Disconnection &#8211; The Underground Bunker

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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“As I used to be president of the American Fiction Guild author’s league up in New York, when I was a kid — that’s right, I was a kid — it was very funny to me, I used to laugh myself silly, all of the confession stories written in America are written by unmarried ladies who have reached 40 or 50. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being an unmarried lady reaching 40 or 50. This is perfectly fine. But how come all these confession stories? Yeah, that’s interesting. Because it was out of the current lifetime’s field of experience. I realize now they were writing about past lives, that they were picking it up Whole Track and just putting it in modern dress. But they didn’t know what they were writing about, basically, in this lifetime.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 2, 1960

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“This very nice tribute and list was sent me by Lt. Cmdr. Joan Robertson:
Dear Sir, Like you, I am burying the old year not praising it. YET — Thank you for the wild and wonderful year we have just finished
for restoring all Tech
for restoring Power

for OT VII
for the Sanity Tech Breakthrough

for Ext Intensive
for the C/S Series
for the EP’s
for revitalizing training
for all the other Brilliant Tech Breakthroughs.
And thank you for the Tech of Admin —
for restoring all Policy
for the Bureaux
for the FEBC, HC, OEC —
Supervisor Courses
for Exec Dirs
the Org Boards

for the Aides Conferences
the personal Conferences

the Data Series
the Personnel Series
the Org Series
the PR Series
this Brilliant Management system
the Org and Product Officer System.
Your help on ship lines and to me as an Aide, an officer, a Con, and as a Being.
And for your trust in me in letting me help.
I pledge again my love, loyalty, devotion and work.
A very Happy New Year — Sir!” — The Commodore, January 2, 1971

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“If you are for Scientology having secrets because people are not ready for them, then you should be OK with the government keeping all its alien secrets from us. They have met with them, worked with them, Apollo 11 actually was checking out ancient alien ruins on the moon, and they kept this secret from us because apparently we are not ready for this information and will go crazy if exposed to it. That’s literally what they think. Well I say this is disgusting, just as it’s disgusting keeping Scientology information from lower level Scientologists. I do not stand for secrets, I think it’s wrong, and I genuinely hate the government for not telling me aliens exist. A Scientology radio show that is pro secrets is boring to listen to, just as the ABC Australia radio show is boring to listen to. They are pro secrets, they wouldn’t dare talk about the government controlling the weather or aliens. They don’t go into any interesting juicy stuff, it’s just PR ‘Oh I like to walk the dog on a Sunday afternoon’ or ‘Yes, sweet jazz music’ type stuff. It’s just so boring, it’s depressing really. It’s forcing people into a lame Truman Show life. You must support freedom of speech and the press. So that’s why I’m against secrets. It makes a worse world. As Hubbard says ‘If someone’s lying to you they are controlling you.’ And omitting data from stuff is a form of lying.”

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1998: Television show 60 Minutes aired a piece on the demise of the Cult Awareness Network due to Scientology this week. James Cherry provided a transcript. Some excerpts: “LESLEY STAHL: There was a time, if you were worried about your son or daughter being in a cult, you could get help from a small, nonprofit organization called the Cult Awareness Network, or CAN, for twenty years the nation’s best-known resource for information and advice about groups it considered dangerous. Among them was Scientology, a church not known for turning the other cheek. And while Scientology did attack its enemies in the past, Church officials say they don’t do that any more. But recently, the Cult Awareness Network was forced into bankruptcy, and its leaders blame the Church of Scientology. KENDRICK MOXON: I don’t know if she’s a topless dancer or not. STAHL: Did you tell our producer that you didn’t believe that was true? MOXON: I told your producer that I thought, looking at Cynthia Kisser, it seemed improbable that she could have been a topless dancer because of the way she looks. STAHL: Yet despite his own view and the evidence from Investigator Shomers, Moxon, also a minister in the Church, persisted in bringing it up. MOXON: I mean, we’ve got a declaration already indicating that she had been a topless dancer. STAHL: I can’t believe you’re continuing to talk about her being a topless dancer! STAHL: Were you a topless dancer? CYNTHIA KISSER: No, and later the person that they claimed told them that retracted it…issued a retraction saying that it wasn’t true. KISSER: I got hit with twelve suits in one week! I would open the door, a process server would give me a suit. They were suing us all over the country, sometimes simultaneously. STAHL: In all, CAN was hit with more than fifty lawsuits. Even though most of the suits were eventually dropped or won by CAN, she says the cost of defending them, nearly two million dollars, drove CAN to the brink of bankruptcy. HEBER JENTZSCH: I would say that the individuals who were involved definitely wanted to do something about CAN. What are you going to do when they’re trying to destroy you? Look, if you’re a Jew, no Jew is going to cry about the fact that the Nazi party is gone. If you’re an African American, no one is going to cry that the KKK is gone. I’m not crying because CAN is gone, OK? They were a vicious group — STAHL: My question is, would you concede that at least part of what happened with those lawsuits was a deliberate attempt to harass and intimidate them into silence? JENTZSCH: No, absolutely not — STAHL: Well, you’re not going to make us believe that there were these thirty or fifty lawsuits that all sprang up, you know, just… serendipitously. MOXON: They didn’t spring up serendipitously. A number of Scientologists came to our firm and said, ‘I’m being discriminated against by CAN.’ We have these complaints in the computer. STAHL: We deny the Church’s accusation that we have a conflict of interest in this story, because producer Richard Bonin has an aunt who’s a lawyer involved in litigation against the Church. Though that’s true, our producer’s aunt Leta had nothing to do with our story.”

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“Alex Jones and L. Ron both became millionaires by selling people crazy. The $64,000 question is whether it was (A) a cynical scam (B) they’re both insane (C) all of the above.”

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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. Appeal brief due by December 23.
— ‘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 January 13, 2025.

— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud, awaiting sentencing.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal.
— 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. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1.

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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.

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.

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] Ooh la la! Scientology is bursting about its soon-to-open Paris cathouse
[TWO years ago] A video that answers, what’s it like in Scientology with business so down these days?
[THREE years ago] TODAY: Scientology wants you to make a resolution to fork over every penny in 2022
[FOUR years ago] Worst part in the Scientology ‘arbitration’ ruling? Danny Masterson can participate.
[FIVE years ago] Graham Berry shares a Scientology secret with us that might explain everything
[SIX years ago] Scientology smears ‘Aftermath’ guest with info from his supposedly confidential files
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s original case of ‘disconnection’ — L. Ron Hubbard and his doting mom and dad
[EIGHT years ago] David Miscavige has plenty of new Scientology buildings set to open in 2017
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s 2016: CNN plans to give L. Ron Hubbard his best press in decades
[TEN years ago] LEAKED RENDERINGS: What Scientology’s (post-KCET) new media center will look like
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s snitching culture: Jefferson Hawkins explains the ‘Knowledge Report’
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Giving this “Internet” Thing a Whirl

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 3,132 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,627 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,142 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,692 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,682 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,068 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,563 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,867 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,738 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,290 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,631 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,198 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,117 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,285 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,867 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,127 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,163 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,879 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,443 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,758 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,933 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,615 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,952 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,806 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,921 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,283 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,586 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,692 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,090 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,966 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,531 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,042 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,298 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,406 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 2, 2025 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

Scientology lessening the Disconnection madness? Our readers are skeptical

Tony Ortega — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 19:00:35 +0000

TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Yesterday’s dispatch from one of our correspondents, suggesting that Scientology leader David Miscavige might be softening the church’s notorious ‘Disconnection’ policy, turned out to be pretty controversial with our ex-Scientologist readers, and they let us know it. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

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Technology Cocktail

“I know that some months ago and earlier than that it seemed rather fatal to us to continue to fixate the preclear’s attention on the chronic somatic. But that is not a problem with us right now. It ceased to be a problem the moment I invented an auditing command exactly as follows: ‘Invent a problem that (leg, arm, nose, eye, body) could be to you.’ Running this command, which is in itself a sort of remedy of havingness,
and repairing and remedying the havingness of the preclear as we go, we will discover that practically any and all phenomena associated with the service facsimile will come away and clear up, and the limb, nose or eye will get well. This can be used as a word of warning: ONLY ON ACTUAL TERMINALS. Never use this command, and I mean NEVER, on actual conditions.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1972

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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— 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

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“Auditing itself depends to some degree on miracle healing. And the longer you sit back waiting for the process to do it, and the longer you sit back waiting for Ron to do it, the less it’s going to happen. You’re not going to make Clears waiting for something else to do it. You’re going to do it. If you don’t do it — look, who else is there! There’s the pc and he’s been an aberree for the last 15 trillion, squillion years, hasn’t he? He’s been spinning ever since they pulled his last temple down on his head or whatever happened. Well, if he could get out of the bank just at a whoooo, he wouldn’t be your pc, so he can’t do it. And when you’re in an auditing room all by yourself with just the pc, you know, and a couple of chairs or couch or something, you look around real carefully and find out who else in that room is going to do it! Nobody going to do it but you.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 9, 1959

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“THIS PORT: This is a very upstat area and our general relations with the shore are very good. We will be here for 15 days or more, at this or some other dock, as we are getting heat into the tween decks and holds and having some other repairs done. So if you have any extensive work or actions that need doing, now is the time to do them. As the World Health Organization is not all that good in restricting epidemics and although there is nothing particular wrong here, you are warned not to eat fresh fruits without peeling them and fresh uncooked foods ashore. Also do not drink any fresh water that has not been chlorinated.” — The Commodore, November 9, 1971

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“US late night talk show host Jeffrey Daugherty has embarked on a path to deliver ‘White Dianetics’ to the world. I suggest the free Scientology community check out this project and interact appropriately with him. He is someone who is eminently amenable to factual discussion. It would be truly wonderful if someone from the community could come onto his show for an episode of discussing and laying out interesting stuff that could further show his quite open-minded audience what a wonderful technology LRH gifted humanity.”

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1999: Gerry Armstrong posted a letter he received from Scientology lawyer Andy Wilson, showing an attempt to have the court hold Gerry in contempt for speaking about Scientology. “Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor Church of Scientology International hereby applies ex parte for an order directing Defendant/Judgment Debtor Gerald Armstrong to show cause why he should not be held in contempt of this Court for Armstrong’s willful defiance of this Court’s October 17, 1995 Order of Permanent Injunction. This application is made on the grounds that, in violation of the Order, Armstrong – who has twice previously been found in contempt of the Injunction – has continued to openly flaunt the authority of this Court, violating the Injunction issued by this Court in numerous respects. During the period February 20, 1998 to July 10, 2000, Armstrong made a total of
131 postings on the Internet, each of which violated one or more provisions of the Injunction. Armstrong traveled to Clearwater, Florida and on December 5, 1999 spoke before a public gathering sponsored by the Lisa McPherson Trust, a for-profit corporation, the purpose of which is to bring about the destruction of the Scientology religion. Armstrong traveled to Tampa, Florida and on December 10, 1999 gave an interview on radio station WMNF-AM, during which he again violated the terms of the Injunction. Armstrong has willfully treated this Court’s authority with such callous disregard that he should be criminally sanctioned by fine and imprisonment.”

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“How long did it take for the Shakers to cease to exist? As far as I’m concerned that’s the basic scenario we’re looking at here. The feds aren’t going to do anything about Scientology ever and there’s not going to be any Jonestown event (thank gawd) so what does that leave except a fade out to non-existence?”

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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.
— ‘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 May 31, 2024.

— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Leah seeking to amend her complaint.
— 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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Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] He helped launch Scientology’s cruise ship, and later was cast aside by the church
[TWO years ago] BIZARRE: Scientologist figure Tommy Davis accosts two Paul Haggis trial witnesses in Soho
[THREE years ago] Profs looking at tiny groups of American ‘indies’ miss Scientology’s big issues
[FOUR years ago] How Scientology can prove us wrong about L. Ron Hubbard’s ‘sheep-dipped’ valor
[FIVE years ago] The Scientology-‘Ancient Aliens’ tie-in we just know you were waiting for
[SIX years ago] Someone is faking Lawrence Wright emails — and this one is about the Underground Bunker
[SEVEN years ago] French-kissing Wilt Chamberlain: Adventures of a teenager in the skeezy world of Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] How a new independent ‘church’ is trying to wrestle away control over the word ‘Scientology’
[NINE years ago] Scientology on the high seas: When L. Ron Hubbard was still making tech ‘breakthroughs’
[TEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Kirstie Alley is now Super Powered!
[ELEVEN years ago] Luis Garcia Responds to Scientology’s Arbitration Scheme

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 3,078 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,573 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,088 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,638 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,628 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,014 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,509 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,813 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,684 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,236 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,577 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,144 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,063 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,231 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,813 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,073 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,109 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,825 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,389 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,704 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,879 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,561 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,898 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,752 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,867 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,229 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,532 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,638 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,036 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,912 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,477 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,988 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,244 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,352 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 9, 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.

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.

Family forced disconnection: A wound Scientology won’t stop pouring salt into

Tony Ortega — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 18:00:06 +0000

[Sunny Pereira and her brother]

TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Sunny Pereira is back with another gut-wrenching experience for us: When Scientology not only rips your family apart, but then keeps shoving it in your face, year after year. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

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Technology Cocktail

“The whole field of psychotherapy was dishonest from the days of witch doctors to psychiatry. Falsified data came from lack of knowledge of the mind. This made its practitioners DISHONEST. We do not and must not follow that fatal road. The technology we have WORKS to definite positive predictable results. Results are obtained if the auditor has honestly studied and understood his materials and honestly applies them. Falsifying study leads to falsifying meters and this gives bad results on pcs. HONEST use of the materials and the meter gives an honest result.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1972

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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— 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

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“Handling Security Checks in a society of this particular character, then, runs into a little bit of heavy weather. And you very often run into some heavy weather. Somebody’s sitting there and, good God, they’re the fellow who did it, you know, and what are you going to do as the auditor, you know?…What is your responsibility as an auditor? Well, it’s, your responsibility as an auditor is first and foremost as an auditor, is get the person out of it. You’re not the police force. Don’t you see? And then you actually are not honor bound from that point there on to be under a stamp and seal of total secrecy with regard to the fact that the First National Bank was robbed by Joe, you see. But don’t go calling up the police. They’re on the wrong road. Cops never get a society anyplace. Cops are a short-term proposition, strictly. The more cops, the more crime.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 13, 1961

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“We have so far sent back two FEBC graduates. W/O Owen Starkey to AOSHDK and Wayne Marples to NY. They both left in a hurry to save their orgs. Starkey has halted the GDS collapse and has most of them on a healthy climb. They both had a lot of beautiful things to say about Flag and its people.” — The Commodore, September 13, 1970

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“I am waiting to attest for an advanced level that has created a space around me free from interference and case phenomena! It feels clean, calm and serene! I’m still getting used to it! Before I would make a postulate and it would rebound back at me or get lost in the confusion of counter intentions. Now I simply decide and my space has nothing counter to throw back at me! New business? Check. New car? Check. New house? Check. These are just the surface manifestations occurring recently. Theta wise I perceive a whole new existence. Picture Neo seeing the Matrix for the first time possibly. I’m getting very acquainted with the theta universe and its subtle yet powerful control of the MEST universe. Big shift! Prior to that it was hit-and-miss with Lady Luck deciding mostly. Not any more. There is more composure and certainty than before, it feels as if I’m ready to handle the bigger stuff, cant wait!!”

——————–

1999: Court files in a criminal case against Scientologists in Marseilles have been destroyed, leading to speculation that Scientology was involved in the operation. From the Associated Press: “France’s Justice Ministry opened an investigation Wednesday into the destruction of evidence against the Church of Scientology in a Marseilles court. ‘I will shed light on this malfunction,’ said Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou. ‘It’s serious that this evidence has disappeared.’ Marseilles court officials alerted the Justice Ministry to the removal of more than three tons of evidence in August, saying the destruction appeared to be accidental. The Marseilles prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the disposal of certain sealed files was a result of ‘negligence’ by a court clerk and not an intentional act. The documents relate to an investigation opened in 1990 against regional Scientology leaders in the southern coastal cities of Marseilles and Nice for alleged fraud and illegal practice of medicine. Seven of those leaders are scheduled to go on trial Sept. 20. The destruction of the evidence will not delay the trial, the officials said. According to a lawyer representing the plaintiff, a former Scientologist, the evidence destroyed includes financial statements, notes concerning Scientology members and apparatus known as ‘electrometers,’ designed to measure ‘self-control.'”

——————–

“It seems to me that narconon preys on folks out in the hinterland and down south where detoxes are few and far between and the people are less up on this kind of stuff.”

——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Civil litigation:

— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Leah seeking to amend her complaint.
— 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.

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] More letters — from Ethan Suplee and others — on behalf of Danny Masterson to Judge Olmedo
[TWO years ago] AUDIO: Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan says Rizza Islam is accused of ‘horrible charge’
[THREE years ago] Scientology sends out creepy letters to lure you back in, and other gems from our mailbag
[FOUR years ago] What Scientologists are telling each other on social media right this very minute
[FIVE years ago] No, RadarOnline did not discover a new underground bunker at Scientology’s Gold Base
[SIX years ago] How a Scientology-run business preyed on Silicon Valley icons in the name of ‘wellness’
[SEVEN years ago] Ford Greene responds to Marty Rathbun, and brings up a previous Scientology secret deal
[EIGHT years ago] Co-writer Dan Koon answers accusations about the accuracy of Ron Miscavige’s ‘Ruthless’
[NINE years ago] Paul Haggis, Lawrence Wright react to Alex Gibney’s Emmys sweep for ‘Going Clear’
[TEN years ago] Ryan Hamilton files 20th lawsuit against Scientology’s drug rehab network
[ELEVEN years ago] MONIQUE RATHBUN VS SCIENTOLOGY, DAY 2: Texas Showdown Shifts Gears

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,022 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,517 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,032 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,582 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,572 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 4,958 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,453 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,757 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,628 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,180 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,521 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,088 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,007 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,175 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,757 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,017 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,053 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,769 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,333 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,648 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,823 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,374 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,505 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,843 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,696 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,817 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,173 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,476 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,582 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,980 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,856 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,421 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,934 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,188 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,296 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 13, 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.

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.

When Father’s Day 2024 reminds you that Scientology ripped apart your family

Tony Ortega — Sun, 16 Jun 2024 11:00:35 +0000

TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“As psychiatry circulates rumours about auditors and attempts to discourage the use of Dianetics and Scientology, it is only fair for the auditor to know exactly the status of psychiatry and psychology as used today. It goes without saying that the savagery and fraud of psychiatry must cease and
that auditors must encourage in state and public and through all their connections displacing psychiatric abuses with sane auditing.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1970

——————–

——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— 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

——————–

“The individual is in contest with his environment. We’ll just take off from that point. Now, that’s a very true observation. Particularly, if we qualify that observation just a little bit further and we say that a contest is not necessarily a battle of fisticuffs….Once umpty-skillion years ago I got swatted, and sat there very, very immobile, being right. I went on being right for quite a little while. See, by permitting myself to be immobilized, it made the other fellow wrong. It wasn’t really doing anything to him, taking no action, absolutely no forward thrust of any kind whatsoever, no outward motion, no outward flow of any kind, not even a thought of an outward flow and yet that was the method of handling the environment. So the way we qualify this is the method is not necessarily smart.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 16, 1964

——————–

“A Comm Ev was ordered by Telex on the non-SO auditor at Asho (Sheila Aldrich) for evaluating and feeding cognitions and all but destroying tech. Pokras and Eltringham on the US Station Ship were ordered transferred to deck for 6 months for neglecting to report or put right area out tech. Another Comm Ev has been ordered on the Broadbents for fostering the situation. This was what had Asho stats down so long! So it’s time we got sharp and drilled up and put our own house in good order.” — The Commodore, June 16, 1970

——————–

“I have screenshots of this stuff, so there’s all the proof I need. You have played this game for far too long and when I put my intention and attention on something, I win. Believe me, I will put an end to your suppressive actions and this suppressive group. This is NOT Scientology, this is PURE ENTHETA.”

——————–

2001: Scientology celebrity John Travolta appeared on the cable TV interview show Larry King Live. Some excerpts: “KING: You’re able to take something negative. You pass by this newsstand and see something about you that’s a bold-faced lie, or something and look beyond it. TRAVOLTA: To me there, it’s like a, like a – nipping dogs at your ankles, or something. It’s not, it’s not to be taken too seriously. I’ve never taken any of that very seriously. I take bigger issues seriously. I think what one of the biggest misunderstood concepts is that, you know, Scientology is non-denominational. You can be any religion and be a Scientologist – Jewish, Catholic, Christian. KING: But is it a religion? TRAVOLTA: It is. But it’s a religion on technical concepts, you know. It addresses you spiritually, and it leaves God as a – up for your religion, you know. You as a Christian, or you as a Jewish person would interpret what you wanted from that aspect of your religion. KING: Then how did it get all bum-rapped? TRAVOLTA: Well, that’s probably a long story, and a story, and it could have happened back in 1950, when ‘Dianetics’ was first written, and I think there was an attack on the book, because it really attempted to help in a mental health way. KING: And knocked psychiatry. TRAVOLTA: Yes. And I think that could have been the initial, initial issue, you know. KING: What led to FBI investigations? German authorities trying to stamp it out? TRAVOLTA: Well, you know, as you know, you’re in a profession that, it’s interpretive how press will kind of release ideas on things. And, you know, I look at a – the members that I know, the members, the person I am. It has only done fantastic things for my life. And everyone I know, you know. We’re very strong on trying to rehabilitate people on drugs. We have a 90, 95 percent success rate in taking people off of drugs. We’re immersed in so many positive aspects of society, you know, as a group. So, I don’t know. The group’s motto, ‘A world without war, insanity or criminality.’ And, a person needs to want to be helped, and I have a very specific way of helping a person off drugs. So, you have to want that. There’s vitamin programs and detoxification, sweat programs that a person goes on, and Scientology calls it a purification program. But it’s not – you can even do it outside the church. You don’t have to do it there. You can do it with different organizations. You know, there’s a whole wonderful organization called Narconon, that is just, it just helps. Life is overwhelming. Life is not easy. Life is tough. And you need something that really works and helps you actually, not promises to help you, then fail. And that’s why I’ve always loved Scientology, because it offers help, and it works.”

——————–

“There are no theologians in Scientology. No one is allowed to interpret or tell a student what they think L. Ron Hubbard meant.”

