Another hype video! Scientology still begging members to go to the cruise ship’s ‘OT Bubble’

 
For the past sixteen months Scientology’s private cruise ship the Freewinds has been stuck in port in Aruba, and there’s no sign that it’s hitting the high seas again any time soon.

But Scientology still wants its members to spend a truckload of cash to go to the ship for a course or a convention or, heck, as a new permanent office! It has high-speed wifi!

As a sign of how eager Scientology is to sell tickets to its ship that no longer sails, it has put out yet another hype video to loosen up your wallet. Yes, just days after we showed you their last vid, here’s another one.

Do you think they’re hitting all the right notes to get a Scientologist to put their lives on hold, fly to Aruba, and then subject themselves to constant fundraising pitches while they learned to row a boat and swab the deck?

 
[NOTE: Scientology requested of our hosting service that this video be removed from this story. It was a 1 minute, 40 second video advertising the “OT Bubble” at the Freewinds ship during the pandemic. It featured the usual overhyped nonsense.]

 
And here’s even more incentive!

 
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Source Code

“So, somebody trying to understand life sitting down on a mountain top some place in lower Jesus or some place — Jerusalem, excuse me — and he’s contemplating his navel or something, and trying to get the hot dope, he gives you all sorts of things. If he starts to get close to the truth, then the things he utters appear to be idiocies, see. If he gets close to the truth. Like, there really is no universe – Mary Baker Eddy. There is no universe. All is infinite mind. Isn’t it true? It’s very, very, very true but that doesn’t prevent Christian Science from being the leading religious faith you find on the rosters of insane asylums.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 14 1964

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“To all staff & students: Per HCO P/L 26 July 1965, ‘All students of any course are debarred from visiting any medical or healing practitioner unless they are given Ethics clearance first and all possibility of ‘rollercoaster’ (sudden case decline) has been looked into and any suppressive or bad auditing precisely isolated. The exception is an emergency involving severe injury, or infectious disease, but in this case the student must be cleared by Ethics to be permitted back on course or even in the Org. This includes all accidents.’ This line is to be in as of now. Course Admin is to ensure student goes to Ethics first. Staff are to go to HCO Reception and route to MO then MAA & Examiner. Until the new routing forms are approved & issued — Reception and Course Admin will have to write it in. The point is this line is effective now and no one sees the MO without following the line.” — Norma Randell for HAS, July 14, 1971

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Did Leah Remini really leave the Church of Scientlogy, or was it a ‘reverse psychology’ operation to expose hundreds of thousands of people to the church? I once saw an article that after her series started Scientology had a huge run of people ordering books and taking auditing.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1996: Time magazine won the case brought by Scientology for the 1991 article, “Scientology: Cult of Greed.” From Reuters: “A federal judge Tuesday dismissed a libel suit brought by the Church of Scientology International against Time Warner, Inc. and its Time Inc. Magazine Co. U.S. District Judge Peter Leisure threw out the case, which alleged that a 10-page article entitled ‘Scientology: The Cult of Greed,’ carried false and defamatory statements. The article was published in 1991 by Time Magazine. Last year the court dismissed part of the case but heard new arguments on a remaining issue. The judge said the article also criticized the church on other subjects including the validity of its belief system, the harmfulness of its methods of counseling and its tactics of combating critics. ‘These statements were either not challenged by plaintiff or were held to be nonactionable by the Court on the grounds that no reasonable jury could find that they were published with actual malice,’ the judge wrote.”

 
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Random Howdy

“If the ‘tech’ is perfect, how did all these SP’s slip through into the upper echelons of Scientology management in the first place?”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for August 9. Trial tentatively scheduled for early November.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference August 21 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Sept 9.

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 to US Supreme Court submitted on May 26. Scientology responded on June 25.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments scheduled for Oct 5.
— 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: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— 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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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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 BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. 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] ‘Scientology Black Ops’ series with Leah Remini & Paul Haggis spiked by Aussie network
[TWO years ago] Is it time for Scientology to replace its cruise ship? If so, we’ve done the shopping.
[THREE years ago] Scientology fundraiser: ‘It was commonplace to lie to church members to get donations’
[FOUR years ago] Now that Neil deGrasse Tyson is up against Leah Remini for an Emmy, will he rethink Scientology?
[FIVE years ago] To Scientology’s Emily Jones: We have a message from your mother
[SIX years ago] Wise Beard Man visits Scientology’s new Fantasyland in Clearwater
[SEVEN years ago] The Dallas Morning News asks a question about Scientology, and we want your response
[EIGHT years ago] Someone Apparently Forgot to Notify the VA that Scientology is a Religion
[NINE years ago] Alexander Jentzsch, Son of Scientology’s President, Memorialized At Sea
[TEN years ago] Scientology Wants Your Money! Donate Now!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 14, 2021 at 07:00

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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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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…

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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