TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Last week, the Irish Times published an investigation showing how Scientology was preying on vulnerable asylum seekers in Dublin. Now, the paper has put out a podcast that helps explain more about what was going on, and we have a few observations to add. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“We have pcs who use ‘withholds’ to spread all manner of lies. We ask this pc, ‘Have you ever done anything to the Org?’ The pc says, ‘Well, I’m withholding that I heard . . . ,’ or the pc says, ‘Well, I thought some bitter thoughts about the Org.’ Or the pc says, ‘I was critical of the Org when . . . ,’ and we don’t sail in and get WHAT THE PC DID, we can comfortably stretch a 5-minute item to a session or two.” — 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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“Once in a while, you will exteriorize a thetan and he will try to steady himself by putting a beam on the wall, and the wall will eat up the beam. The beam, you see, is very, too close to the wavelength of that wall, and the, he’ll stick….It isn’t that he’s drifted down in combating the wavelength forever, he just mocks up on that level with great ease, and he’s got a real body. He’d be visible, to some slight degree, even to MEST eyes. They’re, scare people stiff if they happen to turn around and see one of these boys, because they’re real rough-looking characters, there’s no doubt about it. Of course, they have a sort of a humor about their roughness. I ran into one, one time, that had a beautiful tail. This solid black, sort of furry, with a beautiful tail, and a cat’s face, and long electronic — this sounds like something out of a nightmare, I know — and long electronic claws. And, I asked this character a few questions, one way or the other, I mean, I exteriorized him just that way, you see, exteriorized him in his body, and I asked him to knock a piece of paper off the desk, and he simply reached over and he knocked the piece of paper all right, but he also charred it! And, he reached around a moment later and took hold of the sofa and stuck to it. He couldn’t get his hand free instantly, startled him, and he did an immediate flip back into the body. But he was quite visible to MEST eyes. It was like a dark shadow standing in the room. If you can imagine a shadow, a quite plain shadow, standing upright in the room with a quite bright set of streamers coming out of its hands, you’d have this. This is very, very strange. This fellow, by the way, was quite afraid of demons. And he’d mocked his, he had mocked himself up this way because for many centuries he had fought demons. And of course he went in and mocked up, then, the winning valence: the demons.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 26, 1953
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“LRH COMM FLAG: Norman Chouinard is appointed LRH Comm Flag, part of the double hat Ken Urquhart had been wearing in addition to LRH Personal Comm. LRH Comm Flag continues the duties of LRH Comm FAO but now for all Flag internal LRH projects and Eds and orders. The FAO LRH Comm post simply broadens. All LRH Comm actions aboard, internal and External come under LRH Personal Comm Flag.” — The Commodore, November 26, 1971
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“When LRH was on lines in the MEST universe one could always write him a letter with questions about Tech and Policy and he would graciously send us his answer. Now ‘all’ we have is his works which he left for us to study and apply, plus ourselves, plus each other as friends and team mates. That’s ‘all’ we’ve got. Sounds like we’ve been bequeathed a spiritual fortune. Sounds like we’re rich to me.”
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1996: The Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet published an article on Scientology’s war against NOTS web pages. “Many are scared when they get mile long letters from American lawyers who claim copyright and threaten to prosecute, says lawyer Knut Vigeland. Vigeland has just won a case in High Court (Lagmannsretten) where a client who had been swindled now has been awarded compensation from the Church of Scientology in Oslo. Vigeland has because of this case become well-known with the methods used by the Church of Scientology. First of all you should demand that any accusations are in Norwegian. Threats of prosecution is meaningless if there is no documentation of copyright according to Norwegian law and they refer to the actual Norwegian laws that have been violated. In USA there are 50 states and none of them have the same laws. In Norway we follow Norwegian laws, says lawyer Vigeland. He emphasizes that the Church of Scientology is not a church, but a business enterprise. Several Norwegian Internet providers have closed down Heldal-Lund’s home pages when the Church of Scientology have contacted them and threatened with American laws of copyright. Nettguiden in Ostfold has however had the secret Scientology documents available since the 15th of November. ‘I will let the documents be available here until I get a Norwegian court order that says what we do is illegal. I have received a big number of calls from USA. Recently I got a mail from a Norwegian lawyer who represents the church.’ ‘She claims that the church has been given approval in similar cases both in Sweden and Denmark. This I have asked the lawyer to substantiate’, says Oivind Robbestad who is editor of Nettguiden.”
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“Third party law was specifically created by Hubbard to handle mothers-in-law.”
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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.
— ‘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 November 15.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
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: 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] ‘Brothers Broken’ gets its New York premiere, with Mike Rinder and your Proprietor
[TWO years ago] How the Danny Masterson trial looks inside the Church of Scientology
[THREE years ago] A triple BONANZA of Scientology vids promoting its rockin’ cruise ship, the Freewinds!
[FOUR years ago] On a Thanksgiving like no other, we’re thankful again for people we will never forget
[FIVE years ago] David Miscavige: Valerie Haney’s lawsuit is a publicity stunt and I want no part of it
[SIX years ago] When the person who certified Scientology ‘Clears’ discovered that there were no Clears
[SEVEN years ago] EXCLUSIVE: Scientology interrogated Danny Masterson and accuser, didn’t notify LAPD
[EIGHT years ago] ‘Radar’ magazine latest to peddle ‘Tom Cruise leaving Scientology’ fake news
[NINE years ago] We’re giving thanks here in the Underground Bunker, and we hope you’ll help us out
[TEN years ago] Scientology asks court in Monique Rathbun’s case to take note of Vance Woodward’s loss
[ELEVEN years ago] Bizarre and Pricey! Auditing Scientology’s Operating Thetan Level 2 with Claire & Bruce
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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 3,095 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,590 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,105 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,655 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,645 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,031 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,526 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,830 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,701 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,253 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,594 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,161 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,080 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,248 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,830 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,090 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,126 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,842 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,406 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,721 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,896 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,578 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,915 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,769 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,884 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,246 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,549 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,655 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,053 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,929 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,494 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,005 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,261 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,369 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 26, 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