——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] THE WITNESS: Damian Perkins opens up about how the case against Danny Masterson began
[TWO years ago] Valerie Haney facing new court hearing: why hasn’t Scientology ‘arbitration’ happened yet?
[THREE years ago] Scientology has been desperate to produce results in Texas for a very long time
[FOUR years ago] Buffy goes Clear, and other signs that Scientology has survived the coronavirus
[FIVE years ago] While Scientology shrinks, its ‘Ideal Orgs’ pretend they are booming
[SIX years ago] The trauma of leaving Scientology: ‘Who wants to believe they’ve thrown away their best years?’
[SEVEN years ago] Marty Rathbun’s project becomes clear: Someone’s worried about Scientology & the IRS
[EIGHT years ago] Our money maverick dives into Scientology’s latest financial house of horrors
[NINE years ago] O Canada! All eyes in the Scientology-watching world will be looking north next week
[TEN years ago] LEAKED: The slick campaign Scientology had planned for UK expansion!
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: When David Miscavige Made RTC Look Like The Matrix

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 2,933 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,428 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,943 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,493 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,483 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,364 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,668 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,539 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,091 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,432 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,999 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,918 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,086 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,667 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,928 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,964 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,680 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,244 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,559 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,734 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,285 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,416 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,754 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,607 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,728 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,084 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,387 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,493 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,891 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,767 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,332 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,845 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,099 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,207 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on June 16, 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.

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.

Tom Cruise’s ‘religion’: Scientology has kept this family apart for a decade

Phil Jones — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 12:00:16 +0000

[Phil and Willie Jones and their kids Mike and Emily]

As of this week, it’s been 10 years since we’ve seen our kids, Emily and Mike.

Scientology made them disconnect from us once we were out and criticized the cult. There is always a sense of amazement to me that the kids would go along with this L. Ron Hubbard mandate about disconnection, but then I look at how insidious the conditioning is in Scientology and how I also fell into its thrall for so many years.

Both Michael and Emily are in the Scientology Sea Organization. They’ve committed their lives to it.

Emily works at Galaxy Press (Author Services, Hubbard’s fiction books publisher) in Los Angeles. She’s married to John Goodwin, who is president of Galaxy Press. John is her third husband.

Her first marriage was to a young Scientology security officer at Flag. Their ‘senior’ (Scientology boss) ordered them to get married after she saw the two of them sitting together on a step one day and perhaps flirting a bit.

The first marriage didn’t last long as Emily was whisked away to the Scientology Int Base where she met and married another nice man named Aylon (not sure of the spelling). Apparently, Scientology leader David Miscavige wouldn’t let them “be together” until he had also performed a marriage ceremony, which he never did. Eventually, they divorced.

Emily then worked for Author Services in Los Angeles and married Goodwin. I do sometimes wonder if this also was a marriage “ordered” by Miscavige to keep her in the fold. John is nearly my age. Maybe I’m just not seeing it right due to my own biases though.

Then there is our son Mike. Back when we lived in Clearwater, Michael studied and learned to play guitar. He was quite good at it. When he was old enough he packed up his car and went to California to pursue a music career. We always encouraged him with this and throughout his life we paid for guitar lessons with several different teachers.

It wasn’t too many months after Mike went to LA that he called me and told me that Pasadena Org wanted him to join staff. Sure, a young single Scientologist would be a prime target for a recruiter. I told Mike not to join and continue his music career. He moved on.

Again, a few months later Mike called. This time I think it was the Orange County Org. Again I told him not to join and to continue with music. He again moved on.

There were a few others but I was able to encourage Mike to keep on his path. It was his dream to be a guitar player ever since he was young, way back in our Toronto days.

Then one day he bumped into Celebrity Center. They promised him he could join the Sea Org and continue to be a musician. He could continue to play his guitar. Supposedly they had a band and he could be in it. Mike joined up, signing a billion-year contract, and was then in the Sea Org.

Over the years I would ask Mike if he’s still playing his guitar. Willie and I even bought a very expensive guitar for him and had it shipped out to him at Celebrity Center. For a while, he said he still played, but as the years went by it was less and less, until the times when I asked the question and there would just be silence on the other end of the line.

We love our kids. In no world would we ever disconnect from them. But I also know how deep Scientology conditioning can be and the lies they will tell to enforce their edicts. So, we don’t blame them. We aren’t angry with them. We just want Scientology disconnection to end so that we can have our family back.

— Phil Jones

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“The meter in actual fact does nothing but locate charged areas below the awareness of the pc and verify that the charge has been removed. The meter cures nothing and does not treat. It only assists the auditor in assisting the preclear to look and verify having looked.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1964

——————–

——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— 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

——————–

“One of the more fiendish tests that I conducted on this was on my own kid, I wouldn’t have done it to somebody else’s kid. I pretended to scatter an enormous amount of pepper into the palm of my hand and then pretended to eat it with some relish. I didn’t scatter any pepper at all on my hand. Hand it to my little girl, she promptly threw some pepper into the palm of her hand and ate it with considerable relish. And for some days was busy enjoying pepper in great quantity.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 8, 1954

——————–

“PROGRESS: We are continuing to make progress against the enemy who has shot at us and the planet for 18 years. The code name he now has is ‘SMERSH’ (from 007 fame) and his branch of offices are ‘Black Hats.’ He is oddly enough on both sides of existing political parties except in SA where he is mainly UP. This was a hidden government. It aspired to world domination! If you can imagine a psychiatrist in such a role. Wonder what it would be like to be governed by shock cases. Red as paint, he was really having a ball. We were in his road. Because we were fully effective. We undid his implants. A real psychotherapy had come along. This was not part of his plans. He shot at Scn to discredit it. It is quite obvious that western governments are fantastically weak and very unaware. They cannot or will not protect their people or their institutions. Thus, only one course is left open. To get rid of SMERSH and their thousands of kills weekly. Oddly enough, we’re doing just that. The one BIG mistake they made was to attack Scientologists. Which they did from hiding for 18 long years. It set us back, kept our field upset, our staffs enturbulated. But it also made us get tough and grow strong. SMERSH was the hidden government. Long may it fall.” — The Commodore, December 8, 1968

——————–

“I was born this lifetime in 1957. So whatever I may say about the early days of Dianetics and Scientology is generally from my last lifetime, where I was more or less in the thick of things. I did know LRH, and I did attend some, but not all of his lectures. He and I were not ‘pals,’ but I had enough contact with him to be able to size up his character. This lifetime, I ‘returned’ to Scientology in 1976, at the tender age of 19.”

——————–

1999: “NoScieno” reported a protest in Chicago. “I printed up 70 flyers based on Deana Holmes’s excerpts from Agent Strope’s affidavit, adding a few links for more information, and managed to pass out about half of them in the blocks surrounding the org. No I wasn’t so foolish as to try a solo picket of the org itself. Not only would they try to tail me home and ‘destroy me utterly’ for my heinous crime of spreading a little public awareness, but I’m sure it would be impossible to keep a dialog going with the people on the street. Basically I just kept moving, and telling everyone about the death of Lisa, and offering flyers. Just about every time, when I stopped to talk with anybody, 4 or 5 other people would gather around to listen. There was a lot of sympathy for Lisa and her family from almost everyone. Only two people didn’t already know about Scientology’s reputation, and began to scold me for ‘attacking a church.’ A quick listing of just a few of its crimes and unethical practices was enough to show that I was not ‘against religion.’ I got a lot of support from more knowledgeable others in my ‘audience’ when that happened, and it almost seemed as though I could organize a picket from volunteers right there!”

——————–

“On more than one occasion I have met someone and after a few minutes of casual conversation I have been forced to ask myself whether this person is the sort of fellow who is going to attempt to run off with my wife and my car or if he’s the kind of guy that’s going to try and run off with my girlfriend and my boat. Thanks to L. Ron Hubbard I have knowingness of scamingness.”

——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, Scientology submitting anti-SLAPP response Oct 26.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Discovery phase.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] EXCLUSIVE: The Danny Masterson jury foreman speaks in first public interview
[TWO years ago] Irish courts issued 14,000 words on Narconon rehab: Not a single one was ‘Scientology’
[THREE years ago] Scientology social media: Gearing up for R6, or what you humans call ‘Christmas’
[FOUR years ago] Scientology’s biggest donors of late 2019: The whales giving millions to David Miscavige
[FIVE years ago] Academic goes ‘Among the Scientologists’ to bring back what we already knew
[SIX years ago] A grim anniversary that should remind us Scientology has no business ‘testing’ anyone
[SEVEN years ago] Leah Remini told you about Scientology’s ‘Fair Game’ — and here’s the worst example of it
[EIGHT years ago] Leaked Scientology video: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes front and center for ‘psych busting’!
[NINE years ago] SUNDANCE BOUND: HBO’s film about Scientology will debut in Utah on January 25
[TEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Gets Ideal in Taiwan
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology and Past Lives: Was L. Ron Hubbard Actually Serious?

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 3,237 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,752 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,302 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,292 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,173 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,477 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,348 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,453 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,900 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,242 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,808 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,727 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,895 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,476 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,737 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,773 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,489 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,053 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,368 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,543 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,094 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,225 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,563 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,418 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,537 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,893 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,196 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,302 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,700 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,576 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,141 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,654 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,908 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,017 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on December 8, 2023 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.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

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.

Scientology said her father was dead. He’s alive, at its secret HQ. But can she see him?

Tony Ortega — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 11:00:17 +0000

[Bob Ferris and his daughter Liz]

[Today’s guest article is by Jeffrey Augustine and Vanessa LaRose]

In 2004, former Sea Org member and second-generation Scientologist Liz Ferris called the Golden Era Productions phone line in the Hollywood Guaranty Building. She was asking for her father, Sea Org executive Bob Ferris.

The HGB, on Hollywood Boulevard, is a nerve center for the worldwide Scientology organization, with highly sensitive activity taking part inside.

Liz left the Sea Org after her stint from 1996-2000, but she had remained a Scientologist. She says that in some ways it was only very recently that she woke up that Scientology technology was not “The Key to Life.” But one thing she always knew in her heart was that Scientologists were incorrect about their views on sexuality.

She was still allowed to call her father from time to time and they kept in touch a few times a year with pleasant phone calls. He had been accepting (and even supportive) when she had come out to him as a lesbian earlier that year.

This time, however, when she asked for him, the person on the other end of the line simply said, “He’s dead,” and hung up.

Liz was understandably stunned by the news of her father’s death. He was only 54 years old at the time.

New Scientology watchers may be surprised to learn that it is not unusual for Scientology to tell family members that a Sea Org member has died, when they have not. It is also common to keep deaths quiet when Sea Org members or public Scientologists passes away. You may remember when Tony reported on the death of Ann Tidman in 2012, that it had been months after her death in a Scientology apartment building before her family was told about it.

Fast forward to 2023: Liz received a phone call asking her what her plans were for assisting with her father Bob’s “freeloader’s debt.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. since when did Scientology try to collect on the freeloader debts of the dead?

In Scientology, Sea Org members are required to sign billion-year contracts, promising to come back lifetime after lifetime. And one way that the organization keeps members from changing their minds is to threaten to saddle them with a freeloader debt if they leave, billing them for all of the benefits they’d supposedly received while working around the clock. Such debts can run up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, they are legally unenforceable, but often former Sea Org members end up paying at least part of them for fear of being declared an enemy of the church with the label “suppressive person.”

Liz knew what a freeloader’s debt was, but why, she asked, would the church be asking her about a debt supposedly owed by someone who had died 19 years earlier? Liz heard a click on the other end of the call.

Angry, panicked, and heartbroken, Liz began asking around until she heard from another former Sea Org member who told her that her father had not, in fact, died in 2004. They told her that in 2005, he had still been working at Scientology’s Gold Base located in San Jacinto, California.

