We’ll be at the courthouse today hoping the Danny Masterson retrial jury can deliver some verdicts before the holiday weekend. In the meantime, Janis Gillham Grady and Mark Fisher wanted to tell you about their new video adventure.
Mark Fisher and Janis Gillham Grady recently launched their own YouTube channel — Our Scientology Stories: Peeling the Onion — in order to cover the earlier history of Scientology as well as the destruction and abuses that occurred.
Janis was born into Scientology in Australia in the mid 1950s and went with her family to Saint Hill in England and eventually into the Sea Organization on the Flagship Apollo at age 11. She then began working, along with her sister Terri, as one of the original Messengers for L. Ron Hubbard. Janis worked for Hubbard 6 hours a day, 7 days a week for nearly 11 years. She spent more time with Hubbard on a daily basis than even his family. Her mother Yvonne Gillham Jentzsch started the Celebrity Center for Scientology in Los Angeles and her father Peter Gillham, was a famous Scientology lecturer and later Nutritionist who created Natural Calm.
Mark started in Scientology at the age of 14 and joined the Sea Organization after graduating High School in 1976. He moved up the management ranks of Scientology, eventually working directly for David Miscavige as the head of his personal office for the last 6 years he was in the Sea Organization.
Both Janis and Mark escaped from Scientology and the Sea Organization in 1990 because of the abuses they witnessed by Miscavige. Scientology then began a Fair Game campaign against them and their former Scientology family and friends, sending in Private Investigators to spy on them and disrupt their business and lives for years.
They plan to tell their stories about Scientology history, working for Hubbard and Miscavige, and what they think about their time in Scientology and what the organization has turned into. Their videos include historical photographs, some never before seen by the public. Also interviews with former Scientology Executives and Sea Org Members, remembering their time with Hubbard.
Mark and Janis now have seven videos/interviews on their YouTube channel with some very fascinating history and filling in the gaps for their followers.
They would appreciate it if people who haven’t seen them or subscribed to please do so and hit “like” for each interview as they watch them. Prerecorded videos are under “video” and the live Q-and-A they have done are under “live.” The playlist for podcast (one must have the YouTube app on phone).
— Janis and Mark
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Technology Cocktail
“The strained feeling in the preclear’s (and sometimes auditor’s) wrists is not a tiredness as one may suppose, but will disappear as he gets into communication with the auditor. He will go through a lot of anaten and dope-off, but should come out very bright and in present time and in much better shape than when the session started.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1958
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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 as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney
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“Time is a temperature. I don’t know what that temperature is in Kelvin, but now that I know that time is a temperature, I can find it. And the moment I find the exact temperature, I could make any area, at any given instant, timeless or speed its time up. I know that sounds very strange. But this is a great discovery in physics. Only you know about it, but it is a great discovery in physics. It’s rather a staggerer. ” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 26, 1961
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“MELBOURNE: We served a writ on Anderson, the ‘judge’ of the Melbourne Inquiry for legal faults. Ian Tampion there got lots of immediate raw public congratulations and good wishes. Dianetic Auditing is starting up there and the org will soon be reestablished. Some real good people are on the grounds.” — The Commodore, May 26, 1970
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“I met a guy in Scientology that I used to know when we were on a spaceship just before coming to this planet. He didn’t go through the implant station like I did, and he was extremely OT, more than I. I lost most of my powers, but he was not or could not go exterior to his body and create anything magical and neither could LRH, either. These bodies just soak up a Thetan like a sponge since with all their automaticities they are 100 percent effect and a Thetan is 100 percent cause, so the two just snap terminals like a magnet. This explains a lot of it but, still, what happened to our powers? LRH could move objects with his mind, apparently, because a couple guys on Scientolipedia who were close to him said he put his hand in the air above a pencil and the pencil rose up to his hand so he could grab it. He told the guy that he had been working for 30 years to accomplish that. If that’s true, I don’t understand why he lost all his godlike powers of creating things out of nothingness.”
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1999: Jon Atack’s book on Scientology, A Piece of Blue Sky, continued to make news after Amazon.com restored it to their catalog last week. From Heise News: “The internet book dealer, Amazon.com, under pressure from massive protest, has decided to put a book critical of the Scientology sect back into its selection. In 1995, a British court had decided that the book contained a slanderous statement. However, it is hardly conceivable that in the United States, where freedom of speech counts rather high on the scale of Constitutional rights, that a similar judgment would be carried out there. After Wired News reported of the withdrawal of the book, a hail of protest came from internet news groups, particularly from the
alt.religion.scientology forum. Amazon speaker Bill Curry said, ‘On the basis of the information which we had in February, the decision we made seemed right to us. Happily, however, the actual information we have received in the past few days has caused us to take a second look.'”
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“The ultimate goal of Hubbard’s bridge was to take all your money and then turn you into a slave once your money was gone. And if you did have enough money to make it all the way up the Bridge, the EP was hopefully insanity or suicide so you couldn’t sue Hubbard’s ass for fraud or spill the beans.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Mistrial declared November 30. Retrial scheduled, jury selection begins March 29. Next pretrial hearing: Feb 16.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing Feb 13.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next status conference Feb 13.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing November 17 to argue the arbitration motions, awaiting ruling.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: March 15, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through February 7.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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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] Continuing to chat with a Scientology celebrity: On ‘SP’ Danny Masterson, and more
[TWO years ago] Scientology chiros make pilgrimages to Clearwater before heading to prison
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s rising new anti-vaxx star, coming to a ‘re-open’ protest near you!
[FOUR years ago] What California’s controversial new confessions bill means for Scientology
[FIVE years ago] Karen Pressley on the madness of Sea Org life: ‘I no longer belonged to my dreams’
[SIX years ago] L. Ron Hubbard was no Bill Shakespeare, but here’s some of his early playwriting anyway
[SEVEN years ago] What you didn’t see on ‘I Am Cait’: Kate Bornstein and Caitlyn Jenner at Scientology HQ
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology denied: Karen de la Carriere stops a takedown attempt on videos at her channel
[NINE years ago] The David Miscavige summons, and other dire news for Scientology’s drug rehab network
[TEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Has Your Back!
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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 3,041 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,546 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,096 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,086 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,977 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,281 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,152 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,257 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,704 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,046 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,612 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,531 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,699 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,280 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,541 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,577 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,293 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,857 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,172 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,347 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,898 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,029 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,367 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,222 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,341 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,697 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,000 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,106 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,504 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,380 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,963 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,458 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,712 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,821 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 26, 2023 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, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), 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
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
