TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Scientology’s new Paris ‘Ideal Org’ is in a somewhat shabby corner of town. How many people are going to pull off the A1 for a personality test? But David Miscavige wants to convince members that the new shack is rocking! Get a load of this new propaganda from the church. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“[It’s] an odd word: obnosis. It’s been put together from the phrase, ‘observing the obvious.’ The art of observing the obvious is strenuously neglected in our society at this time. Pity. It’s the only way you ever see anything; you observe the obvious. You look at the isness of something, at what is actually there. Fortunately for us, the ability to obnose is not in any sense ‘inborn’ or mystical. But it is being taught that way by people outside of Scientology.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1970
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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 [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
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“We used to be tolerant about [the University of] Chicago. Most of us wanted to go there because you only had to go a couple of years before they handed you a sheepskin and we were bored. But this outfit uttered this asinine statement: ‘We have tested all the techniques of Dianetics and found out it didn’t work.’ Well, in the first place it’s asinine because all the techniques of Dianetics didn’t exist in published form and were not available to them to test, see? So right away, that was nonsense. For instance, I know of techniques that were released at the first foundation in Elizabeth which have never seen the light of day; I have never seen them published or anything else. Matter of fact, I saw three or four splinter groups suddenly start up on stuff that was merely designed to take care of one PC or something like that, and then they decided that this would apply to all PCs and so forth. There are several brands of therapy which are adrift today which simply consist of one technique developed for one PC at Elizabeth. So for any outfit to grandly look down its nose and say, ‘We have tested all the techniques of Dianetics,’ you know? Well, what a statement, see? They haven’t got them to test. How would they even know if they had tested all the techniques? Right away they are irresponsible. And then to say they didn’t work would also be asinine because if they had tested even sloppily, they would have gotten some result someplace, unless they were simply uttering a publicity statement to protect the vested interest.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 18, 1964
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“NEW RUNDOWN: The original Rundown of last November variously called and numbered, is now to be exported to eligible orgs as the New-Life Rundown, to be given in their Dept 10s It is a high-priced successful package. It requires Class IX to Supervise it. It must not be confused with a Life Repair. It literally gives one a new life. It does not supplant any grade or OT level. It has been smoothed out and is highly successful. The Rundowns Flag has been doing lately are above it. It will handle any special case. It’s a doll. Our Dept 10 is grooving in on it.” — The Commodore, June 18, 1971
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“L11 was started and there were tremendous wins in the beginning. During this time I developed the ability to ‘plunge’ into the case of other people, which scared me beyond belief. I recognized I was simply exteriorizing and going straight into the case of other people as I thought of them, I still don’t know why that compulsion to go straight into their cases, but I sort of had it. I realized I was able to ‘read minds’ and communicate ‘thetanically’ with my auditor. We had several actual conversations telepathically and this new world was amazing to me.”
1996: News posted this week that US First Lady Hillary Clinton was fooled into a public demonstration of support for a Scientology front organization. Excerpts from two St. Petersburg Times articles. “So, there was a smiling Hillary Rodham Clinton. There were the foster families from Pinellas County. There was the ‘Hands of Hope Quilt’ decorated with 250 brightly colored hand prints. And there on the quilt was … a quote from Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Unbeknownst to Mrs. Clinton or her staff, the group greeted warmly by the first lady last Tuesday is headed by two Scientologists and promotes Hubbard’s controversial beliefs as part of its promotional literature. ‘We were not aware that it is affiliated with the Church of Scientology,’ Lisa Caputo, Mrs. Clinton’s press secretary, said Monday upon hearing of the group’s connections. ‘It was a very quick hello.’ After that quick hello, the president of the Hands of Hope Quilt project put out a news release that took note of Hubbard’s works and reported that one of the White House visitors had presented Mrs. Clinton with a copy of one of Hubbard’s books. Describing the quilt, the news release says: ‘A quote from the renowned humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard runs through it, ‘A good stable adult with love and tolerance in his heart is about the best therapy a child can have.’ Her press secretary, Lisa Caputo, said afterward that Mrs. Clinton and her staff didn’t know the controversial organization was associated with the quilt group. Not so, insist the Scientologists. ‘There was no intention whatsoever to be deceptive in any way,’ said Sue Taylor, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology International in Washington. After the Times reported the visit Tuesday, Taylor showed a reporter a letter sent to Mrs. Clinton’s scheduler a few weeks earlier that clearly linked the quilt effort and the Church. The letter from Hands of Hope president Marsha Friedman mentions that the Church of Scientology opens its Clearwater auditorium to foster children each year for a Christmas party. The letter also notes that the quilt the group planned to present to Mrs. Clinton includes Hubbard’s quote. Caputo said last week that she couldn’t find the letter.”
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“So Kim shoots the ex-girlfriend and her entire performing ensemble and makes the families watch, and then sends them to labor camps. I bet C.O.B. pleasures himself fantasizing he had that kind of power.”
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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 May 31, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Leah seeking to amend her complaint.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: motion to file new complaint, hearing on May 29.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, on hold until appeal over new judge heard.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
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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] Indie Scientologist running for Seattle city council on lingering anti-mask outrage
[TWO years ago] Scientology: Put Bixler case on hold while we hit up the US Supreme Court about ‘arbitration’
[THREE years ago] Goodbye to a Scientology watcher we will dearly miss: Molly Kell, 1960-2021
[FOUR years ago] How will Scientology react to Danny Masterson being charged with rape?
[FIVE years ago] Wise Beard Man on the ballot in Scientology’s mecca? Mark Bunker on why he’s running
[SIX years ago] Another sign Nation of Islam members are moving from Dianetics to full Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology caught red-handed breaking government restrictions — and without penalty
[EIGHT years ago] When you postulate upon a star: L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology’s funny made-up words
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s slush fund: Jeffrey Augustine takes apart the fictions of the IAS
[TEN years ago] Scientology fires legal salvoes at the Garcias, and Vance Woodward fires back
[ELEVEN years ago] What Scientologists at War Left Out: Some Annotations on Channel 4’s Documentary
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 2,935 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,430 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,945 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,495 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,485 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,366 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,670 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,541 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,093 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,434 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,001 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,920 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,088 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,669 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,930 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,966 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,682 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,246 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,561 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,736 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,287 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,418 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,756 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,609 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,730 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,086 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,389 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,495 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,893 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,769 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,334 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,847 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,101 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,209 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 18, 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), 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