But was he still alive in 2023? At that point, she reached out to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. An officer from RCSO called Gold Base and inquired about Bob, and he told Liz that an unnamed person at the Base said that Bob Ferris was alive. However, the Sheriff’s Office did not make an actual visit to see if this was true.

Liz decided she would need to go to the base to find out for herself.

She reached out to former second-generation Scientologists Vanessa LaRose and Elysia Hoy after watching their recently launched YouTube channel “Degraded Daughters of Dianetics.” Liz felt that they could understand the challenges she was about to face, and she asked if Vanessa would accompany her to the base.

Vanessa has a BA in psychology from Cal State Long Beach, she’s a certified peer support specialist, and she’s also a mandated reporter in the state of California. Liz also turned to me, Jeffrey Augustine, for additional help.

I’m a private investigator, and I saw this as a missing persons case: Was Bob Ferris dead or alive? If he was alive and 72 years old, what is his physical and mental condition?

On June 10 Liz, her partner, Vanessa, and I made a visit to Gold Base. Liz told me that she did not want to be the daughter who gave up on her father, if there was any possible chance that her father was alive. She wanted him to know that his family outside cares, and will be here for him if he wants to escape.

We met up at the San Jacinto substation of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and I advised a deputy that we were headed out to Scientology’s Gold Base on a missing persons case. We used an Uber to get there because there is no other safe way to get to the guard booth at the front gate.

Scientology has heavily planted the public walkway next to Highway 79 with thorny desert cactus and plants right down to the highway itself. Highway 79 is a high-speed roadway where the average speeds of vehicles are 55-70 mph. This is Google maps image of the guard booth:

It was obvious to me that the overplanting was done in order to create an unsafe environment to discourage anyone from walking up to the front of the base or the security booth.

Pedestrians risk getting hit and seriously injured or killed by traffic were they to walk to the front of Gold Base from a long distance away where they must park their car. There are other dangers too. In 2008, Scientology protester Anon Orange was tackled and placed under citizen’s arrest by Scientology security officer Danny Dunigan for trespassing.

There are no marked boundaries anywhere and Scientology does not want any foot traffic along Highway 79. Former Gold Base Security Director Gary “Jackson” Morehead agrees, because he was the person who designed the deliberate obstructions when he was in charge of Base security.

Once we arrived, Liz approached the guard booth, identified herself, and asked to see her father Bob. She communicated this information through the speaker on the guard booth. The booth itself is covered in heavily-tinted glass and no one inside can be seen. After about an hour, we had received no communication back from the guard booth. No Scientology official appeared to speak with us. At that point, I called the Sheriff’s Office and asked them to come and conduct an adult welfare check on Bob.

Forty-five minutes later the Sheriff’s Office called back. The deputy said that they had contacted Bob by telephone and spoke with an attorney for the Church who said that Bob did not wish to see his daughter. The deputy said that Bob claimed he might be dealing with a daughter he never knew about, which the deputy seemed to credit.

On the other hand, Bob had told the Sheriff’s Office that he did not want to get a Temporary Restraining Order against his daughter and was not quite sure who this person was. These statements were either contradictory, not truthful, or suggested a diminished mental capacity. There is ample evidence that Bob Ferris knows his daughter Liz. The photo at the top of this article, for example.

The deputy warned me about getting into a trespass situation. I replied that we were on public land and that we would be departing as soon as our Uber arrived. The deputy additionally stated that Gold Base had to get permission from a Scientology attorney to allow Bob Ferris to speak to the Sheriff’s Office.

About a week after our visit, the Sheriff’s Office made an actual face-to-face visit with Bob. The report is not available from the department website. Liz will have to make another long trip to pick up the report in person. Fundraising was just completed to fund this trip. Liz said in a recent podcast that she may never get her father back but has at least paved the way for others to ask to see their missing family members who are in the Sea Org.

— Jeffrey Augustine and Vanessa LaRose

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Technology Cocktail

“Explore the immediate past lifetime or lifetimes of the pc. Get the pc’s identity and form (sometimes they were animals), and if lifetime alters position of tone arm, run ‘What about (name)
would you be willing to be?’ ‘What about (name) would you rather not be?’ Do this until incident is flat. If heavy engrams in such a lifetime stick, run ‘What about that incident could you be responsible for?'” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1960

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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— 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

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“If it isn’t written it isn’t true. The only orders that affect transfers, functions, programs in an org must be issued as Executive Directives, OODs or FSOs or FBDLs or AIDES ORDERS, CBOs or FOs to be legal…Therefore if anyone tells you to change post or duties or that a function is changed on the Org Bd and cannot show it to you in a policy letter or FO or CBO, it is not true. Furthermore to follow such an unwritten or illegal order is to risk a Comm Ev for accepting illegal orders. It would be just as bad to follow an order to violate an HCOB and run some upsetting process. The reason is very plain. Policy, followed, results in a productive, comfortable post and policy not followed with verbal orders only in effect makes a cat’s dinner.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 16, 1971

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“As I’ve had some upsets and checked to find others have from noise in sessions I think it’s best if we have DOC figure out a ‘Ship Noise’ period when we can have all hands chipping and any banging and E/R compressor charging. A couple hours of this scheduled when Qual is NOT auditing would be a great help. New recruits or new members aboard are apparently unaware of areas where they shouldn’t bang and chatter. This should be part of their ship info. DOC should work this out.” — The Commodore, August 16, 1970

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“Just re-reading KSW1. I think this is what we’re up against in the Indie Field: ‘The group left to its own devices would not have evolved Scientology, but with wild dramatization of the bank called new ideas would have wiped it out.’ And it looks to me like one of the ways people use to make sure Scientology gets wiped out is to invalidate KSW1.”

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1997: Tilman Hausherr posted news that a German court has upheld the conviction of a Scientologist police officer. “The Berlin state court has confirmed the conviction (for violation of the data protection law) of the Scientologist cop who had forced job applicants to take a ‘personality test’ and had forwarded the data to the cult. The fine was lowered to DM 9000 (instead of DM 12,000 of the first court, instead of DM 16,000 as out-of-court fine). The cop says he wants to appeal.”

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“That’s it, I’m joining Scientology tomorrow.”

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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. Sentencing on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Trial scheduled for August 15.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, hearing on proof of service on Oct 3.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through sentencing of Masterson on Sep 7.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Next hearing Nov 6.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

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Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] EXCLUSIVE: Danny Masterson’s attempt to delay trial over baseball gambit is DENIED
[TWO years ago] Danny Masterson’s nutty lawsuit involving his house loan is finally kicked out of court
[THREE years ago] VIDEO: Portland unrest inspires $250,000 donation from Scientology lifer
[FOUR years ago] Here’s the lawsuit against Scientology and Danny Masterson. Let’s dive into it.
[FIVE years ago] Stanley Clarke turns out to be as deep into Scientology as we feared, all these years later
[SIX years ago] Mirriam & Saina from ‘Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath’ — The LAPD has let us down
[SEVEN years ago] In 1951, L. Ron Hubbard’s fellow SF writers debated him about ‘badly-written’ Dianetics
[EIGHT years ago] Passion of the Heist: The Scientology hucksters who have made this summer unforgettable
[NINE years ago] After a year’s delay, Mary Sue Hubbard’s house is on the market for $2.5 million
[TEN years ago] Scientologists Say the Darndest Things In Their Disconnection Letters
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s Oklahoma Nemesis, Bob Lobsinger: ‘They Lied Every Step of the Way’
[TWELVE years ago] Ed Bryan, OT VIII, Demonstrates the Power of Scientology’s Highest Levels

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 3,123 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,638 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,188 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,178 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,059 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,363 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,234 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,339 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,786 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,128 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,694 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,613 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,780 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,362 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,623 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,659 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,375 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,939 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,254 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,429 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,980 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,111 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,449 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,304 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,423 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,779 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,082 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,188 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,586 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,462 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,027 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,540 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,794 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,903 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 16, 2023 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.

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.

Scientology at San Diego Comic-Con: Toxic ‘disconnection’ on display again this year

Tony Ortega — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 11:00:00 +0000

It’s not all fun and games at the San Diego Comic-Con as far as the Underground Bunker is concerned.

We did have a lot of fun on Thursday when our friend, film reviewer Luke Y. Thompson, sent us photos of the ‘That ’70s Show’ display outside the exhibit hall and showed how Danny Masterson, after being convicted as a serial rapist, has been awkwardly erased from the display.

Again, if you didn’t see it before, the display at Comic-Con and the 2002 photo it’s obviously taken from…

This was rather amusing. But Luke sent us another image that didn’t have us laughing.

He thought we’d want to see the Galaxy Press booth at the convention, which is selling L. Ron Hubbard books and featured an image of a dragon. (It’s from the cover of the latest writer’s contest anthology)…

We appreciated that Luke sent us that shot, but what really caught our eye were the two women working the booth. The one nearest the camera looked like it might be Emily Jones.

And sure enough, when we went to the Galaxy Press page at Facebook, there was a shot of Emily, here on the left, working the booth.

Once again, Scientology’s exhibit at Comic-Con includes a very visible demonstration of its toxic “disconnection” policy.

When Phil and Willie Jones left Scientology, their two adult children, Emily and Mike Jones, were instructed to “disconnect” from them by the church. And for most ex-Scientologists who experience this policy, it means never hearing or seeing a trace of their former loved ones again.

But Emily Jones is different. Her job, promoting L. Ron Hubbard’s books at Galaxy Press, puts her in the public eye from time to time. So once again, we’ll post the letter that Willie wrote to her daughter and that we first posted some seven years ago.

To my dearest Emily,
First and foremost if you get a chance to read this I want you to know and understand that the decisions your dad and I have made, as imperfect as they are, were made based not only on the love we have for you and Michael but also having had the ability to view this from inside and outside Scientology.
You state in your response to the Tampa Bay Times that we were the ones who disconnected from you. I am not sure exactly what you were told, but nothing is further from the truth. After we received your letter, we tried to contact both you and Michael. We tried for almost a year and a half, calling every week no fail. We tried getting into Celebrity Centre and Author Services to talk to you personally. We were stopped every single time. After one of our visits to CC, we were told our only terminal is the IJC (International Justice Chief). We both know what that means, utter and complete disconnection from any and all Scientologist. That was the nail in the coffin. We knew in that moment we were 100 percent cut off. We were never allowed the opportunity to give you another side of the story.
In the following months we learned just how many families have been torn apart. I always thought Scientology was supposed to bring people together. But sadly, I found out just how many people were affected by disconnection and it was staggering. In failing to contact you we knew we had to do something not just for us but for all the families affected.
Emily, Michael, the charge that what we are doing is motivated by money is heart-wrenchingly sad. You know us! How could you think that we would choose money over our children? Deep down, I hope you truly know this is not the case. I want you to know that even if we were offered millions of dollars to go away and be quiet forever, my answer would be “never.” Never, Emily! Money is not the motivation! A family intact is much more powerful than that.
We may have a difference of opinion, but that doesn’t mean we cannot maintain a healthy relationship. Your dad and I love and miss you both more than you know. We will never disconnect from you, our arms will always be wide open no matter what you do in life.
Love always,
Mom

If you’re at Comic-Con today, think about stopping by the booth and suggesting, in a very friendly way, that Emily give her mom a call.

