Sunday Funnies: Scientology Gets Colorful!

We’ve learned that, if you’re in Orange County, California next weekend, there’s a way to get some exercise, pelt yourself with fun colors, and raise money for Scientology causes all at the same time!

We want to thank the tipster who sent us information about the 5K race that’s been organized by a powerful OT VIII Scientologist by the name of Myles Binford.

Before we tell you more about him, check out the nifty video that was made for his upcoming 5K, which he calls The Charity Bomb!

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Scientology Gets Colorful!

Meet the Man Behind WWP, the Web Home of Anonymous and Project Chanology

Continue reading Meet the Man Behind WWP, the Web Home of Anonymous and Project Chanology

In His New Book, Is Neil Gaiman Exorcising His Scientology Past?

Neil Gaiman’s new book, The Ocean at the End of Lane, is garnering good reviews and a lot of attention as his first novel for adults in eight years. Gaiman, 52, is well known for his fantasy and science fiction, including The Sandman comic series, the Hugo-winning novel American Gods, the Hugo-winning novella Coraline, and much more.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a mesmerizing read that should please Gaiman’s many fans. We were charmed by its tale of childhood danger and myth stemming from a mysterious suicide on a country lane.

But there’s also a lot here to consider for Scientology watchers. As Gaiman has said in press interviews, his idea for the book came from an actual suicide of a lodger staying in his family’s home a short distance from Scientology’s UK headquarters, where Neil’s father was a prominent executive. And now that we’ve read it, we can say there’s a lot more about Neil’s Scientology past that makes this an interesting read.

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Dianetics Noir: Dangerous Women Hiding Their Womb-Secrets

Welcome to our ongoing project, where we blog a 1950 first edition of Scientology’s bible, Dianetics, with the help of ex-Scientologist, lawyer, and author Vance Woodward. Go here for the first post in the series.

We’re finally going to finish the chapter “Mechanisms and Aspects of Therapy” this week, Vance, and we won’t really be very sorry to see it go.

By this point, Hubbard is just riffing on what he’s previously proposed, generally rehashing his ideas about engrams picked up in the womb and how to remove them so they stop affecting adult life.

Continue reading Dianetics Noir: Dangerous Women Hiding Their Womb-Secrets

LEAK: Scientology’s Script For Softening Up A Crowd

Fellow Scientology Watchers, we’re really looking forward to your thoughts about today’s document leak.

We want to thank the tipster who forwarded this item. It’s a script for introducing the latest rah-rah videos that Scientology leader David Miscavige is having sent around to local “orgs” in the hopes that church members already exhausted with years of high-pressure fundraising can be amped up to give just a little more.

It’s part of a trend we’ve noticed in recent months. Miscavige doesn’t seem to trust his own people to deliver Scientology’s message, whether it’s statements to the press, or introductory videos for the public, or fundraising stemwinders for the membership.

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What Scientologists at War Left Out: Some Annotations on Channel 4’s Documentary

Before Scientologists at War aired last night on Channel 4, the documentary’s director, Joe Martin, told us he was looking forward to our review of the film. But we told him that since we had helped with the making of the movie and appeared in it, “reviewing” it would be bad form.

Instead, we’re fortunate that so many of our readers contributed their opinions about the documentary. Those comments tell us that Martin and his producers — Danielle Clark and Michael Simkin — put together a film that is creating an interesting debate about independent Scientology, Marty Rathbun’s role in it, and the future of the church.

We wanted to add just a few factual asides about the film and the response it’s getting.

Continue reading What Scientologists at War Left Out: Some Annotations on Channel 4’s Documentary

SCIENTOLOGISTS AT WAR, the Channel 4 Documentary

As we predicted, a version of Channel 4’s documentary, “Scientologists at War,” has appeared on the Internet. We don’t know who’s responsible for it, but we’re embedding it here so our readers not in the UK can get a look at it.

We also asked some ex-Scientologists in the UK to give us their impressions of the show after they got to see it when it first aired.

And we want to thank our readers who gave us live updates of the program earlier today. Now for the rest, give it a look and tell us what you think!

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Tonight on Channel 4: “Scientologists at War”

Meet director Joseph Martin and producer Danielle Clark, the young duo behind tonight’s 1-hour documentary on the UK’s Channel 4, “Scientologists at War.”

Continue reading Tonight on Channel 4: “Scientologists at War”

Scientology Sunday Funnies: When David Miscavige Made RTC Look Like The Matrix

We have another Underground Bunker exclusive this morning, and it’s fun!

We’ve learned that in 2005, Scientology leader David Miscavige asked his personal tailor, Claudio Lugli, to dress up everyone at the Religious Technology Center like they were from the 1999 film The Matrix.

RTC is the controlling entity of Scientology, the inner sanctum of power among an alphabet soup of organizations with names like CSI, ASI, and CST. It’s RTC that really wields the power in the church, and its chairman of the board is David Miscavige (hence his title, COB).

Continue reading Scientology Sunday Funnies: When David Miscavige Made RTC Look Like The Matrix

OT Powers: Jon Atack on Scientology’s Promise to Make You Superhuman

Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He now has a new edition of the book out, 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.

When L. Ron Hubbard introduced Dianetics in 1950, and then reorganized his movement as Scientology in 1952, the goal of his therapy was “clear” — a state that promised higher IQ, total recall, and immunity from disease. But it wasn’t until 1966 that he said the first true clear had been produced, a man named John McMaster.

Continue reading OT Powers: Jon Atack on Scientology’s Promise to Make You Superhuman

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