to keep helping other schools and churches as they do need this help. We were also welcomed in the Diplomats Assembly of God church and they took the DVD and went to go watch it right away.
With all this action taking place, we are in need help! The biggest cost is getting transport to each school so that we can show the Truth About Drugs DVDs and pass out the booklets. It’s only about R800 per week. Any help anyone can give to help support the transport to these schools would help a LOT!
We also need The Way To Happiness DVDs and booklets! This is because The Way To Happiness is done in each school after the Truth About Drugs!
800 Rand is about 62 US dollars.
Tiny Salt Lake City org purchased an office building in 2014 to become the new Ideal Org. They should start renovations and hold an opening fairly soon, since the building was never in disrepair.
Mexico City already has an Ideal Org, but two more orgs plan to go ideal. Organización Desarrollo y Dianética A.C. is known as “ODD.” Organización Cultural Dianética de Polanco is known as “OCD,” so they are frequently confused for each other. ODD will be first, and is now under construction.
A sure sign that an Ideal Org is preparing to open is that some of the staff leave home to train at an Advanced Org. Executives always go to Los Angeles, while technical staff such as auditors and course supervisors can go to any AO.
We asked former Sea Org member Chris Shelton to describe the training in LA. Chris was the A/Tech Aide WUS, a position in continental management.
For decades executives have come to LA to study the Organization Executive Course (OEC) and the Flag Executive Briefing Course (FEBC) at the HGB building on Hollywood Boulevard. In 2000 we received a taped briefing from David Miscavige that changed that. He announced that these volumes were in the wrong order, and need to be re-arranged. He described how he had lined up all the admin policies in chronological order in a large room at the international base at Gold, and that policies should be studied in that order. The existing OEC is organized according to the Scientology org chart, by division. Miscavige introduced a new order – chronologically by “production line.”
The first production line was Central Files and Letter Registration, and the pack send to us included LRH’s policies on that subject from any of the old green volumes, in chronological order. That way you could see his first plan, and any policies where he changed his mind and decided to do things a different way. More production line packs were sent to us including Testing, Personnel Recruitment, Division 6 Intro Lines, and Tech Services.
At the time I left in 2012 Miscavige hadn’t re-issued all of the previous OEC and FEBC according to the new chronological order by production line, but these packs are being studied by executives when they come to LA, and that study happens at the LA Org, which LRH called the “model org.”
— Rod Keller
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Jeffrey Augustine chats with Jon Atack
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Official Pronouncements from the Underground Bunker
We’re traveling again today, and we’ve been unable to keep up with all of the kind messages from readers sending us various items of breaking news. We thank you all. But here are a few general announcements that we hope will address some of the questions we’ve been getting.
— We are not fans of Reza Aslan or his show, ‘Believer,’ but CNN’s reasons for canceling the show are pretty pathetic.
— Joy Villa’s visit to the White House is the greatest clown show ever, but we don’t know if it means the Trump administration is actually being “safe pointed.”
— Russian media is some of the worst we’ve ever dealt with, the country is run by a despotic maniac, and no, we are never encouraged to see yet another raid on Scientology happen there. (They occur every few months in various parts of the country.) Scientology properties being raided and Scientologists being detained there has, as far as we can tell, had no effect on Scientology’s popularity there, and this ongoing government harassment has no impact on, or larger lesson about, Scientology elsewhere. We hope that helps explain why we don’t jump on these stories the way the other media does.
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Marty Rathbun has a new video posted today
New day, new video. Same question: Why, Marty, did you give the Church of Scientology a private email from Dani Lemberger to use against him in litigation. We don’t care about your tepid complaints about Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, Paul Haggis, Hana Whitfield, or the “anti-Scientology movement.” We just want to know how you justified, in your mind, handing over a potentially damaging email to the Church of Scientology in its litigation against a former member.
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HOWDYCON ANNOUNCEMENT
Wow, we’re getting close to the start of HowdyCon 2017 in Denver. And we had a slight change in logistics from our caterer for our dinner on Saturday night, June 24. If you plan to go, make sure you have confirmed with Kim O’Brien, our coordinator, and visit our HowdyCon website where she has instructions for how you can pay for the dinner fee that night. You need to do that right away to make sure you’ll be included in the Saturday night festivities, which include:
— London-based Australian journalist Steve Cannane talking about his book Fair Game
— A spoken-word performance from former Sea Org official Claire Headley
— Cathy Schenkelberg performing for us scenes from her one-woman show, “Squeeze My Cans”
You don’t want to miss out, so please visit the convention page and get in contact with Kim.
HowdyCon 2017: Denver, June 23-25 at the Residence Inn Denver City Center. Go here to start making your plans.
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Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 4,778 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 2,535 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 1,881 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 2,375 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 1,415 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy in 1,127 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 653 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 4,742 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 1,882 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,202 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,177 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 533 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin in 4,835 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 942 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis for 1,344 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,217 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 798 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike in 1,303 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 1,547 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 12,656 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 11, 2017 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, Kindle, and audiobook versions. 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.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
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