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Technology Cocktail

“We have many riches. We have a hard corps of trained Scientologists. We already know who our friends are. We’ve drawn the teeth of old-time psycho-therapy and we’ve lived down our sins. But more important we can and mean to clear the US. The finance for this project has been worked out very thoroughly. The job will only cost a few hundred million and, hold your hat, you’re going to make it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1959

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——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— 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

——————–

“Now your understanding is that when you die, why somehow or another about 15 minutes later you appear in another body. Let’s look at this thing from a time disorientation basis. That is a lie. It takes 69 days plus. More than 69 days. See, this has upset some of our calculations. We’ve wondered what has happened to some of our people, why they didn’t show up again immediately, that sort of thing. You’ve gone as long as eight or nine years between death and birth. Now what happens — I’ll just give you a fast rundown on this situation — what happens is, you’ve got a compulsion to appear at the between-lives return-point. And, of course, you just do a disappear at death and an appear there. You don’t travel to there, see. It’s all nicely implanted and you’re supposed to arrive at this exact point. And having arrived at this point you go through the works. And the works consist of a false death given to you in pictures. You’re caught there and beamed in, and you get a bunch of pictures which they have taken — these aren’t your pictures — and it tells you all about the death you just died. Only that’s not the death you just died. They give you a completely false death.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 23, 1963

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“Today at 0900 we will move the bow of the ship over to the best fixed location of the port anchor which was researched last night. It’s just to the north of where we searched today. We will lower the port anchor and when secure, divers will go down the chain to see what an anchor looks like on the bottom and start a search radius from it. Have sleds ready again, they can stand off as we move forward.” — Capt. W.B. Robertson, July 23, 1970

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“Part of the road to becoming a god is to be willing to do anything and accept causation for anything. So you don’t mind being the one who made the dam burst. And with that, you gain control over the mockup. Then all you have to do is change your mind about what you want to have happen in the area and it all shifts around because now it is your dream rather than theirs which is controlling the projection of reality. And after the dam snaps back together and the devastation is erased by your postulates, the people are even more willing to agree with your being cause over everything because they like the results.”

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2001: Judge Thomas E. Penick this week issued a permanent injunction to replace the temporary injunctions against Scientology and protesters in Clearwater. “The Defendants have frequently picketed, protested, and demonstrated at the Plaintiffs facilities in Pinellas County, and Clearwater, in particular. Both sides have and continue to expend vast numbers of hours videotaping and ‘spying’ on each other. Such acts have heightened the tensions and frictions between the parties. During these picketing events, physical confrontations have erupted between the parties. When violence breaks out, the Clearwater Police have had to expend many work hours and taxpayers’ dollars to return peace and tranquility to the community. The frequency of the involvement of the Clearwater Police has constantly grown. Throughout the history of the conflicts and confrontations between the parties, all taxpayers of Clearwater, Pinellas County and the State of Florida have had to expend vast sums of money to compensate numerous governmental agencies of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to administrate, enforce, maintain, prosecute, defend, and promulgate laws to nurture harmony and safety between these parties, and ultimately, the public as a whole. This financial hemorrhaging must be stopped. All branches of government need to move on and devote more time to other matters of public interest rather than to the antics of these parties.”

——————–

“L. Ron Hubbard is dead but that didn’t stop lawyers for Monique from introducing his works as evidence in a court of law. There is a paper trail for Joseph Smith leading back to the early 1800’s also. Evidence clearly demonstrates that L. Ron Hubbard and Joseph Smith were con men. Smith was a convicted con man. The Abrahamic religions are obviously too old for this.”

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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. Sentencing on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Trial scheduled for August 15.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through sentencing of Masterson on Sep 7.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Next hearing August 1.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] PODCAST: Sunny Pereira spills secrets of Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre
[TWO years ago] The Scientologist who played a role in Tuesday’s historic Blue Origin launch
[THREE years ago] Scientology not only opposes Valerie Haney’s do-over, but wants $160,000 in sanctions
[FOUR years ago] Hey, slacker, come on back to Scientology — things are peachy now!
[FIVE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY CAVES: MISCAVIGE SETTLES FORCED-ABORTION CASE TO AVOID TRIAL
[SIX years ago] Scientology shifting front group strategy — it’s all about kids, kids, kids
[SEVEN years ago] Bomb diggety! It’s more Scientologists high on L. Ron Hubbard and the everloving ‘tech’
[EIGHT years ago] The Church of Scientology: A rollicking legacy of belligerence, profanity, paranoia, and violence
[NINE years ago] LIVE BLOG: The Elli Perkins story tonight on the ID Network, ‘The Scientology Cure’
[TEN years ago] Claire Headley: Scientology’s Own Rules Prove That it Uses “Disconnection” To Split Up Families
[ELEVEN years ago] The Master Screenplay: Scientology History from Several Different Eras Skillfully Woven Together

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 3,099 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,614 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,164 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,154 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,035 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,339 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,210 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,315 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,762 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,104 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,670 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,589 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,756 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,338 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,599 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,635 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,351 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,915 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,230 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,405 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,956 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,087 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,425 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,280 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,399 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,755 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,058 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,164 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,562 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,438 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,021 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,516 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,770 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,879 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 23, 2023 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.

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.

The OT 7s turned away at the gates: A Scientology blunder that reveals so much

Tony Ortega — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:00:51 +0000

[Cindy Plahuta and the under-construction Super Power Building]

After our recent special series about Scientology’s most secretive subsidiary, the Church of Spiritual Technology (part 1, part 2, part 3), we heard from an unlikely source about CST’s bizarre secrecy.

It was one of our longtime friends in the ex-Scientology community, someone who has had us over to their home in Denver and who we first wrote about a full decade ago.

Cindy Plahuta had a long career in Scientology and experienced a lot of different things. But one of the strangest happened in the mountains above Los Angeles.

In late 1997, Cindy and her then-husband moved from West Hollywood to Lake Arrowhead, an alpine community in the San Bernardino Mountains that circles the lake.

They didn’t know anyone, so one way they got to know some of their new neighbors was a real classic: They joined a local bowling league.

Among the other bowlers they got to know was a 16-year-old boy who lived in Crestline, another mountain town about 10 miles to the west. And because they bowled together, they would offer rides, and the young man ended up in their house.

When he was there, he noticed they had a copy of Dianetics on a shelf, and he asked them if they were with “that Scientology place.”

Which place, they asked?

As far as they knew, Cindy and her husband had moved to a community without any Scientology facilities at all, even though they were both very dedicated members. In fact, they were both “OT 7” at the time, referring to “Operating Thetan Level Seven,” perhaps the most difficult of the arcane auditing levels that go up to OT 8.

Their young friend explained that the local newspaper had done a story about a Scientology location near the hamlet of Twin Peaks, which was roughly halfway between Lake Arrowhead and Crestline, and that the place was digging a vault and local residents might hear noise from the construction as dynamite was used.

Cindy said they had no idea what he was talking about. But as OT 7s, they felt that if there was a Scientology operation in the area, they should really present themselves.

Their young friend pointed out where the facility was on their next drive, and they made a note of the location.

“The next morning, we went over there,” Cindy says.

They were OT 7s, she remembers thinking. Surely any Scientology location would welcome them.

“We went to the compound, and you know it has this guard shack. There was an intercom there, and we talked to Jane,” Cindy remembers.

Jane McNairn, who is listed as secretary in Church of Spiritual Technology corporate papers, came to the guard booth to talk to them.

Cindy says they explained that they had recently moved into the area, that they were OT 7, that they didn’t know about this place, but that they were ready to help out if they were needed.

She remembers that she really wasn’t prepared for the reception they got from Jane.

“She told us we were not to tell anyone about that place,” she says, and they were told to go back home. Then, later that afternoon, McNairn showed up at their house, to make sure they got the message.

“Then, a few days later, she called us and asked us if we had run into any Germans,” Cindy says.

At the time, Scientology had been the subject of a couple of documentaries by German news crews, where a battle brewing between the church and the German government had been a big story. The German crews had gone to the trouble of paying for flybys in airplanes over secretive Scientology bases.

“If you see any planes, any Germans, call me right away,” Jane told her, Cindy remembers. “But we never ran into a German or any planes.”

She says she also heard from another, even higher official in the church, who told her (good-naturedly) that she wasn’t supposed to know about the compound.

But she wondered, why weren’t they supposed to know about it if it had been written up in the local newspaper?

Later, of course, Cindy learned all about how CST operates its vaults in several places and is maybe the most secretive of Scientology’s operations, keeping the whereabouts of its compounds even from other Scientologists. And the facility that Cindy visited in 1997? Eight years later in 2005, we believe, it became the home for Shelly Miscavige, and has been ever since.

A couple of years after her visit to the compound, Cindy was going through a divorce and was spending less time in Lake Arrowhead, and she even began considering joining Scientology’s Sea Org. However, this not only involved signing the Sea Org’s billion-year contract, but also filling out a comprehensive “life history” which would included being interrogated on an E-meter.

Scientologists believe that the E-meter can literally read their minds, and so Cindy figured there was no way she’d be able to hold back that she’d stumbled on the secret base at Twin Peaks, and that she’d been told to keep quiet about it.

She called McNairn and even drove back up to the compound to talk with her again at the guard shack.

“I showed her the life history I had to fill out. But she said, no, you can’t write that down. No one, not even in the Sea Org, knows about this place.”

Cindy never did join the Sea Org, but while she was contemplating it, she worked out of an office at PAC base, the big blue complex in Los Angeles, where she was a public Scientologist helping to raise money for the Super Power project in Clearwater. She did that from 2001 to 2003 and sent us a few photos from that time, which we’ve posted here.

While doing her fundraising, she met Matt Plahuta. They married and she moved to Colorado in 2003.

By then, she says, the fundraising had begun to raise her doubts about Scientology. “I was being pushed to join the Sea Org, but the more I raised money, the more I saw,” she says.

Like so many other Scientologists, when “The Basics” were released in 2007, it contributed to her growing disillusion with the organization. (Leader David Miscavige re-released books and lectures by L. Ron Hubbard, expecting all Scientologists to buy new versions of books they already owned, and at about $3,000 a set.)

Cindy says she left the church for good two years later, in 2009, and began making contact with other people who had left in recent years, like Mike Rinder and the Headleys.

Then came the incident that we first wrote about involving Cindy. In 2010, she shared with her daughter Kara Landry what she had heard about top executives like Heber Jentzsch in “The Hole,” a hellish prison for people who had fallen out of favor of Scientology leader David Miscavige.

Sadly, Cindy’s daughter responded by turning her in to Scientology “ethics,” and then disconnecting from her.

Cindy hasn’t heard a word from her daughter ever since.

Meanwhile, she also received stunning “disconnection” letters from friends, which we also published.

We were grateful to Cindy for giving us those insights into Scientology’s toxic policy that rips apart families.

But she also provided another crucial detail about Scientology’s prevarications and double-talk.

In 2016, after learning that the lawsuit by Luis and Rocio Garcia had been forced into Scientology’s “religious arbitration” by federal Judge James Whittemore, Cindy wrote her own letter to Scientology’s “International Justice Chief” pointing out that she and Matt had signed similar contracts with the church that had doomed the Garcia lawsuit.

Cindy pointed out, however, that she welcomed the opportunity to have an arbitration over the large amounts of money that she had donated over the years, and that she now wanted back. So, following Scientology’s policy, she formally asked IJC Mike Ellis for an arbitration.

She never got a reply.

She pointed this out in another letter to Judge Whittemore, and we are glad to be reminded of it. Cindy Plahuta, with her letter to the IJC (which you can see here), proved that Scientology’s “religious arbitration” policy is merely a legal strategy that the church uses to derail lawsuits and nothing more.

