PODCAST: Phil Jones on the billboard, Scientology, and the Aftermath Foundation

 
What a week Phil Jones has had, with his stealth operation in Los Angeles to put up a billboard on behalf of the Aftermath Foundation, and then the controversy that then ensued.

We wanted to ask him even more questions about what went down and how he’s feeling about it, and we hope you enjoy our conversation.

As usual, you can listen to the podcast or watch it at our YouTube channel, below…

 
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Technology Cocktail

“The only point where an auditor may get a hang-up is when he encounters an earlier wrong diagnosis. Someone told the pc he had heart trouble and the pc gives that as a symptom but doesn’t really have one. When such a puzzle comes up you look for allies (other people) who had heart trouble (or whatever the thing was) or you find out from the pc and meter if it was a wrong diagnosis.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1969

 
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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 [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

 
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Source Code

“I had a number of US Senators interested in this. As a matter of fact I had the senate dining room one day — I had lots of friends down there in those days, still would have if I went down and stuck my nose in. Every time I do, why they all say, ‘Hey, Ron! Where the hell have you been?’ you know. ‘What’s the matter, you mad at me?’ Something like that. I’d say, ‘Oh, I’ve been busy.’ And I had the senate dining room down there one noon, I remember, along about this period [in 1950]. And you could have heard a toothpick fall from one end of it to the other….I was telling them somebody had found the dynamic principle of existence and I was telling people what it was and so forth. And that place was jammed from one corner to the other with senators and so forth. The next thing you know the table outside of the perimeter of the table I was sitting at with three or four old senators and the table outside that went silent and the table outside that went silent and the table outside that went silent and the next thing you know there wasn’t anything happening in that dining room. The waiters were standing there, see. Darnedest thing you ever wanted to see, you know! And I said, ‘Gee!’ I said, ‘I’ve got a bear by the tail here, you know.’ That was actually before anything much had occurred. They had never heard of this book or anything.” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 16, 1965

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“The Apollo is to be in all respects ready for the sea and all port cycles closed by 5:00 PM 18 Mar 69. The civil ‘Nomarch’ of Corfu on irregular lines verbally has ordered our departure in 24 hours despite any unreadiness and without concluding our gyro or safety inspection. We have been given no reason. There may be a connection with the visit of US vessels last week which had a report via their naval attache that we made troops desert. There is no damage really as the AOSH Greece had not really opened and is being reopened at once in Denmark. The situation is under control. There is no danger.” — The Commodore, March 16, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“If I focus on the whole or being one with all, I can encompass all the possibilities. If I focus on ‘me’ or ‘I,’ it seems as if I can also see myself as whole or of component parts such as different types of identities. It is similar to seeing a car. One calls it a car to sum up all the components. Same is with a body. We can look at the planet and say, it is a planet but it is composed of billions and billions of parts and pieces. Same as expanding out even further, and labeling all as One. But, what would you call it other than the One or main thetan or God?”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: Internet news site slashdot.org was forced to remove a copy of the OT3 materials from its web site following legal threats from Scientology. From “Commander Taco,” one of slashdot’s officials. “Last Saturday a comment was posted here by an anonymous reader that contained text that was copyrighted by the Church of Scientology. They have since followed the DMCA and demanded that we remove the comment. Our lawyers have advised us that, considering all the details of this case the comment should come down. It’s a bad precedent, and a blow for the freedom of speech that we all share in this forum. We risk legal action that would at best be expensive, and potentially cause Slashdot to go down temporarily or even permanently. A text called ‘OT III’, part of what is known as the Fishman Affidavit. In its place we are putting non-copyrighted text: Links to websites about the church of Scientology, as well as links to how you can contact your congressman about the DMCA. Try a Google search on ‘OT III’ and ‘Fishman’ returns over 250 pages. A broader search on AltaVista returns over 2,000 webpages. Operating in the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts, Karin Spaink’s Fishman Affidavit webpage has fended off two lawsuits from Scientology, one in 1996 and one in 1999. If you would like a plain English explanation of OT III, see OT III Rewritten For Beginners, by Jon Atack. Its author is a former Scientologist who himself completed level OT III. If you are interested in Scientology, you will want to visit Operation Clambake, at xenu.net. It seems to be the most important central resource for information on the organization. You may also want to visit the Lisa McPherson Memorial Page, which claims that ‘Lisa died needlessly at the hands of Scientology.’ Her case is truly a tragic one and she deserves to be remembered. The site has a great deal of information on her death.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Before today I considered Miscavige a cynical manipulating sociopath, and they’re a dime a dozen. Now he seems to be more the dangerously insane Idi Amin-style dictator. This doesn’t bode well for the future.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:

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: motion to file new complaint, hearing on March 20.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, hearing on March 26.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

 
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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] Tommy Davis accosted her in the street. Now Deb Rennard has another fight on her hands.
[TWO years ago] Judge denies Valerie Haney do-over after Scientology’s appellate loss in Masterson suit
[THREE years ago] Scientology goes after Mike Rinder with a document he gave only to Marty Rathbun
[FOUR years ago] To help us get through the pandemic, L. Ron Hubbard’s words of Scientology wisdom
[FIVE years ago] Miss America organization says it’s looking into Scientology’s use of Miss New York
[SIX years ago] Hey, IRS: You might want to look at this new photo Scientology posted of David Miscavige
[SEVEN years ago] Understanding Marty Rathbun: For the first time, his full deposition of 2014
[EIGHT years ago] Ron Miscavige book out in May: ‘Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me’
[NINE years ago] Mareka Brousseau on the degradations of Scientology’s Sea Org life
[TEN years ago] With Scientology’s ‘disconnection’ policy finally hitting the mainstream, here’s more to consider
[ELEVEN years ago] Xenu the The Movie Star! When Scientology Almost Revealed Its Secrets on the Big Screen

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 16, 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