TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: In court, Scientology’s attorneys describe the church as an embattled victim of bigotry. Its internal documents paint a different picture. We have another new example for you, a document that takes us into the dark heart of Scientology’s retaliatory schemes. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Some people Q and A with their bodies. The body is, after all, composed of Mest. It follows the laws of Mest. One of these laws is Newton’s first law of motion: INERTIA. This is the tendency of a Mest object to remain motionless until acted upon by an exterior force. Or to continue in a line of motion until acted upon by an exterior force. Well, the main force around that is continually acting on a human body is a thetan, the being himself. The body will remain at rest (since it is a Mest Object) until acted upon by the thetan that is supposed to be running it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1972
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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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“You look at the basic mechanism of life, and we see this fellow kicks off as Ebenezer Snouzer and gets born as young Billy Jones. And nobody is more convinced when he becomes young Billy Jones that he has never been Ebenezer Snouzer. Does this have any liability to him? It certainly does. Because the inescapable truth of the matter, contained in earlier postulates, is that he was and is Ebenezer Snouzer. And so Ebenezer Snouzer, to some slight degree, goes on living. And we have past lives cropping up, and fellows going around pleading with us to believe that they can’t shoot, can’t ride, girls just begging to be believed that they have no charm, you know? That’s to keep Ebenezer or Betty Schnouzer from living on, don’t you see?” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 4, 1957
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“Above case gain is COMPETENCE. If you want to see a 9 foot tall OT, look at one who is also competent! And knows it. Like our Qual Auditors. They create new people! After case gain comes progressing improvement by new Competence attained. There have never been Thetans who were Clear OT and COMPETENT. Something new has been added.” — The Commodore, January 4, 1971
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“Personally I think we’ve got the best PR and Marketing Tech. All that has to be done as with the tech in general is to apply it before trying something ‘new.’ For instance years ago there was this whole ‘broken brand’ debate whereas the idea was that instead of correcting the Church — which is currently responsible for dragging the Scientology name through the mud — its proponents suggested changing the name, which was as far as I’m concerned is just a lousy Q&A. Not to mention a suppressive act.”
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2000: Chud.com reported on the upcoming movie Battlefield Earth. “So will “Battlefield Earth” be good or not? Is the Church of Scientology funding it? These are among the questions that you readers have been asking since my last two ‘Battlefield Earth’ articles a few days ago. Battlefield Earth is a crock. The only way you could possibly enjoy it is as a satire of the Golden Age, whose weaknesses it bloats to elephantiasis. Unfortunately, I doubt very much that Hubbard meant it that way. Judging by his introduction, he meant it quite seriously as the epitome of SF: what the stuff should be at its best. Scott Pilutik sent me some fun facts about Scientology. Read on and learn or skip it, but you’re missing a ton of fun: ‘Irregardless of what the Post printed, _EVERYTHING_ written by L. Ron Hubbard is considered ‘Scripture’ to any member of the Church of Scientology. That is the church’s position, not rumor. Every letter of every word that he ever wrote is considered infallible, unalterable, and absolute. So whether or not it has ‘nothing’ to do with Scientology, it most certainly does. Two major backers (financial) of this film are John Travolta and ASI (Author Services Inc.). Travolta is neck deep in this cult and ASI is one of Scientology’s most profitable front companies (in a legion of many that all funnel money back into the ‘church.’) When a church has a vested financial interest in the finished product of a work of art, it most certainly has ‘something to do with it.’ ‘In case you still think, hey, this is still only a movie based on a stupid sci-fi pulp novel, realize this; A few years back, Scientology sued CAN (the Cult Awareness Network) for libel, amongst other things. CAN was a non-profit organization that was the one of only a few choices families had if a member wound up in a cult. Scientology litigated them into bankruptcy, then bought CAN out. They kept the phone numbers, offices, and letterhead and proceed to operate as if nothing ever happened. The (obviously unstated) goal of CAN is now to route people into Scientology. There’s much more than meets the eye when it comes to the church and it is truly fascinating stuff.’ Scientology views this film as a very important recruiting tool. In many ways it will be just another bad sci-fi film that will come and go, but for the church it is a project they have been trying to make since the 70’s. Bridge Publications, which is a branch of Scientology that handles all of Hubbard’s writing, is going all out to publicize the release of this movie. Scientology also put the money together for the production in a manner that makes ‘Get Shorty’ look sane.”
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“The only thing I want from Disqus is to bring back the downvote, make the AV image bigger and make the YouTube video image much smaller.”
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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, 2023. Appeal brief due by December 23.
— ‘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 13, 2025.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud, awaiting sentencing.
Civil litigation:
— 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. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1.
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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] Here’s our story about big 2023 donors Scientology doesn’t want you to see
[TWO years ago] VIDEO: Scientology’s latest promo to audit away your own space cooties at home!
[THREE years ago] PI stalking Leah Remini for Scientology was unlicensed, it turns out
[FOUR years ago] Scientology celebrates its pandemic response in latest Impact magazine
[FIVE years ago] Scientology, disconnection, and the worst Christmas ever
[SIX years ago] Tiponi Grey’s daughter: She knew her life might end at any time
[SEVEN years ago] Even in 2018, Scientology is still selling L. Ron Hubbard like he had the universe figured out
[EIGHT years ago] Aaron Smith-Levin appears on ‘Leah Remini,’ hours later gets own Scientology attack site
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s appeal on rehab zoning fight in Maryland to be heard today
[TEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology now selling the idea it solved the Ferguson crisis
[ELEVEN years ago] MONIQUE RATHBUN FILES FOR SANCTIONS, SUBMITS SCIENTOLOGY LEADER’S FOUL-MOUTHED TEXTS
[TWELVE years ago] Blogging Dianetics, Part 1: Vance Woodward Helps Us Parse L. Ron Hubbard’s Masterpiece
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,134 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,629 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,144 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,694 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,684 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,070 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,565 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,869 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,740 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,292 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,633 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,200 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,119 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,287 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,869 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,129 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,165 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,881 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,445 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,760 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,935 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,617 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,954 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,808 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,923 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,285 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,588 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,694 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,092 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,968 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,533 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,044 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,300 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,408 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 4, 2025 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