We really owe Cindy a debt for her fortitude taking on the Church of Scientology and its secrecy and unethical behavior.

But we can try to help her out in a small way: She let us know that she’s launching a new YouTube cooking channel, and we encourage you to give it a look!

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“Scientology in Aussie is really swinging in these cities: Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and very soon we will get Sydney and Brisbane going and LO — WE WILL HAVE ENCIRCLED AUSTRALIA. Working it out mathematically on population basis of Aussie with 250 auditors putting 500 people thru courses or processing a year, in 2 years 5 percent of the people will have been thru the courses. Of course it is very likely we are going to have more than 250 auditors around—so watch it kiddo Aussie will be the first all Scientology country and should produce a terrific culture-about time too—it hasn’t really had its OWN culture.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1959

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——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— 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

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“Evolution: there’s no such thing. Bodies don’t evolve. They deteriorate, but they don’t evolve. You can trace all kinds of reasons how they evolve, and why they evolve, and you can figure it all out, but the truth of the matter is when you get horses on a planet, somebody came along and mocked up some horses! Now, they also mocked up these horses with the capability of growing hair or not growing hair. You’ve got adjustment factors, but not evolution factors. So you confuse the adjustment factors and prove the whole theory of evolution. And now you know man came from mud, and you can write a book like Pavlov and get the whole world poisoned. You see how this one goes. All of this is based on what? It’s based on errors in time.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 18, 1963

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“Promotion and Sales and the Tech Divs have to get together. For instance not the tiniest whisper of what we do with Dn and Lower Grades in the SO ever appears in any promotion. And Org staffs in SO or Scn Orgs haven’t a clue what is meant by the ‘FEBC’ Courses they pay for for their execs. On the broad front of the world there isn’t even a ghost of an idea of what we produce in Scn. That’s because PR hasn’t really found out either. This is a real breakdown! We’re working like mad to repair it. We’re also working to get out an ARC Brk and Letter Reg program to heal up ARC Brks caused by non-delivery and cash demands. And we’re working to get Div VIs to get in new people.” — The Commodore, July 18, 1971

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“Where are we going to get PCs and Pre OTs for the Bridge? Apparently from extraterrestrials coming to Earth for services.”

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1996: Anonymous Austrian Scientologist “clear baby” posted that she communicated with the Office of Special Affairs concerning her plan to report the unethical behavior of Scientologists on the net. In a series of posts, she described her plan to make the church more ethical by applying Scientology, and her meeting with OSA. Following her meeting, Clear Baby’s plan has been given over to OSA. “I will put my operation AREA CLEANUP into the church’s hands where it belongs, and I had decided so already before I went out to see Andy (but was even more certain after that talk.) So my 13 questions which belonged to this project became unnecessary. Do you want to know the reason? The real reason? You can laugh about me – I have deserved it. Today I visited Scientology.Org again. It was a great experience for somebody who is about to learn how to create web-sites: nice texts, intelligent linking, survey forms, everything. This of course IS communicative, and this of course is where a form should be attached which can be used to make complaints, so that the technology of repairing upsets or past ethics conditions then can be applied (this was what I had in mind with AREA CLEANUP).” Ralph Hilton posted private mail from clear baby. OSA told her to stop communicating by email with declared SPs. “I suppose you know what follows here, so I’ll keep it short – I was meeting my DSA today, working out the scene, and of course I will have to disconnect from you and terminate this e-mail exchange.”

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“I use Hubbardese all the time IRL because it’s fun.”

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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and the Georgia Guidestones: Here’s the truth
[TWO years ago] This is your brain on Scientology: Watch woman express euphoria after brutal interrogation
[THREE years ago] Paulette Cooper tells us she’s been interviewed for Leah Remini’s new Scientology podcast
[FOUR years ago] Miss New York organization changes course, ditches Scientology front group
[FIVE years ago] Is this case of Scientology draining a senior of his savings the one police are looking for?
[SIX years ago] Our man in Ireland ponders Scientology’s big plans for the Emerald Isle
[SEVEN years ago] Joey Chait’s sentencing memo: Abused in Scientology’s Sea Org and in fear of wealthy dad
[EIGHT years ago] Do Scientologists consider L. Ron Hubbard God? Part Two of the Aaron Smith-Levin podcast
[NINE years ago] Ryan Hamilton files his 18th lawsuit against Scientology’s embattled drug rehab network
[TEN years ago] LEAH REMINI’S SISTER NICOLE: How We Got Into Scientology, And How Leah Got Out
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology and Forced Abortion: Laura DeCrescenzo’s Three-Year Legal Odyssey
[TWELVE years ago] Janet Reitman: Unflappable as Scientologists Question Her Motives

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 3,094 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,609 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,159 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,149 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,030 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,334 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,205 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,310 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,757 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,099 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,665 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,584 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,751 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,333 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,594 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,630 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,346 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,910 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,225 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,400 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,951 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,082 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,420 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,275 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,394 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,750 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,053 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,159 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,557 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,433 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,016 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,511 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,765 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,874 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 18, 2023 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.

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.

What the New Yorker left out of its story about Elisabeth Moss and Scientology

Tony Ortega — Tue, 03 May 2022 11:00:26 +0000

It’s a simple formula. A successful Hollywood star has a new vehicle launching, and publications line up to interview them to coincide with it.

In this case, it’s Elisabeth Moss, and the new show is “Shining Girls” on Apple+. But hanging over Moss is a question that has been raised repeatedly since her breakout success in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and that’s how she can reconcile her association with a show about a dystopian future when she’s a member of a totalitarian oganization like the Church of Scientology.

For years, we’ve complained that publications let Moss get away with murder in interviews and never ask her a straight question about Scientology.

So it was interesting that one of the publications lining up to publicize Moss’s new show was the New Yorker, which, of course, has a strong history of asking tough questions about Scientology. Surely it wouldn’t let her walk all over it, would it?

Michael Schulman’s story did, in fact, have some good questions for Moss about Scientology, and he went into much more detail about her association with it than other publications normally do. Moss was generally dismissive, as she always is, and offered the usual non-answers that are easily disproven. That Scientology is an “open” organization, that it’s “misunderstood,” and that if people want to learn about it, they should read one of its books. This last is the classic Scientology celebrity response, what they are, in fact, trained to say.

We were contacted by a New Yorker fact-checker before the story came out to confirm what we had told the Hollywood Reporter: When Moss used an obscenity after winning a Golden Globe award, we pointed out that in Scientology, particularly its Sea Org, cursing is like a sacrament. We answered the fact-checker in the affirmative. (Although, in hindsight, we should have said, “Fuck yeah!”)

After the article came out, it was picked up in a feeding frenzy by other news websites around the world. Buzzfeed in particular did its best to cash in, breaking out each of Moss’s responses to Schulman’s questions in separate pieces. Clicks, clicks, clicks!

We were planning to ignore it for the most part, but then we heard from Geoff Levin.

He was featured in the article because, as a longtime Scientology musician, Geoff had worked with Moss’s father, Ron Moss, and knew Elisabeth growing up. He supplied some key insights about her and we thought he looked good in the piece.

But he told us he was disappointed. He had said much more, and he felt the piece was soft-pedaling Scientology.

Last night, we had a conversation with him about it. And we want to make it clear, we don’t mean this to be a criticism of Schulman, who, we will say again, asked far better questions about Scientology of Moss than other reporters have.

Levin was in a particularly good position to understand Elisabeth Moss’s involvement in Scientology. He had worked closely with her father, who was a jazz musician, as Schulman points out in the New Yorker piece. But as Elisabeth began a dancing career, the Hollywood Celebrity Centre and its president’s office, which catered to Scientology’s most important stars, had little interest in her.

“They didn’t pay any attention until she hit it big. And now she’s being taken care of by the president’s office,” Levin says. “I know it from being in the president’s office for years, and not seeing her there. When she was a dancer they couldn’t have cared less.”

Levin explains why this is important. Scientology is obsessively hierarchical and structured. Its more dedicated members obsess over where they are in the pecking order and how they are viewed by those above them.

This is reinforced by an intense snitching culture, Levin points out, where you are as likely to be turned in for unorthodox ideas by your own children, or your own parents, as you are a stranger.

But Elisabeth, he says, managed to sidestep a lot of that by not being a part of its Hollywood clique. “The Mastersons. The Ribisis. Jason Lee. Laura Prepon. They were kind of a group all of about the same age, but she wasn’t really a part of that,” Levin says.

And in fact, he admits to wondering what she actually liked about Scientology, even though she had grown up in it. “There’s something that she feels is really important in Scientology. I’m not sure what though.”

And she is dedicated, he points out. “I know she’s paid for some of her mom’s courses,” he says. (Linda Moss, for example, did the expensive “Super Power” process in 2018, as well as Operating Thetan Level Five, each of which cost tens of thousands of dollars.)

And then Geoff hit us with a bit of a bombshell. We knew that Elisabeth’s parents were no longer married, but Levin said he believed that Elisabeth and her mother had distanced themselves from Ron in the Scientology way.

“He fell from grace and never really recovered,” Geoff adds. He says it was well known that Ron Moss and Chick Corea had had some kind of falling out, and Levin believes that Ron was punished with “lower conditions.” That’s Scientology-speak for remedial exercises and practices that a Scientologist is required to go through in order to restore their status. Nearly every Scientologist goes through lower conditions at some point in their career, so that’s not controversial. But Levin says it’s his understanding that Ron never really recovered, and that his daughter and former wife are keeping their distance.

Levin says that Elisabeth Moss would receive regular guidance from the Celebrity Centre president’s office about who is in good standing and who isn’t.

“There’s one person at the president’s office, all they do is ‘dead agent’ people who have spoken out about Scientology, and they put together these ‘dead agent’ packs. And I can guarantee you that Elisabeth has been briefed with those packs. She is told that everything former members are saying about Scientology is all lies.”

And that leads to the next point that Geoff says he talked with the New Yorker about, and that’s how he personally has been subjected to this kind of punishment and familial alienation.

We’ve written several times about Geoff Levin’s exit from Scientology, his reunion with his brother Robbie and their band, People!, and their work on a documentary. And while Geoff was recovering his life after decades in Scientology, he learned just what his punishment would be for daring to leave and speak out about what he had seen.

In July 2017, his son Collin told him that he had no choice but to “disconnect” from him, as Scientology demanded. His daughter Savannah then disconnected from him in 2018. He hasn’t seen or talked to them since.

Elisabeth Moss may have told the New Yorker that Scientology is an “open” organization that is “misunderstood,” but she knows that it splits up families like Geoff Levin’s.

And, Geoff tells us, she knows it first hand.

We hope the next reporter who gets a chance to help her out with another publicity campaign can ask her about that.

[Geoff Levin and his children, Collin and Savannah]

——————–

Meanwhile, in federal court…

Just for fun. Isn’t this a thing of beauty? (See the new labor trafficking lawsuit’s complaint here.)

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Sign up for a daily email when we post a new story on Scientology.

