Academy Award-nominated actress and Scientology celebrity Anne Archer is still going strong with her very own Scientology front group, Artists for Human Rights.
In a video from 2018 that was shared with us this week, she explains that she’s tackling the issue of global refugees, and she advocates getting used to the idea that “we’re all going to be living together.”
Anne may sound genuinely concerned about the state of refugees in the world, but Artists for Human Rights is one of several “human rights” Scientology front groups that trace their beginning back to 2001. Here’s what we’ve said about it before…
Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) was founded in 2001 by Scientologist Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, who has also tried to push Scientology on the nation’s schools through the front group Applied Scholastics. Like other Church of Scientology front groups, YHRI pretends to have a benign purpose that has nothing to do with Scientology. In this case, YHRI is one of several groups under the umbrella United for Human Rights that has created videos and pamphlets based on the principles spelled out in a 1948 United Nations proclamation, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For some reason, Scientology never mentions in its materials that the Declaration was a project by Eleanor Roosevelt. It is a fine document, but many of its principles are uncontroversial in the developed world, such as the right to own property and the right to a fair trial.
Why would a Scientology front group spend money to tell American children that they have the right to own property or the right to move to another state?
The answer is the same as it is for all of Scientology’s front groups: To find a way to get kids talking about Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and looking into the benefits of joining Scientology.
And there’s another benefit of pushing “human rights” groups that put out a lot of pamphlets and videos and hold meetings at the United Nations: It’s a convenient coverup that your sponsoring organization, the Church of Scientology, is a human rights abuser going back decades.
It can’t hurt having a celebrity like Anne Archer doing that work for you.
For some reason, however, we’re asked about Anne a lot less than her son, handsome former Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis, who continues to be an obsession with Scientology watchers.
We have repeatedly provided updates on Tommy, who got booted from his job by David Miscavige in 2011. Here, once again, is the summary of his activities since then, because it’s inevitable that we’ll be asked about it…
By 2011 we noticed that Tommy had seemed to have disappeared. He turned up in Austin, where his wife Jessica Feshbach’s family had some property, and in 2013 Davis testified in a deposition that he was “on leave” from his job in the Sea Organization but was still a member of the Church of Scientology.
The next year, in 2014, the Davises moved to Los Angeles, as Tommy found work at billionaire real estate investor Tom Barrack’s Colony Capital. (Tommy’s father, William Davis, a wealthy real estate investor who died in 2015, was a close friend to Barrack). But then in February 2016 Tommy left his job working for Barrack and became “general manager North America” for Australian billionaire James Packer, helping to run Packer’s Hollywood studio, RatPac Entertainment.
Davis and Packer knew each other from Scientology. Packer had been brought into the church around the year 2001 by his friend Tom Cruise, and according to Steve Cannane’s excellent book on Australian Scientology, Fair Game, Packer left the church around the year 2006. A decade later, he hired Davis to help him run his movie studio. But then 2016 turned into a nightmare year for Packer as he had setbacks to his gambling empire, broke up with fiancée Mariah Carey, and his studio also took a bath on a Ben Affleck flop. Packer ended up bailing out of RatPac, and in that chaos Tommy left his job and went back to work for Barrack as a consultant. In May 2017, Tommy filed for divorce from Jessica, with whom he had two young daughters.
Since then Tommy remarried, to Egyptian actress Maie Ibrahim, and earlier this year they welcomed a baby boy.
Tommy’s boss Barrack, meanwhile, is in hot water. He was charged in July in a high-profile federal criminal case.
“Barrack, a longtime friend of former President Donald Trump, is accused of taking direction from senior UAE officials and unlawfully seeking to influence U.S. foreign policy positions and appointments of the Trump campaign in 2016 and his administration. Barrack has pleaded not guilty and is free on $250 million bail,” Bloomberg reported this week, revealing that prosecutors have said the case involves classified “national security information.”
It was a surprise that Barrack would find himself facing felony charges for acting for a foreign country. We knew that federal investigators were looking at him, but that was for the missing money that had been raised for the 2017 presidential inauguration, some $40 million that was unaccounted for. That mess had produced a scapegoat, former Melania Trump aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, whose book Melania and Me not only talked about Barrack, but also mentioned Tommy Davis numerous times.
Tommy sure seems to be around a lot of bad stuff, but he manages to come out unscathed, time after time.
Mom must be very proud.
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Bonus items from our tipsters
So who’s going to the Freewinds which is sailing nowhere? One reason to go to Scientology’s immobile barge is it’s still the only place you can achieve the Bridge to Total Freedom’s highest step, and that’s the auditing level of OT 8.
One of the newest graduates is Maria Fialkoff, who is married to Queens dentist and Freedom medal award winner Ben Fialkoff, who, with his daughter Meghan, infiltrates New York City schools to spread the gospel about L. Ron Hubbard.
