TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: ‘Digger’ opens wide today, and once again we’re privileged to have a review from our longtime friend and film critic, Luke Y. Thompson, who appreciated that Tom Cruise swung for the fences, even if the movie never seems to get where it wants to go. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“THE DYNAMICS ESTABLISH THE PERSISTENCY AND VIGOR OF THE MIND AND ORGANISM. Measurement of the dynamics is difficult and can be done at this time only on an arbitrary basis. Experiments have been outlined to be conducted to establish and identify Life Force which is, of course, the principal dynamic itself. The dynamics are widely variable because of aberrations which obstruct them. In the dianetic clear, the dynamics are free of mental obstruction and are found to be much stronger. Mental and physical exhaustion tests on aligned—freely chosen—purpose establish the value of each of the four dynamics. The summed value gives a relative figure for any individual.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1951
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“‘Be three feet back of your head.’ Please tell me why nobody ever said this in the last ump-thousand years. This is fantastic. Because 50 percent, at least, of the people who come in and sit down, I don’t care what their age is — something like this — you say, ‘Be three feet back of your head.’ Sometimes you get the reaction, ‘Why?’ ‘Well, it might be more comfortable outside.’ ‘Might be more comfortable outside! You mean people are inside their heads!’ You would be just amazed how often one gets that reaction. One girl I know was given 125 electric shocks because the psychiatrist found she was outside of her head. Too sane for him.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 2, 1953
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“This evening there will be a cocktail party aboard and 100+ top VIPs are expected as well as one very, very VIP person. The cocktail will be held in the main dining room and will as usual extend into the B Deck Foyer. Therefore body traffic into this area is to be kept to an absolute minimum. Male & Female occupants of B deck cabins are asked NOT to wander up the passageways and into toilets clad only in a towel during cocktail time. Remember that the VIPs will be using these heads. LAST REQUEST: Please try not to hang around the aft quarter deck or Prom decks during the cocktail — many of the guests will be taking a tour to the bridge at some time during the evening. As these requirements have been made publically known in the OODay, there will be no excuse for offenders, and I will take very strong action on any I find. Remember we are TOP EXECS of an INT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CORP.” — Lt. N.F. Starkey, Captain, October 2, 1971
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“Case in point was an LRH lecture where he found himself up in the Van Allen belt, so the Church of Scientology pulled it, telling Ted Koppel it’s no longer part of current Scientology to appease extant scientific data. With the more recent discoveries, are they going to reissue it? Same when LRH stated he nearly got run over by a train on Venus. No one is going to disagree there are no trains on Venus, but the lecture still nicely correlates and furnishes insight what goes with the case as LRH was about to unravel the implant data on the CC and OT II among other findings. To me, the lecture was a perfect delineation on the power of the case over one’s perceptions.”
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1999: M. L. Shannon reported to a.r.s this week that a complaint has been filed against Copy Station, with four locations in the San Francisco area. “A few months ago, a formal complaint was filed with the State of California, Fair Employment and Housing Department, against Copy Station, Inc. a corporation that operates four photocopying shops. Three are in San Francisco and one is in Oakland. This complaint was preceded by a similar action filed several months earlier. In both of these complaints, allegations were made by the complainants, who stated that they are former employees of Copy Station, that they were subjected to racist remarks and insults, sexual harassment, age harassment, threats of physical violence, and pressure to attend various meetings and ‘rallies’ at the Church of Scientology. Within these complaints are allegations that certain employees or officers of the Copy Station corporation were heard to use terms such as ‘downstat’, ‘PTS’, ‘misduplicated’, ‘Org’, ‘stats’, and entheta’. It has been further alleged that Copy Station was and is being used as a recruiting center for the Scientologists.”
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“I’ve been in a ‘Is that all there is to Scientology?’ mood lately. It comes with the territory.”
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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] New documents reveal Scientology’s earliest battles against naysayers
[TWO years ago] Scientology donor Rebecca Minkoff gets star turn as RHONY 15 begins
[THREE years ago] Scientology whines that the Jane Does leaked info worse than Tom Mesereau did
[FOUR years ago] Clearwater CEO Joy Gendusa recorded sychophantic video for Scientology’s leader
[FIVE years ago] Academics who ignore defectors as ‘apostates’ will never see Scientology for what it is
[SIX years ago] New in court docs: Scientology bashes victims’ rights group, trashes Mike Rinder
[SEVEN years ago] Scientologists led away in handcuffs after stunning evidence of fraud heard in L.A. court
[EIGHT years ago] Clear body, wiped mind: Another woman comes forward about forced abortion in Scientology
[NINE years ago] Another Scientologist becomes instant star with Trump supporters, this time in Puerto Rico
[TEN years ago] How Scientology plans to take over the world: By boring us to death, apparently
[ELEVEN years ago] An email that demonstrates how much Scientology loves going after the ‘evil psychs’
[TWELVE years ago] Q&A with Mike Rinder: Understanding the sudden changes at Scientology’s LA complex
[THIRTEEN years ago] FORMER SCIENTOLOGY SPOKESMAN TOMMY DAVIS SUBPOENAED BY MONIQUE RATHBUN
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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 3,769 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,273 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,779 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,329 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,705 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,200 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,506 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,155 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,373 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,927 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,268 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,838 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,755 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,922 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,508 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,767 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,515 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,084 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,395 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,570 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,252 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,589 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,442 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,558 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,920 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,719 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,563 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,178 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,679 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,939 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 16,043 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 2, 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
