TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Seeing Scientology members speak to the Clearwater council in favor of a street being shut down for their ‘mecca,’ it struck us we were witnessing something very unusual. But do these Clearwater pols actually realize what’s going on in their town? We give them a clue. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The patient is made to lie down and shut his eyes. The operator begins to count. He suggests the patient relax. At length the patient’s eyelids will flutter. (Medicine drumming will also accomplish this without producing a harmful amnesia hypnotic state.) He is permitted to relax further. Then the operator tells him that his ‘motor strip’ (his sensory perceptions) is returning to a time of unconsciousness, the time being specifically named. With coaxing the patient will begin to feel the injury and sense himself in the location and time of the accident. He is then asked to recount all that happened, word for word, feeling by feeling. He is asked to do this several times, each time being ‘placed back’ at the beginning of the incident. The period of unconsciousness he experienced then should begin to lighten and he can at length recount everything which went on when he was unconscious. It is necessary that he feel and see everything in the period of unconsciousness each time he recounts the incident. Nothing is said about his being able to remember and no hypnoanalysis technique is used. He merely recounts it until he cannot longer feel any pain in it, until he is entirely cheerful about it. Then he is brought to present time by just that command and told to again recount the incident. He may have to do this twice or three times in present time for the somatic pains will again have returned. The treatment is repeated two days later. All feeling of injury from it and all aberrative factors in the incident will vanish. This technique is outlined here for use on a patient who is not ‘cleared’ of comanomes prior to this new accident.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950
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“It’s a long story. But in 1950, a fellow name of Palmer walked into the Explorers Club just as I was leaving the mail room, and Palmer says to me, ‘Hey, Ron, you want an expedition?’ And I said, ‘Well, sure.’ ‘Well, he says, ‘there’s a whole bunch of Greek and Roman statuary that was being brought from Athens to Rome, and the ship went aground on the north side of the Dodecanese.’ And he says, ‘Been there ever since. And they’ve just located it at about thirty fathoms of water’….And I’ve just been sort of working on this in my spare time and getting it together. Nothing very dramatic in the way of progress….And just today, why, their delay was explained. They had already put it before the Flag Committee and the board of directors and that sort of thing. So the expedition, as of that action, became an official scientific expedition: ocean archaeological survey with the purpose of discovering various periods of marine history in the past, as possibly represented on the floors of sunken harbors long since passed from the view of man where there are, of course, still ships. And I don’t guarantee that we won’t stop by on some of the stuff sunk during World War II and pick up a few tommy guns.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 22, 1961
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“FLAG RUMOURS: You should write all your friends to correct field impression of Flag with brutal ethics and cat-o-nine. I worked out what really happened. In Melilla in the Spring of ’68 we had a flood of raw, relatively untrained, unaudited people arrive. We also had five people who were very heavy handed and suppressive, since blown or dismissed (Berez was booted out of the SO for drug use and is in jail for drug running and possibly Taunton). The ship during the VIII Class was (a) poorly manned (b) had SPs aboard and (c) had very few trained Scientologists and (d) was under heavy enemy attack (the Greek affair with bird dogs aboard). (The UK ban.) What happened was, we trained and processed up the crew, we opened the gate on the SPs and dumped them, we made quite a few auditors and beat the enemy attack with excellent PRO Area Control and the ‘dead agent’ caper, meaning getting documentary proof that what was said of us was lies and getting the agents booted out of the country.” — The Commodore, June 22, 1970
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“I don’t think that Ron was or is perfect. I doubt that even the Tech itself is perfect, otherwise there would be no room for improvement. But the things that LRH discovered and created are so breathtakingly amazing that it is unfair to criticize him, his writing style, or his work without keeping the reality of his accomplishments in perspective. To do so would amount to a false report because it would be an incomplete report. As I once mentioned on one of the other blogs, it is fairly well documented Sir Isaac Newton behaved ‘strangely’ at times and once had what we would call a psychotic break……so now what? Are we supposed to abolish the laws of physics and declare calculus to be bullshit? In my reality Ron’s discoveries are at least as stellar as Newton’s and he deserves comparable respect and consideration.”
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1995: An update on the charges against cos executives in Spain was posted this week. “In November of 1988, Heber Jentszch, president of the Church of Scientology International was detained along with 69 other Scientology officials. He was then arrested and imprisoned for approximately 30 days and later released on bail of close to one million dollars. He is now required to return to face the charges made by the state attorney in this case when it comes to trial. The scientologists face over 100 complaints ranging from fraud and coercion to illicit organization. The State Attorney will charge them with approximately 90 different illegal acts. Another named party in the case is the now head of the Office of Special Affairs or OSA, Mr. Kurt Weiland. Weiland, the object of a search and detention order by the Spanish police in 1983, was connected at that time to an alleged kidnapping as well as acts against dissident Scientologists in that country. It is also doubted that Weiland will present himself at the time of the trial as he has been named as a principal missionaire involved in some of the alleged illicit acts which caused the case to be opened. A date for the trial has not yet been established.”
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“The putrefaction shakedown is a more accurate name for it.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, oral arguments scheduled for June 25. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence. Now serving time in state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for June 19.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal, which is now fully briefed. Oral arguments hearing set for July 23.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike upheld on appeal. Scientology expected to file additional petitions before case can return to Kalra’s court.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, 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] The world is on fire, but Scientology is here to make everything OK!
[TWO years ago] The bizarre Scientology ideas about death being dredged up in a heartbreaking lawsuit
[THREE years ago] Read Scientology spokesman Ben Shaw’s latest freakout over the Tampa Bay Times
[FOUR years ago] Scientology fundraising is soaring to new heights! Scientology says so!
[FIVE years ago] Scientology miracles from its 1980s heyday: How do they compare to today?
[SIX years ago] Scientology donor’s financial firm hit with new charges of securities violations
[SEVEN years ago] How Scientology is likely going to come back at the explosive new lawsuits
[EIGHT years ago] Why we think nutty Las Vegas councilwoman Michele Fiore might be a Scientologist
[NINE years ago] HOWDYCON 2017 IS HERE — DENVER IS CLEAR!
[TEN years ago] CLEARWATER DONE DEAL — Couple seeks big crowd for Scientology ‘disconnection’ billboard
[ELEVEN years ago] LIVE-BLOGGING: The Toronto conference on Scientology kicks off and we’re on the scene
[TWELVE years ago] Sunday Funnies: The desperation in Scientology fliers is getting worse. Much worse.
[THIRTEEN years ago] Meet the Man Behind WWP, the Web Home of Anonymous and Project Chanology
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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.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,171 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,677 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,227 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,603 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,098 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,404 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,053 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,271 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,825 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,166 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,737 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,653 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,820 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,406 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,665 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,413 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,982 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,293 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,468 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,150 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,487 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,340 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,456 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,818 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,617 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,501 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,074 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,577 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,837 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,941 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 22, 2026 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter.
Our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is 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, 1995-2024 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2024), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
