|
|
There it is! Finally! The elaborate set-piece for last night’s International Association of Scientologists annual gala under the big tent in Clearwater, Florida.
We leaked plans for this globe-and-flags backdrop more than a month ago, and it’s fun to see it in its full glory, thanks to some nameless Scientologist who broke the rules and snapped a photo of it and posted it on the Internet for WWP’s indefatigable Black Rob to snag for whyweprotest.net Thanks, Rob! Continue reading Scientology Celebrates its Legal Defense Slush Fund, and What a Party!
 Just two weeks after Scientology held its grand opening for its new quasi-cathedral — the Super Power Building — it’s time for another big party in Clearwater, Florida.
The annual International Association of Scientologists gala is normally held in a tent in England in October. But this year, the tent was shipped over to Florida in the summer, and it stands across the street from the Super Power Building. It will host events tonight and tomorrow as Scientology’s legal slush fund celebrates itself after another year of fundraising. We’re looking forward to leaked photos of the event because we think we’ll finally get a chance to see the stage backdrop whose schematic we published here more than a month ago. Continue reading Tonight: Scientology Gets Its IAS Gala On — Let’s Get Dauntless, Defiant, and Resolute!
 Have you ever seen an SP, Tom? Counterfeit Dreams and Leaving Scientology , and he’s helping us understand the upside-down world of Scientology “ethics.”Where are you taking us next, Jeff? JEFFERSON: This week, we’re taking up Chapter 7 of the Ethics book, “The Basics of Suppression.” We’ll actually split this chapter into two articles, one on Suppressive Persons, and another, next week, on Potential Trouble Sources. Both concepts are so integral to the Scientology control system that they each deserve their own analysis. So this week, we’ll take up Suppressives. Continue reading Jefferson Hawkins Explains the Ethics of Scientology’s “Suppressive Person”
 The Underground Bunker hopes you are about to enjoy a wonderful holiday weekend, and we offer you this treat as you prepare for family, food, and fun. (We’ll assume that our non-U.S. readers know that this is a big four-day weekend here.)
We couldn’t think of a better way to send you on your holiday than with a video that came to our attention last night. It’s from last week’s brutal display of police misconduct when some peaceful protesters found themselves on the receiving end of shocking government atrocities in the city of Dallas. Wait, you didn’t hear about that? Continue reading Vivian Kubrick Surfaces in the Oddest Possible Way: At an Alex Jones Rally
 Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
Last week, Claire continued to lead us up Scientology’s “Bridge to Total Freedom” as we began our look at Operating Thetan Level Two. With help from former top auditor Bruce Hines, we learned about the incredibly ancient “GPMs” which lie in wait along our “whole track” as we prepare to travel far back into our pasts through auditing. In fact, these incidents — booby traps implanted by “evil psychs” trillions and trillions of years ago — continue to be the source of our troubles today, and so it’s necessary to go back and neutralize them. Cowabunga. Continue reading Bizarre and Pricey! Auditing Scientology’s Operating Thetan Level 2 with Claire & Bruce
 Back in July, we broke the news that Leah Remini had left Scientology after growing up in the church and becoming one of its most well-known celebrity defenders. We learned that she had begun to grow disaffected after what she saw at Tom Cruise’s 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes, and then decided to leave for good earlier this year. In order to minimize the chances for Scientology’s legendary retaliation, Remini managed to convince her entire family to leave the church with her.
But Remini was still careful to limit what she said publicly about her reasons for leaving. Many Scientologists who ditch the controlling church do so as quietly as possible, hoping to avoid Scientology’s ultimate punishment — to be “declared” a “suppressive person,” Scientology’s version of excommunication. Not only can “SPs” feel the full force of Scientology’s sophisticated revenge apparatus, but SPs also lose all contact with Scientologists who want to remain in good standing with the church. Our sources had told us that Remini hoped to avoid being declared an SP so she could remain in contact with some other celebrities who were on the fence about leaving. Last week, we received a report that Scientology has now declared the King of Queens actress a suppressive person. Continue reading SCIENTOLOGY DECLARES ACTRESS LEAH REMINI A “SUPPRESSIVE PERSON”
We always love to hear from Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece to Scientology’s leader, David Miscavige, and a successful author. We wondered what she thought about last week’s hoopla over her uncle’s big gambit — to release a revamped “Bridge to Total Freedom” (the “Golden Age of Technology Phase II”) as well as opening the long awaited “Super Power Building.” She not only sent us some thoughts on Scientology’s big events, she also caught us up on what’s been happening in her world…
Continue reading Jenna Miscavige Hill on Scientology’s New Dawn: “I Can’t Believe People Still Buy This BS”
 Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He has a new edition of the book for sale, and on Saturdays he’s helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on the Internet.
Jon, you said you wanted to talk about forgiveness in Scientology, which sounds like it could be a pretty volatile subject. Give us your best shot. JON: I was on the Class II course when the bulletin Proclamation: Power to Forgive was handed down from on high. This was apt, as the Class II course deals with “confessionals,” and the Class II auditor is granted this right of forgiveness along with a pretty, gold-blocked certificate. So, I was one of the first to grant forgiveness to a fellow Scientologist. Continue reading Jon Atack: Why do Scientologists Find it So Difficult to Apologize?
On Sunday, while we were scrambling to keep up with dispatches coming from Mike Rinder and Mike Bennitt during their amazing strategem with a helicopter above Scientology’s Super Power Building grand opening in Clearwater, Florida, we got a surprising phone call. It was Mark Bunker. We had plum forgot that he’d told us he was relocating to Clearwater and was on the scene. Continue reading Mark Bunker Returns to Clearwater: Wise Beard Man Back in Scientology’s Mecca!
 Jefferson Hawkins was once the top marketing executive for the Church of Scientology and helped it reach its greatest extent with the famous “volcano” TV ads in the 1980s. He’s told his tale of getting into and out of the church with his excellent books Counterfeit Dreams and Leaving Scientology, and he’s helping us understand the upside-down world of Scientology “ethics.”
Where are we going today in L. Ron Hubbard’s world of ethics, Jeff? JEFFERSON: This week we have a treat — Scientology leader David Miscavige’s favorite L. Ron Hubbard essay. It’s Chapter 6 of the book Introduction to Scientology Ethics, and it’s called “Responsibilities of Leaders.” Continue reading The “Ethics” of Political Power: Scientology’s Worship of Ruthlessness
|
