On Monday, after we’d wondered about Joy Villa’s lowly schlepping of Scientology at a seaside vendor’s table in England, we posted Joy’s own ringing endorsement of the gig. She said that she was having a whale of a time selling copies of Dianetics to the punters, and who are we to say otherwise, right?
Well, we’ve also been posting some pretty dim looks at Scientology’s private cruise ship, the Freewinds, which used to wander all over the Caribbean but since the pandemic hit has mostly stuck to port in Aruba, asking Scientologists to come and experience its “OT Bubble.”
A couple of times, say our eagle-eyed researches who keep watch on the vessel, it’s made short trips from Aruba to Curaçao for repairs. And now, in the newest issue of Freewinds magazine, Scientology is boasting about what a success this was.
So, once again, in the interest of equal time, we thought we’d help Scientology disseminate the good news.
OK, so the ship can stay afloat for now. But what about Maiden Voyage? This time of year, David Miscavige usually has the richies out to the Freewinds for a special week of fleecing.
Like all international events, it’s been on hold during the pandemic. But now that things are getting a little better, will there be no party on the barge?
Over at Mike Rinder’s blog, he posted this sad flier that suggested Maiden Voyage will strictly be a local affair at various orgs. This one will take place this morning at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre…
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Bonus items from our tipsters
Nashville comes through for Battle Creek!
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Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.
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“I recall a patient encountering such a somatic where it seemed like mother had gotten the crabs. He complained about these crabs for about two weeks, and had scratched himself practically raw during that time. But he was held in that engram and had been there most of his life! That is what is known as getting crabs for 40 years.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 17, 1950
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“BIG WIN: The Adelaide Ban is to be repealed according to the Attorney General at the Adelaide Labour Convention. This is a GO victory. The A/G there Tom Minchin did it. He is being made a Kha Khan. So the tide rolls back the way it came. A lovely birthday present for Mary Sue. The Telex arrived in the first few minutes of her birthday today.” — The Commodore, June 17, 1971
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“We are making an offer to our ‘Clear Package Club’ members, of which we have many, we are happy to say! The org is expanding to larger and more upscale headquarters so, starting Monday, make an additional payment of $5K plus and receive your L11 free. A $5K service normally on its own.”
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1998: NBC’s news program Dateline aired a story this week on Bob Minton, a critic of Scientology who is funding a variety of cases and opponents of the cult. From a transcript of the show: “BOB MINTON: The more I got involved, the more frightening the organization as a whole became to me. JOHN HOCKENBERRY: Are you nuts? BOB MINTON: A lot of people would question my insanity on that score. HOCKENBERRY: Do you have any evidence that they’re really evil and destructive? BOB MINTON: Yes. Shattered lives, broken families, mental fragility. VOICEOVER: Minton has funded lawsuits, rescued an anti-cult organization, given weary defendants and broken-down activists the means to fight on. To date, he’s handed out more than 1.7 million of his own dollars to some of Scientology’s harshest critics. HOCKENBERRY: That’s a lot of money. BOB MINTON: It is. But keep in mind that in this, in this battle with Scientology, I’m the little guy. Scientology are the big guys.”
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“People bandy about the term ‘Satanist’ in relation to L. Ron Hubbard somewhat disingenuously. Aleister Crowley didn’t consider himself a ‘Satanist’ and Hubbard was a dilettante poseur playing at what he perceived to be ‘Satanism.’ A goodly portion of the Internet sites I’ve encountered in my readings and ‘research’ in the last five or so years that try to paint LRH as a some kind of serious Satanist have been Born-Again Christian sites, so they definitely have an agenda. Hubbard was about as much of a ‘real’ Satanist as Anton LaVey was. It was all part of the geek show for the rubes.”
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference June 30. Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court.
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Next hearing scheduled for June 29.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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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, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
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] Private investigators stalking Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez: The complete texts
[TWO years ago] SCIENTOLOGY CELEB DANNY MASTERSON CHARGED ON MULTIPLE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
[THREE years ago] Mike Rinder returns to Scientology’s secretive Int Base! Well, sort of.
[FOUR years ago] Scientology scores with political conservatives in Europe using the ‘religious freedom’ gambit
[FIVE years ago] Paul Haggis: Marty Rathbun is using private info I gave him against Lawrence Wright
[SIX years ago] Maryland county explains why (don’t call it Scientology) can take a hike
[SEVEN years ago] Another document trove on L. Ron Hubbard’s troubled son, Nibs, the Scientology flip-flopper
[EIGHT years ago] LISTEN: Rare tape reveals how L. Ron Hubbard really came up with Scientology’s space cooties
[NINE years ago] SCIENTOLOGISTS AT WAR, the Channel 4 Documentary
[TEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Neil Gaiman’s Mum Builds a Civilization!
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Eruption: Commenters of the Week!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,698 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,203 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,753 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,743 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,634 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,940 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,809 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,583 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,914 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,387 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,703 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,269 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,188 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,356 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,936 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,198 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,234 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,949 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,474 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 829 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,004 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,555 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,704 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,024 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,879 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,998 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,354 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,657 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,763 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,161 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,037 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,620 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,115 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,369 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,478 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 17, 2022 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, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), 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
