We want to thank the reader who forwarded to us a flier they received from the New York Scientology org, which is planning on showing a video of the recent IAS Patrons Ball this Saturday.
Why is this significant? Well, in a number of ways we think, and we want to get your thoughts on it as well.
You already know that the annual IAS gala returned to Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, England on the weekend of November 3-5 for the first time since 2019. It’s traditionally one of Scientology’s big annual events, and it takes place under a big tent on the property.
The first night, on Friday, Scientology leader David Miscavige gives a big speech about how great everything is and how Scientology is expanding by leaps and bounds, and he then announces the year’s winners of “Freedom Medals.”
Normally, a week or two later video of this event is shown at Scientology’s other orgs around the world for those Scientologists who were unable to go to the event in person.
The second night of the event, on Saturday, is when everyone dresses in black tie and Miscavige recognizes the year’s biggest donors. This is known as the Patrons Ball, it’s a smaller affair, and video of this event is not normally shown to the rest of the orgs in subsequent weeks.
But this year is different. We’re learning that video of the Patrons Ball has been showing up at the orgs, typically a week after the Friday night event was shown.
And another difference this time was that actor Tom Cruise not only made the scene (as he has in the past), but that his involvement was so public, with many photos of him mugging with his fellow Scientologists getting out to social media.
What this flier tells us is that the Patrons Ball video will be shown at the New York org this Saturday, and that it’s for the first time ever. This just wasn’t done in past years.
So not only has David Miscavige, post-pandemic, returned the IAS event to England, he wants the rest of the Scientology world to see him handing out trophies to this year’s biggest donors, which he has not done in past years.
Also, the flier makes this claim about that night of trophies: “It’s also a record-breaker, with the highest number of Patrons ever acknowledged on stage at an IAS Ball.”
Oh really? We’d definitely like to see some images of that.
We’ve pointed out in recent years that although everything we’ve seen indicates that Scientology’s membership is still dwindling, Miscavige is somehow still getting more and more wealthy people to make huge, $1 million-plus donations to the IAS war chest. How does he do it?
Let us know what you think about the flier’s claims, and about Dave’s decision to show the rest of Scientology what it’s like when he’s stroking the big donors at the IAS Patrons Ball.
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“A stuck TA is always caused by running the pc above the pc’s tolerance of charge. You can stop any TA by ramming the pc into incident after incident without cleaning them up. A postulate is only one kind of charge.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1963
——————–
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.
——————–
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 [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman
“Let’s start back a little further, where you will find quite a few PCs. And that is the Marcab, or the Big Dipper area of this particular galaxy, which received the immigration from another galaxy into this galaxy, and which set up a society which kept going for a very, very long time — a society which is something on the order of about 208,000 years back on the track. Now, that period rather ended and ceased and desisted for that particular society somewhere about 10,000 years ago. So you see, that is a long, rough society. Well now, oddly enough, people went out of that society as thetans and came back into it again. So you get that society, the Marcab society, punctuated with lives spent in completely unidentified, Lord-knows-where planets. And you get such odd things, you know, as fish people. You know? Well, where did they come from? Who are they?” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 27, 1959
——————–
“MISUNDERSTOOD NIXON: Imagine my surprise and hilarity to find that President Nixon is pursuing current economic policies because of a misunderstood word…The word ‘inflation’ is being used in a mis-defined definition by the Administration. All this Wage-Price freeze that Nixon has been putting on is because he thinks the word ‘inflation’ is caused by and means ‘prices increasing.’ He and his beer hall buddies publicly state that ‘the rate of increase in prices is synonymous with the rate of inflation.’ Therefore, all one has to do is freeze wages and one will cure inflation…Looking over this literature I see that when I studied economics at Princeton University I came to some conclusions which were so obvious to me that I thought they were a part of the textbooks…Anyway, the economic trouble we are handling and our hard work to survive and remain viable is being made necessary because of a misunderstood word.” — The Commodore, November 27, 1971
——————–
“I have found that all my primary relationships are relationships of long duration with people I have known from many different times and places in not only this universe but also the universe outside this one… The 2D universe of the Spiritual Family… and the universes and dimensions beyond.”
——————–
1995: An anonymous story was posted this week concerning the ‘joke’ of R2-45, the procedure described by Hubbard to shoot an enemy of the HCG in the head with a .45 pistol. “He once told us how he and Otto Roos had been sent on an ‘R2-45 mission’ by the Commodore, against Chuck Berner and his Abilitism splinter group. They were quite willing to carry it out if necessary, but when they assessed Abilitism as not much of a threat, they suggested to LRH that he downgrade the mission. He agreed. Instead, they recruited LA Org students for a ‘third-rate burglary’ (my phrase), in which they broke into the Abilitism center, stole the E-meters, and trashed the rest.”
——————–
“In ‘Road To Xenu’ Margery Wakefield recounts sitting around in the Sea Org cafeteria watching Star Trek and they were laughing because the wogs didn’t realize that the stuff on the screen was the writer’s suppressed whole track memories. Hubbard said somewhere that science fiction, if not all fiction, was whole track memories unbeknownst to its authors.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7.
— ‘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 October 30.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, Scientology submitting anti-SLAPP response Oct 26.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Discovery phase.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology actually found the one guy who joined because of a Super Bowl ad
[TWO years ago] In Scientology the ‘executive’ bossing you around is likely to be half your age
[THREE years ago] Superhuman Scientology OT 8 makes news for being unable to control matter, space, and time
[FOUR years ago] The rapey Danny Masterson movie clip someone doesn’t want you to see
[FIVE years ago] Leah Remini starts third season with bombshell Scientology escape story
[SIX years ago] Don’t give short shrift to one of Scientology’s most defining qualities – its arrogance
[SEVEN years ago] What you’ll find on the menu at the clinic run by a physician who’s also a Scientologist
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology wants to force a drug rehab center on Maryland: Here’s the local county’s response
[NINE years ago] An iconic Scientology building in Hollywood is in pre-foreclosure, and what that portends
[TEN years ago] Vivian Kubrick Surfaces in the Oddest Possible Way: At an Alex Jones Rally
[ELEVEN years ago] Stephen Kent’s New Article on Scientology’s War With Psychiatry
——————–
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 3,226 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,741 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,291 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,281 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,162 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,466 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,337 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,442 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,889 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,231 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,797 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,716 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,883 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,465 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,726 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,762 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,478 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,042 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,357 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,532 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,083 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,214 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,552 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,407 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,526 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,882 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,185 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,291 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,689 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,565 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,130 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,643 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,897 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,006 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on November 27, 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
