Scientology makes sure that its members have plenty of different ways to fork over big donations. We tend to focus on the really wealthy richies who fund the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) and get big trophies for it, as well as goofy titles like “Silver Meritorious” and “Patron Laureate.”
But there’s an entire separate set of “statuses” for other ways of giving, including for the big donors to the Ideal Org building programs (those million-dollar givers are known as “New Civilization Builders”), as well as other construction projects.
Another thing Scientologists are hit up for is the eternal project to send L. Ron Hubbard books to libraries around the world. Yes, even today in our wired world, Scientology is still completely dedicated to the dead-tree versions of Hubbard’s books, which libraries really, really don’t want, but Scientology sends them anyway.
So church members are constantly hit up for what is known as the “Planetary Dissemination” program, which itself has an entire different set of statuses for the people who contribute to it.
Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact dollar amounts that go with these status levels the way we do the others. If you happen to have an old pamphlet or magazine that lists the amounts (Scientology is more shy about publishing stuff like that now), please let us know.
We wrote years ago about how libraries hate to be sent these unneeded books, and Jefferson Hawskins more than a decade ago explained at his website that it’s all a scam:
“Of course what they don’t tell their potential donors is that most of those books go in the library front door and right out the back door into resale bins, where they are sold for pennies on the dollar or pulped. They don’t make it onto the shelves.”
But here are the latest marks and their special new status levels, along with the full listing that appeared in a new publication. And thank you to the reader who sent it in!
Evolutionary Ambassadors
Buz & Claire Taylor
Premier Ambassadors
John & Gerri Golashesky
Stu Sjouwerman & Rebecca Weiss-Sjouwerman
Kevin Andrews
Elite Ambassadors
Chris Estey & Family
Pierre & Alison Denis
Osman Ozsan & Maria Gregori
William Horwich
Senior Ambassadors
Hermann & Armelle Keppler
Thomas Gagnon
Dane & Lisa Doescher
Ambassadors of Planetary Dissemination
Cheryl Caputo & Gary Camp
Stephen & Megan Epstein
Planetary Disseminators
Andry Andeev
Eric & Shannon Huntington
Hans Peter Klotzli
Imre Morva
Jigar Gandi & Karol Molina
Kim Wang
Mark & Christine Carberry
Philip & Pam Jepsen
Shirley Allison
Tim & Caroline Richardson
William Wiatt
Senior Disseminators
Alysen & Daniel Tarrant
Artan Gashi
Chris Wiley
Dorri Goldschmidt
Helle Rode
Geoff Gault
Giovanni Zamboni
Jay Kamhi
Jeff & Markie Harris
Matteo Fumagalli Casiraghi
Rainer Fend
Steve & Nikki Magnie
Tibor Varga
Will & Elisa Southard
Leading Disseminators
Aramburo & Lisette Nacif
Benno Hurler
Beth Hulbert
Bob Pitts
Calvin & Patsy Lane family
Carly Van Den Berg
Dana Danhoff
Eric Moore
Ernst Haible
Felix Koella
Frank & Darlene Camuso
Giampaolo Floris
Harry Kunz
Jill Chiappe
Jiri Puncochar
Joe Bleich
Jos Geurts
Kelly & Jimena Layton
Lyndsey Ursini
Marat Nugmanov
Marco Righetti
Mark Leverson
Michael & Heather Winters Coleman
Nora Vamos
Oscar Bonetti
Peter Storfer
Ryan & Lissa Dale
Ryan Gross
Sean Duffy
Steve & Gail Paquette
Theresa Williams
Villiam Kocurek
Vincenzo Mazzaferro
Vivienne Reign
Vladimir Valach
Werner Zimmerman
Yauni Morales & Lisette Nacif
Disseminators
Aleksandr Zlobin
Alfred Gonzalez-Fortis
Andre Gutknecht
Andreas Quitt
Angelo Polverini
Aniko Demecs
Axel Rudel
Bas Wolfkamp
Becky Heuston
Bert Haglund
Brigitta Albrecht
Cedric Chevalley
Charles Law
Claude-Andre Quennod
Colin Culpepper
David Morris
David Zermer
Edina Nagy Andorne
Elisabeth Hablaoetzel
Frederic Fallourd
Gianpaolo Mucci
Giuliana Dalla Pozza & Pierfranco Toniolo
Jan Sztruhar
Jean-Louis Solatges
Jose Vicente Barrassa & Maricarmen Galindo Rico
Joyce Griffin
Karen Ramelli
Kim Rasmussen
Lucia Vilardo
Maria Grazia Conciarelli
Matt Gleason
Matteo Trinei
Matthias Bermeitinger
Michael Rubino
Mike Arnold
Peter Hunziker
Renate Helnwein
Romina Bovolini
Serge Tessier
Stefano Colonna
Tim White
Tom Burke
Valerie Grange
Zsanett Bandi
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“And this is what? Eleventh of Jan. The mystic month. And we are finding ourselves in the middle of — no, it’s at the beginning — What cycle are you in? Well, anyhow, it’s on a planet, on a twelfth-rate sun, and it’s the beginning of the, it’s shortly after the winter solstice. Saint Hill Special Briefing Course. Well, if you lived right and if you knew what you were doing and many other unlikely activities, you have it made. But we have to assume, we have to assume that if none of you have grown wings in the last 24 hours and you actually have had a PC on an E-Meter as an auditor and the PC hasn’t grown wings in the last 24 hours with all the tools which you’ve got, we must assume that there is some faint disconnection between what I am trying to teach you and what you are doing. I would say there’s some small gap. Maybe not a large gap. Maybe only a light year or two.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 11, 1962
