FOLLOW ME ON
Daily Notifications
Sign up for free emails to receive the feature story every morning in your inbox at tonyortega.substack.com

Categories

PODCAST: Remembering Andreas Heldal-Lund with Tory Christman

In August 2022, we talked to Andreas Heldal-Lund about his diagnosis with terminal cancer, and the brave way he was facing the end of his life. So his death this week was something we had sadly been anticipating, but it hit us hard nonetheless.

We came to know Andreas in 2001 because of the way he helped Tory Christman leave Scientology, and the kindness and wisdom he displayed. We had been a big admirer of him ever since.

In our podcast episode, Tory tells us again that amazing story with new details we hadn’t heard before, and we get a chance to celebrate, once again, this man of integrity who did so much to help expose the abuses of the Church of Scientology with one of the most important sites on the Internet, Operation Clambake (xenu.net).

 

Advertisement
——————–

Technology Cocktail

“Scientology is the only workable system Man has. It has already taken people toward higher I.Q., better lives and all that. No other system has. So realize that it has no competitor. Scientology is a workable system. It has the route taped. The search is done. Now the route only needs to be walked.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1965

 
——————–

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

Advertisement

— 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

 
——————–

Source Code

“Now, I have actually seen auditors get jealous of their preclears simply because the preclear did so well. And the auditor couldn’t rest till he dropped a vase on the preclear’s foot or upset the ashtray or did something. I know of one case — very, very remarkable — of a guy very highly connected, and in fact the source of trouble in the Wichita Foundation, who had a blind man with his sight on and who forcefully and violently kicked the foot of the bed on which he was auditing this blind man. You know, the sight came on and he kicked the foot of the bed. And the shock was considerable there and it took the blind man’s sight off. Nobody else processed the blind man, either. As far as I know he’s blind to this moment.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 6, 1955

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“WRITING: My writing hat has backlogged due to storms and ship reorganization. I am trying to get onto it. So much new data has been developed that the recording of if would be 10 full time jobs. Fortunately it is simple in structure.” — The Commodore, January 6, 1971

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“I was audited by a class 8 auditor. Further processing something else, I took over the session using her and her meter to guide me to answer some questions I had. I went to the days of the crucifixion and went inside Christ body and some very heavy forces was hitting the spirit of me, not the body. I left the body, looked from a distance, and saw an oval of gold light in front of him and this oval went up into the sky and it was a UFO implanting the area and running beams on the being of Christ. I yelled, it was a trick. Whoever was in that ship tricked Christ into doing that crucifixion for what reasons I don’t know, but the being in me knows.”

Advertisement

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

2001: “Ethercat” reported a protest in Atlanta this week. “Arrived around 2, left around 3. There were two adults who left in one car, and an adult with a child in the second car. Wynot made sure they got a glimpse of the ‘Who is Xenu? Find the answer on xenu.net.’ sign, keeping the ‘Scientology Lies’ sign aimed at the street. My sign said ‘What is Scientology? A bait and switch SCAM!’ Once thing I’ve noticed about the honks and waves – they’re becoming bolder. We’re getting people laying on the horn, for a long honk as they pass. Some of the people waving or giving us thumbs ups take great care to make sure we see, and we always give them a wave or a smile.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“Scientologists have had a King Arthur fetish going back to day one. LRH moving to England buying a ‘castle,’ very expected and cliched to say the least. Knights of the Three Card Monte Table, here to save the world.”

 
——————–

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 January 29, 2024.

Advertisement
David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, motion to strike/anti-SLAPP motions by Scientology to be heard January 9, 2024.
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.

 
——————–

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Danny Masterson wants rape charges thrown out, citing our jury foreman interview
[TWO years ago] Another Scientology ‘Chase Wave’ eyewitness drops by, and brings a check
[THREE years ago] Danny Masterson’s attorneys scheduled to enter not guilty plea for him today
[FOUR years ago] Scientology’s ‘Purif’ detox gets the ‘Reckless Ben’ treatment in video debuting here today
[FIVE years ago] Scientologists told to seize on Australian stabbing death as a recruiting opportunity
[SIX years ago] Scientology actress Jenna Elfman fully stoked by church’s new expansion push!
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s disgusting secret: Young teens used to interrogate adults about their sex lives
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology becoming a ghost town; ALSO: Illinois man arrested for threatening Miscavige
[NINE years ago] Ryan Hamilton makes it 26 lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab scheme
[TEN years ago] VIDEO LEAK: Scientology’s November IAS Gala, featuring a slimmed-down David Miscavige
[ELEVEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Finds a Better Use for ‘Dianetics’!

 
——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 3,266 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,781 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,331 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,321 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,202 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,506 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,377 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,929 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,271 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,837 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,756 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,924 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,505 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,766 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,802 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,518 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,082 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,397 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,572 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,123 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,254 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,592 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,447 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,566 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,922 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,225 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,331 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,729 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,605 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,170 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,683 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,937 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,046 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on January 6, 2024 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

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone

 

Share Button
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
ADVERTISEMENT