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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“Now we take eating and condense it down. That is to say, let’s make food scarce and let’s make it very hard to get — and we got a condensation, you might say, which completely escapes time itself. And you go outside of time and get sex. That is to say, the outside of present time and you get future time, which is sex. An individual goes right straight off the time track between eating and sex, and there’s nothing will float on a time track like a sexual engram. They just float all over the time track; they don’t nail down at all. They’re very mobile. Believe me.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 3, 1954

——————–

“No new crew cases should be begun until ‘parked’ ones are pushed up into Solo range. ‘Complete in HGC’ is the target. Dozens of cases are overlong in grade. L10s should be completed only after OT III anyway. So an HGC completion does not mean ‘all possible pgms we can do in HGC.’ It means just get the pc safely off into Solo. There are also some non-soloing solo auditors aboard. FEBCs who have Solo work to be done should be shoved onto it hard within 48 hours of arrival. I want to see crew ‘HGC Completes’ up through the roof and Solo w.d. hours ranging around 900 a week minimum!” — The Commodore, May 3, 1971

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“More than a year and a half ago now, an incident happened with my daughter. Her teacher sent home from 5th grade a VERY disturbing writing she had done in class. This prompted removing all sharp objects and placing them in a lock box. I emailed Ron to ask for some remote help. He asked for her name and our location. A few weeks later he emailed me he’d done what he could and hoped it was helpful. (Now, for those here who have no understanding of the spiritual universe, this is very normal. Static, after all, has no location, but Thetans attach themselves compulsively to bodies. The GE seems to have the function to RUN a body. Others are NOT the ‘owners’ but they think they are!) Ron ran various Infinity procedures and the BT’s that were planting bad ideas in her went on to productive spiritual activities elsewhere. Is this a win? Beyond words.”

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1995: Jeff Jacobsen reported a visit this week from private investigators. Here’s his description of the events. “From about 7:30am to 8:45am a private investigator sat in his car near my house. The police came by and asked them (at times it was 2 guys) what they were doing. They told the police that they were private investigators. I went and talked to them and they told me they were not private investigators. I took their license plate numbers. One guy had straggly long black hair. The other, who seemed to be in charge, had short brown hair and a long nose. They were both perhaps 35 or so. They also went through the garbage cans in the alley.”

——————–

“The only people who don’t adore me are the people who abhor me, and that’s just how I want it. You’re either in or you’re out.”

——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
— ‘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: Pretrial conference May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for May 5.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— 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 June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a 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.

——————–

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.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology can’t get enough corrupt South American police generals under its wing
[TWO years ago] Scientology boasts about members keeping up online — and once again reveals its true size
[THREE years ago] Scientology measles ship Freewinds ditches St. Lucia quarantine for Curaçao, its home port
[FOUR years ago] How Scientology’s mental health ideas end up enabling the worst compulsions
[FIVE years ago] Confirmation of the 2009 FBI trafficking probe of Scientology that the church denied
[SEVEN years ago] Whale watching: The wealthy donors keeping Scientology afloat, 2015 edition
[EIGHT years ago] Ken Dandar gets another day in court after his $1 million Scientology judgment
[NINE years ago] Scientology is Staking Everything On Portland Like It Actually Matters

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 2,653 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,158 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,708 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,698 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,589 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,895 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,764 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,538 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,869 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,342 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,658 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,224 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,143 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,311 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,891 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,153 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,189 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,904 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,429 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 784 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,959 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,510 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,659 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,979 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,834 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,953 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,309 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,612 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,718 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,116 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,992 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,575 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,070 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,324 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,433 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on May 3, 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.

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)

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.

When you’re a child in Scientology’s Sea Org, the stress is meant to overwhelm you

Mark Stevens — Sat, 09 Apr 2022 11:00:04 +0000

[Mark in Clearwater with his grandmother, who died in the Sea Org]

It was night when I landed in Florida after leaving England. I was accompanied by a female stewardess who had been charged with seeing me to a security point.

My mother met me there with her new husband. A man named Randy.

Randy was 6-foot-2 red head, in great shape, and pretty much the only person in my life who actually took the parent “hat” seriously. He allowed me the freedom to explore my interests, gave me a house to grow up in for a while and helped me to calm down emotionally.

That at the airport, I was struck by how incredibly warm and moist the air was compared to England. I looked at the streetlights and saw haloes around them all. My clothes, meanwhile, instantly started to stick to me.

We walked to a beat-up gray VW station wagon and climbed in. In order to start the vehicle, Randy had to pump the gas pedal and crank the engine for a full 30 seconds before it caught. We pulled out and started to drive to my new destination. Randy was asking if I was hungry and had indicated that we could stop for a burger on the way home.

As we were driving, he suddenly pulled over and jumped out of the vehicle. He ran to the side of the road and jumped over a hedge to land on a patch of lawn where four men were attacking a guy who was down on the ground. He charged them and they dispersed running in different directions while Randy helped the guy off the ground. That done, he walked back to the vehicle and climbed in and we continued on our way to his house in Clearwater. (Like it was no big deal to interrupt a crime being committed, or something?)

Mom was working at a building called the Sandcastle which was right on the ocean. Randy was not in the Sea Org and this was a problem for my mom’s seniors since people in the Sea Org weren’t supposed to be married to people outside of the Sea Org.

It didn’t matter that that Randy had been in the Sea Org when they married and had worked directly with L. Ron Hubbard at Int Management. In later years he had told me stories of how he had worked with LRH accessing those parts of the mind where the “Rock slam” came from and deliberately creating those reads on the meter. A “Rock slam” is a very specific read on the meter which indicates “evil purposes” on a specific subject.

There is a list of questions in the Sea Org, called List #1. If you get a Rock slam on any of these questions you are sent to the Rehabilitation Project Force, which is the Sea Org’s equivelant of a prison camp.

Randy told me that Narcanon Arrowhead, Scientology’s flagship drug rehab that had been established on Indian reservation land in Oklahoma, was shoehorned into place by the same tactics used in the Snow White Program, with people being bribed and others being given “prizes” which got them out of town so that the politics wouldn’t get in the way of the organization being established there.

Randy was a true Sea Org member and, like Mary Sue Hubbard, took the fall for a lot of shit.

When I got to Florida I was out of shape and had a definite paunch. Randy was in supremely good shape and ran triathlons. My mom was 5’0″ and couldn’t have weighed more than 100 lbs soaking wet. She and Randy ran every day and she biked everywhere she went. When I got to Florida, my dad had emptied my English bank account and given me money orders to the tune of roughly $400, which was supposed to go into a bank account and continue to earn interest. My mom used this money to buy me a bike and some other things that I would be needing as well as a fishing pole.

In the Sea Org, at that time, you were paid $30 a week for working over 80 hours. (Apparently it is now $50 a week, due to inflation). There was no way she was going to be able to buy me a bike or anything else a young teenager was going to need. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was either going to join the Sea Org or else I would not have any money to get stuff with. It also was made pretty clear that if I wasn’t in the Sea Org, I wasn’t going to be able to be with my mother.

Randy was working as a locksmith at the time and I wasn’t going to be able to be with him. I was not interested in the Sea Org and made that clear. But I was told that I needed to give it a go and that I could make up my mind once I had tried it. This began my third attempt at completing the EPF or Estates Project Force, which was the Sea Org’s equivalent of Boot Camp. I was a minor, so I wasn’t allowed to work a full adult schedule, which basically meant that I worked a full adult schedule during the week and was given weekends off.

I was placed in a dorm with other members of the EPF and my schedule was basically treated like a new army recruit. On the EPF, there was a solid day of MEST work, which translates to hard physical labor, followed by 5 hours of study where I was expected to take a series of courses to get me ready for the Sea Organization.

The physical labor turned out to be “housekeeping” in the Fort Harrison and the Sandcastle hotels. We were expected to wash towels, bedding and then to clean every guest’s room. We would knock on the door and say “Housekeeping” and then come in and clean the bathroom, make the bed and chicken-pick the floors to get rid of any miscellaneous pieces of dirt. If we missed something on the floor or didn’t do a good job, we were given a lap which consisted of 20 pushups or 20 sit-ups.

There were five “courses” I was expected to take: First was the Introduction to Scientology Study Technology. Second was the Introduction to Scientology Ethics, which goes over the basics of ethics, the 12 characteristics of a suppressive person, the conditions formulas from Confusion to Power and Power Change. Third was Basic Sea Org member hat, fourth was Welcome to the Sea Organization, a series of reel-to-reel tape lectures of L. Ron Hubbard talking about the Sea Organization and its start on the Flag ship Apollo, (of which my father had been an engineer).

LRH touched on the various ships and the need to completely revamp the crews with training and raising the standards of behavior and cleanliness aboard the ships after a series of bad mishaps, inclusive of which was the sinking of one of the ships after it hit another ship. The Sea Org rose out of the ashes of its own disgrace, a new and better organization like a phoenix out of its ashes.

I will say one thing and that is that LRH has a knack for telling a good story. The fifth course was a personal hygiene course in which we are expected to learn how to take care of ourselves, sew buttons on shirts and in general make a good clean and healthy Sea Org member.

Overall, it took me almost two months to get through these courses, during which time, I complained bitterly to my mother that I hated this and didn’t want to be there. I hated the fact that I was being made to do push-ups if I missed a piece of dirt. I didn’t like the “running on decks.” I didn’t mind having to call everyone (men and women) “sir.” That was normal.

There is a term which I’m sure isn’t limited to the Sea Org called a “Stat Push” which is where people do weird and unusual things to get the statistics up for the week. I was part of this while doing the Introduction to Ethics course. I was being checked out on the materials I had read and had passed one star-rate checkout when the EPF I/C (“in charge”) started star-rating me on a policy I hadn’t even read. I failed that checkout and was then sent to study the materials. If I had managed to pass this test, he would have signed off without even having me read the materials. (Obviously not the most ethical approach to doing this course). This was an all-night study session with me being 14 years old, not being allowed to go to bed in order to get a course completion to get the stats up for the course room. I remember doing push-ups to stay awake so that I could keep studying. An all-night study session with me then going onto a full day’s production on decks and back to course the next night.

There was another time when I was running a low-grade fever and was obviously not well. I had complained to my mother about how I was feeling, physically, and she had written a formal letter to the EPF I/C which was going to get me released so that I could get better. I’m not sure what he had said to me, but he basically talked me into staying on course even though I shouldn’t have been there, and the end result was me taking my mother’s note and ripping it up and throwing it away to demonstrate just how much I was an SO member and how the body was junior to the intentions of the thetan and that I could just work through this and keep going.

I eventually did graduate the EPF and was then placed “on post” in one of the many HGC’s or “Hubbard Guidance Centers” which is where PC’s or PreClears go to get auditing. This is kind of the entry level position where you start learning about the running of a “service organization” from the ground up. Interestingly enough, it also exposes you to all the “blown out” people coming out of session. These people were practically floating two feet off the floor when they came out of session.

My job was to bring them to the HGC where they would wait for their auditors to come get them and take them into session. I would set up cameras in the rooms sometimes so that the sessions could be recorded for the Case Supervisors (CS) to review things. My job was to make sure that everything went smoothly for the auditor in terms of setting up the room for session, to make sure that the PC’s were fed and ready for session and if they weren’t making sure that it was remedied.

I would take folders to and from the CS office so that they could get reviewed and then returned to the Auditor with corrections, suggestions or acknowledgements. I would get people for interviews with the Director of Processing (D of P) and in general be the “Hey you” guy for any and all things which were needed to keep the HGC running smoothly. It was monotonous and boring work, but I did it with a smile on my face and the PC’s generally liked me which made it easier to do my job. (Imagine a happy sheep dog working the fields with a good shepherd.)

After I graduated from the EPF, I went to stay with my mother and Randy at his house, off base. This was considered highly irregular and my mother was constantly under pressure from her seniors and the higher-ups to move onto base. She refused. She and Randy had worked out codes which she could use when she was trying to get home from the Org and didn’t want her seniors to know she was leaving.