Maria looks thrilled that she got to go to the ship that sails nowhwere!
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“The amoeba and the monocell and the cellular form is apparently an endowed thing. OT comes along and says, ‘Let there be chicken,’ you know. That’s about where all that fit. And he endows this and he leaves a sort of a puddle of theta to continue to animate it, you see. Does a few quick tricks with the — you can’t say ‘fingers’ — and you get an endowment. And that apparently is the way which you get cells. That isn’t factual, from a standpoint of experience or anything like that. I don’t mean that there’s data available here by which we’ve suddenly animated matter. But it more or less is a conceptual basis on which bodies are built. And somebody mocks it up and somebody else can keep it running. But there is something to this old gag of, they say, they go out and say hello to the flowers, you know, and they grow better. Well, at a very, very low state that would not be possible, of course. A person isn’t able to reach that far. But they sort of have a dim idea that they could do it, you see. Because way, way back someplace they probably did. So they go out and say hello to the flowers.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 8, 1966
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“THE PILL: After considerable data on the subject, any bad effects from a birth control pill are handled by changing BRANDS or STRENGTHS (amounts) and with these handled there should be no trouble with dizziness or auditing, according to data from the M.O. Therefore, please note there is NO restriction on taking such pills except to report any odd effects to the MO. The previous MO, whose data was taken, did not do enough research on it. As trouble has been caused by this, it should be broadly known that there is now no restrictions on birth control pills.” — The Commodore, September 8, 1971
“My feeling is that the strongest beings in this galactic cluster are OTs who were implanted by technologically advanced but more aberrated and weaker beings and sent here. It makes sense to me that this would be the easiest place to introduce Scientology and that the task elsewhere will be much harder.”
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1996: Zenon Panoussis was raided by the RTC for posting the NOTS materials to a.r.s. The raid occurred while he was away from his home. In a series of posts, he described the events. “When I returned home this afternoon, I found my apartment broken into. The hard disks were missing from my computer, as well as some diskettes and one copy of the printed OTs. On my bed-pillow was a message from the bailiff that he had executed a decision by the primary court of Stockholm. I am (sometimes) a prudent nature. Foreseeing the raid, I have not used my computer for the storage or production or distribution of any material to which the RTC claims copyright. I count therefore on having my hard disks back within a week. Foreseeing the raid I have also spread the files in question to a large number of untraceable acquaintances, and instructed these to spread them to their acquaintances in case I was raided. This further spreading is taking place right now, with the result that the RTC will NEVER be able to cut me off from the material in question. Foreseeing the raid I have also stored the printed OTs elsewhere than in my apartment (one single copy was taken from my apartment, and one was missed and left back). Their distribution continues as usual, or rather MORE INTENSELY. Today I learned from the bailiff that the scienos’ Swedish lawyer, two American scienos by the names of Warren McShane and William Heart, as well as a scieno computer technician were allowed by the bailiff to search my home. This is not only irregular, but highly illegal in this country. In the total mess that my apartment is (and was already before the raid), I have had no possibility to check what might be missing. No time either.”
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“The conspiracy cult is way scarier and more dangerous than any religious cult. The country is on the verge of a civil war thanks to these cynical manipulators and their feeble-minded, heavily-armed adherents. Alex Jones and the rest should be deported for insurrection.”
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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 November 10. Trial tentatively scheduled for February.
— 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 October 7 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, 2020 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 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27.
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.
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] All of former Scientology mouthpiece Tommy Davis’s appearances in ‘Melania and Me’
[TWO years ago] Hurricane Dorian’s destruction provides Scientology another chance at make-believe
[THREE years ago] New Scientology escape book ‘Perfectly Clear’ leaves some important questions unanswered
[FOUR years ago] ‘Leah Remini’ show prompting more ‘ranch kids’ to come forward with agonizing family drama
[FIVE years ago] Drone footage of Scientology’s secretive Int Base: The reaction from former base employees
[SIX years ago] More proof (from Scientology) that it’s never been a better time to be a Scientologist!
[SEVEN years ago] Lyman Spurlock, 1945-2014: Imprisoned and abused, a loyal Scientology executive to the end
[EIGHT years ago] The 1979 Clearwater Sun Editorial the Tampa Bay Times Should Run Today
[TEN years ago] A Scientology Countdown Announcement: Before We Start the Top Ten, a Programming Note
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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 2,417 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,922 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,442 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,462 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,353 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,660 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,528 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,302 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,632 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,106 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,422 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,988 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,907 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,075 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,656 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,917 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,955 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,668 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,193 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 548 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,723 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,274 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,423 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,743 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,598 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,717 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,073 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,376 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,482 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,880 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,756 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,339 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,834 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,088 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,197 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 8, 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