TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: We can now report that Valerie Haney went through two more days of Scientology ‘religious arbitration’ this summer, bringing the total to 17 days, and the church still says it isn’t done. The courts, meanwhile, say they are powerless to stop this abuse. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Life is a complex affair. Computation has to be close to as complex as life or survival would long ago have ceased for Man, that high organism who depends for progress and weapons upon his mind. Thus his mental processes are constant evaluations of data in relation to their importance to the immediate solution, and constant evaluations of these conclusions to formulate decisions. Thus his computer is in constant action, thus he is continually involved in re-evaluation of both old data and old conclusions in the light of new data and new conclusions. The principle of how he thinks is simple. It is only that he handles so very, very many computations at once that makes the principle seem complex. Now the only reason we take account of logic here is to orient the problem of rationality and how one goes about determining whether or not a man is rational.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1951
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“And by the way, anybody who had sexual relationships with a little boy ought to be killed! The idea! Horrible! Why that’s the most disgusting thought he’s ever heard. What? Sexual relationships with a little boy? Oh, no. Except in the DED you find him taking a little boy and driving the little boy up to sexual enthusiasm, up, up, up, up, up and the little boy just can’t give any more, and so forth, and on the last jolt of demand on the part of the thetan, the little boy who actually did have a thetan in him anyhow, goes PANG. And it goes straight down to 0.0. BzzzUm. And that’s why being a body is death of a body, is thetan into the body. That’s 0.0. Death of the body is being the body. And you’ll find him having his most enjoyable times thereafter as a little boy. He, he’s doing a super life continuum for this little boy. And this little boy bit the dust and was chewed up and spat out maybe 70, 60, 30 trillion years ago.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 23, 1952
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“COURTESY: Usually on Flag we are very polite to everyone. It is a standard of courtesy and an example we should work to maintain.” — The Commodore, September 23, 1970
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“We are not all OT so we need each other. The Org Board is the Props of the Bridge. Millions need to walk this Bridge. Who’s gonna hold it, or better say WHAT’s GONNA HOLD IT? World going down… Zombies is the end product of this civilization… Will you take it or allow it to happen? Live in a world full of Zombies? Imagine the ideal scene: Thousands working together, thousands of aware thetans like you and me. Thousands, not hundreds… That’s what I am aiming for… And they all have one thing in common: A strong conviction they are immortal beings. Those are the ones I want. Aware Thetans. The world is going down fast now… we have been losing all the way. There comes a guy who says: Admin is completely out… Too few get it. Other-intentionedness… a disease worse than COVID-19. As long as I am keyed out I am going to post so You, yes You, see this and Re-cognite!! Maybe new people, fresh in mind and mental vigor need to get to know Scientology. At least you can help with that.”
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1997: Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat carried an article on Scientology in Germany this week. “Hamburg is the center for the anti-scientology campaign, because until a few years ago the sect was very successful here, and the state parliament formed a special office for a scientology ombudsman in 1992. The social democratic politician Ursula Caberta was chosen to head the office. It’s mainly thanks to her that the ‘church’ and the business deals of its members has received increasingly negative publicity, and the number of members leaving the cult has gone up. ‘The Rasputin of Bonn’, a scientology magazine proclaims, with a picture of the federal labour minister Norbert Blum on the cover. Flames are reflected from his eyeglasses, a reference to Nazi book burnings. The scientologists feel they are being persecuted like the Jews in the 1930s. The Hollywood scientologists claimed the same thing in large paid newspaper advertisements last winter. The offices of Ms. Caberta is located in the office building of the Hamburg senate, beside the main railway station. Caberta has experienced a campaign against her, as defined by Hubbard’s instructions. ‘I’m not surprised about anything anymore: phone harassment and death threats are a part of the picture’, she tells us. According to Caberta, the problems of the Hamburg ‘church’ became critical in 1995, when their leader Wiebke Hansen resigned or was fired, and Mark Lizer from the scientology elite group Sea Org came as her replacement from the U.S.A. Since then an increasing number of members have left the Hamburg church. ‘In the first years we got information on only a few people quitting per year, but in the last three weeks we have been contacted by over 20 scientologists that have left the organization. If the number of resignations continue the same way, soon there won’t be many more left.'”
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“How many Scientologists are left in the world who would stand up and say ‘I’m proud to be a Scientologist!’”
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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] How bad is the AI blunder by attorneys opposing Scientology in the Masterson civil case?
[TWO years ago] Testimonial: Waking up your Scientology space cooties with Neil Gaiman’s nephew!
[THREE years ago] Look who’s running for re-election in Clearwater: Mark Bunker wants your support!
[FOUR years ago] Scientology’s Flag Land Base lost money in 2020? We beg to differ.
[FIVE years ago] Scientology donor and promoter, OT 8 Greg Winteregg, fails his postulate
[SIX years ago] Now that Scientology mega-donor Trish Duggan is famous, will the ditched-kid story blow up?
[SEVEN years ago] Leah Remini mourns the estranged father who denounced her on behalf of Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s private cruise ship had a fitful history before becoming a floating cathedral
[NINE years ago] Director Paul Haggis pens an open letter to Marty Rathbun after Scientology’s latest smear
[TEN years ago] Beware, protesters: Scientology has been training attack dogs at a Clearwater warehouse
[ELEVEN years ago] We’re in Cleveland today to talk about Scientology and you’re invited
[TWELVE years ago] David Miscavige, you’ve been served: Leader of Scientology will need to respond to NAFC suit
[THIRTEEN years ago] LEAH REMINI: Scientology Wants Me to Fail on Dancing With The Stars
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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 3,760 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,264 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,770 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,320 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,696 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,191 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,497 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,146 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,364 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,918 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,259 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,829 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,746 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,913 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,499 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,758 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,506 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,075 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,386 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,561 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,243 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,580 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,433 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,549 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,911 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,710 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,594 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,169 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,670 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,930 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 16,034 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 23, 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, 1995-2025 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