He had a pager, and she would call it and tell him to put a muzzle on the dog. The dog’s name would change depending on which road she was taking to get home. If she was sneaking out and taking Myrtle home she would tell him to muzzle Myrtle. He would know to keep an eye out on that road for her so that she would be sure to get home safely. They had a ring code where she would call, ring twice, and hang up and then call back again and hang up, so that he would know it was her calling him and he would then know to listen for his pager.

I had my own room for a while and was being sent to a Scientology “school” which was in an old apartment complex. This was attended by only Sea Org and Cadet Org kids. No Wogs were allowed. (Wog being the term used in the SO for non-Scientologists.)

I started running daily with my parents and eventually got to a point where I had run off all the baby fat I was carrying. Florida is great for leaning out when you run. I discovered the “runner’s high” which as its name suggests is extremely addictive, in a good way, a release of endorphins which is amazing and makes you feel like you could run forever.

With Randy’s coaching I got my mile to under 5 minutes and could and often did run for 5-15 miles at a go with absolutely no exhaustion. Running became my escape from the trials and tribulations of the Sea Org.

My mom decided that I should go to public school so that I could get some semblance of an education. I remember being so freaked out by the thought that I was going to be back in a public school that I literally had to go to the bathroom. All I could think about was my experience in England and being the target for every bully and kid who had something to prove. I didn’t know what to expect. I was absolutely certain that NO ONE would know I was a Scientologist.

I will say that public school wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and I was able to pick up the Cello again and join a choir. I would go to school in the day and then report to post for the afternoon/evening and then from there I would go home and start over again the next day. Weekends were mine and life started to take on a semblance of normalcy, as much as could be expected.

My grandma and grandfather were also there and occasionally we would all go out to dinner as a family. My grandparents were in the Sea Org and had been in the Sea org since before I was born. My Grandfather was on the Apollo with LRH. Grandma Grace was working in the Sandcastle as the OT VII FESer. An FESer or Folder Error Summary person reviews folders and locates all the mistakes made and at the OT VII level clears the PC for the next steps on the bridge.

My mother was the OT VI course admin meaning that she was the administrator for the OT VI level. My Grandfather was on the RPF. He had been assigned to the RPF and had been on the program ever since I had gotten to Florida. At one point, he actually left the Sea Org because he felt he didn’t belong on the program. It didn’t help that he was in his late 60’s and was running everywhere in the Florida heat, wearing black shirt and shorts with black army boots. He had been on the RPF for years; hard labor for 8-10 hours and then 5 hours of study time.

The powers that be decided that if he came back into the SO, they would take him off the RPF and so he returned to duty, on base. He eventually died of lung cancer. My Grandma died of Renal failure and my other Grandmother died with dementia, all of them working until the day they could no longer work at which point they were retired to a community and left to live out their days in peace.

Of course, they were expected to return to duty when they picked up their next bodies and had taken an 18 year Leave of Absence. As I write this, my Grandfather should be in his early teenage years and my Grandma Grace should be about 5 years old. Grandma Phill should be around 4 years old. She still has about 14 years to go before she is expected to report back for duty.

It was interesting that toward the end of my time in Florida, I started having issues with my right hip, ball joint. The muscles were not keeping things properly lined up and the joint was starting to pop slightly when I walked. I brought this up to my mom and her reaction was very telling. She got very cautious and stated simply that I didn’t want this to be brought up as a situation as they could “Fitness Board” me out of the Sea Org if I started having “body problems.”

I was biking everywhere and had a couple of bike accidents, one of which included me being hit by a car and coming off my bike face first onto the concrete. I chewed up my right shoulder, elbow, and face and was working in the HGC that night. I had my arm in a makeshift sling. One of the people tossed a folder at me and I tried to catch it which caused me so much pain that I broke down crying. I wasn’t given any sympathy. People simply looked away until I got myself under control.

I remember another teenage boy, late teens, who was on the RPF. I was in the Fort Harrison, on the 5th floor when the elevator broke down. For whatever reason he was sent into the shaft on top of the elevator to see what was going on. The door closed behind him and the elevator became active. I heard him scream and exclaim “My hand!” The doors were pulled open and he was pulled off the elevator. His hand was wrapped in a towel and he was taken downstairs via the stairwell so that he wouldn’t be seen by the rest of the hotel guests.

He had lost the last two or three fingers on his right hand. It turned out that he was the son of the Director of Processing. He was routed out of the Sea Org and the last time I saw him, he was begging money off his dad. I have no idea what became of him. I never saw him again.

I was immediately pulled into a session where the incident was “audited out.” The auditor had me run through the incident multiple times, reciting what I had heard and seen until my needle was floating on the subject at which point, I was returned to duty and nothing of this was ever mentioned again.

Another time, I came down with abdominal pains, and an extremely high temperature. I was told to go home, which I did, and I put myself to bed. I was left alone, except for being given food and I was out of commission for almost two weeks. My temperature soared to 105 and my mother not knowing what to do went to the pharmacy and asked them what to do. They gave her Aspirin to bring down the fever and told her to give me a cool bath. At this point, I didn’t care if I lived or died. I would have been happier if it had all ended there and I didn’t have to live the life I was in, which I absolutely hated. My mom received no support from the Org, that I was aware of. Eventually, I began to recover.

I spent two years in Florida, growing taller and leaner. I was a Tech Page for the duration of my stay there, moving from one of the HGC’s to another. I was fast, efficient and there is a line running down the length of the passageway that the HGC’s are lined up on with a running man at each end, stenciled to the concrete. This lane was put in for the pages and me specifically because someone finally got tired of people complaining about the page who would run full speed up and down to get PC’s for session, dodging in and out of people walking to and fro. It was a safety measure and last time I was at the Fort Harrison, a good 15 years after I left the Sea Org the line and running man stencils were still in place.

I was given weekends off, being a minor and I would spend weekends at the beach, swimming or biking around. I had a few haunts which I frequented, one of which was a shop which sold shells of the local mollusks. I had been going there every time I got my $15.00 for the week’s production to pick up another shell to add to my collection. There is a beach called Sand Key and it’s a ways from the base, but it has the best beach in the entire area. I would go there and spend the afternoon swimming and sifting through the sand which collected around the base of the large boulders to locate shells. I would take home bags of shells and sort them out on my bedroom table.

Over time, the tension between my mother and Randy grew, and they started arguing. The general gist of these arguments was that he wasn’t in the Sea Org and she was not supposed to be married to him.

While I was at Flag, the Sea Org bought their newest ship, which they had renovated and christened the MV Freewinds. LRH’s granddaughter Roanne Horwich was the one to christen her. There was a general staff meeting and people were asked to place their names on a vacant Org Board, in the position they were interested in working.

My mom and I both stepped up and put our names on the board, she as the Course Admin and myself as a Tech Page. I guess I wasn’t really thinking at that time what this would mean for Randy and my mother’s marriage, but in retrospect, I should have realized that this was the death knell for their relationship. She was trying to get out of it, and this was the most direct fashion possible. All I was interested in was being with my mother.

Shortly thereafter, I was given some tests to take and my stats were reviewed. I was told that I was going to be sent to Los Angeles, where I would work at PAC Base, to get a production record, before I was to be sent Uplines to International Management. I was being transferred to LRH Archives, which is the part of the Sea Organization charged with preserving all original LRH writings and recordings.

I was a little shocked and more than a little unhappy about being separated from my mother. I was finally starting to calm down a bit, even if I didn’t exactly like life in the Sea Org, at least I was finally with my mother. The powers that be didn’t give a shit about my desires, and my mother didn’t seem to care.

I was shipped to Los Angeles and PAC base, on my own. I was 16.

— Mark Stevens

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Jon Atack and Karen de la Carriere

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Bonus items from our tipsters

Meanwhile, on Scientology Facebook…

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“One of the prime principles you must know about any universe to keep it in a good, messy, chaotic, solid, disordered form is to take no responsibility for ever having created it. Say, ‘God did it,’ you’ve practically got it made! And the more you say, ‘God did it,’ the more solid the universe is going to get — if you made it up. Get the idea? Listen, if God made it and that was the true ownership of it, it would disappear! Because that’s assignment of proper ownership; that’s taking a full responsibility for it. That’s understanding exactly what its source was. And it would disappear, just like that.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 9, 1959

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“When you view how far flung the SO is and how much it’s doing, I doubt there’s a group on the planet that could begin to equal it. Now in the wog world, there’s nothing but sunshine, chicken and ice cream. And H bombs and stupidity and snobs and aberration and the draft and droughts and inflation… Did you ever hear of troops fighting a comfortable war? I haven’t.” — The Commodore, April 9, 1969

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“How do you do a sort out when the man who made that game (LRH) isn’t here anymore? I will tell you. It is being done from the future. I find myself blowing huge amounts of charge and flashing through pictures so fast I can’t see them and I just know they are running something on me in the future. The way I see it we are just different timelines of the same spirit, so whatever is handled on one timeline cleans the other timelines too. I have been getting this all through my lifetime coming up with cogs of processes months before they are released and even wrote it up before the process came out like, why don’t you run the Dianetic Engrams to the thought itself that created it. Next comes out New Era Dianetics that does just that.”

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1999: Scientology has begun a publicity campaign in Vienna, Austria. Die Presse reported that a city council member warns children from exposure to Scientology events. “City council member Karin Landauer expressed outrage on Wednesday after a local inspection of the ‘Sky High Travel’ Scientology exhibition, which was taking place at the time in the Viennese Hotel Intercontinental. ‘Unprotected children and young adults are being handed over to the aggressive sect recruiters.’ Dangerous sect gurus from Scientology use subtle recruitment methods to lure children and young adults into their clutches, Landauer criticized. ‘Entrance for people under the age of 18 years is to be prohibited effective immediately,’ demanded the council member.”

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“So Miscavige quit doing processing right around the same time he assumed power? Sounds like he read OT 3, realized it was rubbish and went for the gold instead. That’s pretty much what I’ve always assumed.”

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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
— ‘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: Pretrial conference May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for April 8.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— 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 June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a 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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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.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Aussie journo Ben Schneiders helps us grasp the fuss he’s kicked up about Scientology
[TWO years ago] Bobette Riales’ house burned? Scientology: ‘Can’t sue us. Didn’t happen in California.’
[THREE years ago] Scientology policy is to investigate rape victims seeking help, 1963 document reveals
[FOUR years ago] Our prayers are answered — Freedom magazine is coming to Scientology television!
[FIVE years ago] Scientology spends millions on its shiny new buildings, but its workers have to beg for food
[SIX years ago] Scientology buys ‘.org’ and ‘.net’ sites to battle anti-disconnection billboard in Los Angeles
[SEVEN years ago] Jenna Miscavige Hill on her uncle spying on her grandfather: The arrogance is astonishing
[EIGHT years ago] Monique Rathbun in court as appeals panel considers proposed David Miscavige deposition
[NINE years ago] How Scientology’s “Study Tech” Turns Schoolwork Into Conditioning

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 2,629 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,134 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,654 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,674 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,565 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,872 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,740 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,514 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,845 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,318 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,634 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,200 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,119 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,287 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,867 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,129 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,165 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,880 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,405 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 760 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,935 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,486 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,635 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,955 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,810 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,929 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,285 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,588 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,694 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,092 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,968 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,551 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,046 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,300 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,409 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 9, 2022 at 07:00

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