“The Auditing Completions are starting to roll in. With a wow and a hurrah! Some important people have gotten some lovely gains lately. At the other end of it, 2 of those leaving came through it. We have the planet by the tail.” — The Commodore, January 11, 1971
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“Warning for the true believers, maybe dont read: After someone goes Clear in Scientology they are encouraged to quickly get to OT3. They are warned that they are now vulnerable to problems or something, and that they must get to OT3 as quickly as possible. Now this is a good marketing tool, it encourages one to continue with Scientology even though they have gone Clear. They must for their own safety. Its like the government encouraging us to get vaccinated for our safety, it’s all about scaring someone into behaving how you want them to. Because some people were in the religion just to achieve Clear, this warning makes them think ‘Oh, I’m vulnerable, I must continue doing Scientology.’ So it’s a good way of keeping them around and getting them to buy their next level and do it asap. Which is what salesman always do, ‘you must buy now!’”
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2001: Bob Minton reported that Brian Haney has settled his lawsuit against Scientologist Bryan Zwan. “Brian Haney settled with Zwan, Digital Lightwave and Scientology on 12/21. Haney took the money, he’s now gagged and restricted regarding Scientology and tied in other ways.”
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“If Scientology could, then based solely on the words of L Ron Hubbard they would be gladly killing ‘infidels’ who refused to convert.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson’s demurrer denied Oct 19, arraignment delayed to Jan 20.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed for ‘Fatico’ hearing on Jan 19.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration; Jan 29, Masterson’s request to stay discovery pending the criminal case
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
Concluded litigation:
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs.
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Sonya Bianchi, 1927-2020: Hubbard’s first ‘Clear’ who vanished from Scientology history
[TWO years ago] Kansas City: Don’t panic. Your skyline is screwed, but Scientology isn’t taking over.
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s ‘scripture’ includes a thoroughly debunked mammoth-meat hoax
[FOUR years ago] Last night’s family on ‘Leah Remini’ found themselves targeted by Scientology attack site
[FIVE years ago] David Bowie, 1947-2016
[SEVEN years ago] Yes, that was a Scientology ad you saw during the football game — we told you it was coming!
[EIGHT years ago] Paul Haggis and Lawrence Wright on NBC’s Rock Center January 17
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s “Super Power Rundown:” What is it, Anyway?
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,178 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,682 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,202 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,222 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,113 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,420 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,288 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,062 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,866 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,182 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,748 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,667 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,835 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,416 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,677 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,715 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,428 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,953 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 308 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,483 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,034 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,183 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,503 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,358 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,477 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,833 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,136 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,242 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,644 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,516 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,099 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,594 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,848 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,957 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 11, 2021 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post 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 new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, 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 can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | 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 | Shelly Miscavige, 15 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 | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
