Hey, San Diego, the Scientologists are coming back!
Last November, a gang of Scientologists materialized in San Diego for a grand opening event presided over by church leader David Miscavige himself. It was the latest “Ideal Org” opening, held to much fanfare, and the church claimed that 3,500 Scientologists showed up.
We find in general with Scientology’s crowd estimates that if you divide by about 7, you get a truer number of the folks who actually showed up at such events. But either way, that’s a lot of Scientologists for a place like San Diego. Most of them were probably transported down from L.A., and we’d bet that on any given day of the week since that ceremony if you went by that new Ideal Org on Fourth Avenue you’d find it near empty, just like the rest.
But this weekend San Diego is once again in the church’s sights, and chances are you might actually run into some Hubbardites there. That’s because this year’s American Psychiatric Association annual meeting, its 170th, is being held at the San Diego Convention Center, and it’s always a favorite target for Scientology’s obsession for the psychiatric profession.
Once again, LA-area Scientologists will be bused down, as this flier clearly indicates. We hope some of our San Diego correspondents might get out to get a look at the size of the crowd.
Some photos of the “psych-busters” in action might be fun to see. But really, the reason we wanted to note this flier was not just as a head’s up for our San Diego tipsters, but also for the real treat buried in the list of Saturday’s events.
Yes, of course, we mean an appearance by our old friend, Chill EB!
Also known as Norman Berry, Chill has been Scientology’s in-house hip hop star for quite a few years now. We first noticed him back in 2011, and we even had a chance to carry on a conversation with him at one point.
But it’s been a while since we’ve paid much attention to the man and his chin dangles, and we sure wish we could be on hand at the San Diego Ideal Org Saturday afternoon to see him perform.
Looking at Chill’s official YouTube page, it looks like he’s slowed down releasing new songs somewhat. But his Facebook account suggests that Scientology still has him very busy with a lot of international travel to perform at new Ideal Orgs and other venues.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing Scientology hip hop before, we’re happy to acquaint you with Chill’s greatest hit, a song he wrote about the International Association of Scientologists (the IAS), which was turned into a video by the scamps in Denmark at the AOSH EU. Will Chill perform this in San Diego? Does he take requests?
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Burbank responds to Ebner’s challenge
Hey, this doesn’t happen every day. Recently, we featured a tweet by our old friend Mark Ebner, who noted that the mayor of Burbank, Jess Talamantes, had declared April 26 to be “Youth for Human Rights Day,” honoring the Scientology front group that pretends to care about rights when its parent organization is a notorious human rights abuser.
Now, Burbank city council member Will Rogers has responded, saying that the proclamation was a leftover from a previous administration…
@IndieScieNews @MarkEbner59 @TonyOrtega94 @BurbankCA You should know this was signed by a previous Mayor, and has been an annual standard. If research confirms the tie, this will be the last.
— Will Rogers (@AWillRogers) May 17, 2017
Hey, here you go, councilman…
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Jeffrey Tambor on Scientology
From Entertainment Weekly…
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ONE WEEK LEFT TO LOCK IN HOWDYCON GROUP RATE
Hey, you procrastinators, it’s time to stop putting off your HowdyCon plans. In a week, the Residence Inn Denver City Center will release our reserved rooms to general reservations, and you’ll lose the chance to lock in our group rate. So get your act together and reserve your rooms now!
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Countdown to Denver!
HowdyCon 2017: Denver, June 23-25 at the Residence Inn Denver City Center. Go here to start making your plans, and book your room soon!
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Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 4,753 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 1,856 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 2,350 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 1,390 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy in 1,102 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 628 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 4,717 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 1,857 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,177 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,152 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 508 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin in 4,810 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 917 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis for 1,319 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,192 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 773 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike in 1,278 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 1,522 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 12,631 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 17, 2017 at 07:00
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Our book, 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 about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
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
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten 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 | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield
