Sunday Funnies – The Underground Bunker

‘Going Clear’ subject Tom DeVocht gets a lesson in Scientology’s social media surveillance

Tony Ortega — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 11:00:17 +0000

Tom DeVocht

We’ve been telling you that Scientology’s reaction to Alex Gibney’s film Going Clear has been a burst of “Fair Game” activity that’s affecting numerous people involved with the film. This is behind-the-scenes stuff that isn’t obvious from what’s getting more attention from the press — the silly letters and videos Scientology has been posting to its Freedom magazine website.

One of the people feeling the heat has been Tom DeVocht, who is featured prominently in the film. Sure, he’s getting smeared at the Freedom website, but they’re the same old slanders that have been thrown at him for years, some of it aimed at him previously on anonymous attack websites that we always assumed the church was secretly running.

What isn’t so obvious is that he’s been dealing with an increase in the usual private eye nonsense that he and Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder and the other former high-ranking church executives regularly put up with. DeVocht told us details about that harassment that we agreed not to share for privacy reasons, but it’s mostly the stuff you’d expect from Scientology — attempts to disrupt DeVocht’s livelihood and relationships, a constant reminder that he’s still a target merely for speaking out.

But then, something really unusual happened, some of which he talked about last night on Facebook. We called him to get the whole story and he filled us in on yet another example of Scientology’s toxic “disconnection” policy.

Tom was a Sea Org executive who oversaw the construction and renovation projects at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida. It was a key position, and it enabled him to get very close to David and Shelly Miscavige. Tom left Scientology in May 2005, and in 2009 he took part in the epic series at the Tampa Bay Times, “The Truth Rundown” which revealed that Miscavige was beating his top lieutenants and housing them in a prison called “The Hole.”

That’s made Tom one of the most targeted former members for private eye investigation, surveillance, and harassment. It also resulted in his sister, Nancy, disconnecting from him.

“My sister Nancy was Mike Rinder’s communicator when he was running the Office of Special Affairs,” Tom tells us. He only found out recently that because Nancy visited him after he left the church, she was sent to the Rehabilitation Project Force — a special prison detail only for Sea Org workers — and it cost her four years of her life.

And you wonder how Scientology keeps its members disconnected from “suppressive persons” like Tom DeVocht.

Tom tells us that Nancy has a daughter, Marina, who also had to cut him out of her life. Marina is about 30 years old and lives in the Midwest, and she’s another family member that he’s had to assume he’ll never hear from again. But then, recently, she shocked Tom by “friending” him on Facebook.

DeVocht immediately realized what the consequences of that might be.

He messaged his niece, asking for her phone number so he could call her. Once she did, he called her, and while on the phone, he “unfriended” her. He explained that he was under constant surveillance, and it would be noticed that she had reached out to him. Marina herself is only tangentially involved in the church, Tom explained to us, but she was still expected not to have any contact with her uncle.

“We were Facebook friends for no more than about an hour. But that was enough,” he says.

What he means is that Scientology operatives watch social media with intense scrutiny. And sure enough, there were consequences for his niece reaching out to him. A day later, he got this text from her…

“Mom called and an MAA [a Scientology “Master At Arms”] told her that I had you on my Facebook so I had to lie to her…. She told me to go a site [Freedom magazine’s website] because it will tell me what you did and why you are attacking the church. I know you told me but I still need to understand more. I do not like to lie especially to my mom but you’re my family. This isn’t easy for me. Thanks.”

DeVocht tells us he was grateful to catch up with his niece for the first time in a decade, but he’s worried about the consequences. By asking Marina to read the smears about her uncle at Freedom, her mother is enforcing disconnection. Now that Marina has made contact with her uncle, she doesn’t want to lose contact with him, but he’s tried to make her understand how Scientology’s toxic policy might roll out.

“My sister disconnected from me, so yeah, there’s a possibility that she’ll disconnect from her own daughter. I hope it doesn’t happen,” Tom says. “And do you know how many people who have left Scientology have to go through this? It happens all the time.”

DeVocht says it’s a constant presence in the life of current and former Scientologists. They constantly wonder, who will be told to cut off all ties with them next?

“They’re either going to force my niece to disconnect from me completely, or my sister will disconnect from her,” he says.

And it once again reinforces for him the resources Scientology expends to watch former members.

“You sometimes think they probably aren’t watching all that closely. Fuck me, they are watching that closely.”

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Sunday Funnies

Just a few items for you this week.

Hey, Tim Bowles! As in the former law partner of Snow White unindicted co-conspirator Kendrick Moxon! Tim’s been brought to cause!

Silli answers to funny questions: What is OT??

Do you have the courage to write a big, fat check?

Can you imagine how much the Cardones are looking forward to this fundraiser?

Yeah, pretty much every morning we can’t get out of bed until we’ve asked ourselves, “Should I survive?”

Oh yeah, you know you want parenting advice from Scientology.

We’d like to hear from a former member just what a seminar like this is like.

Yay! Learning how to learn in the Twin Cities!

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Bonus photos from our tipsters

More photos from the events last night at Ruth Eckerd Hall and the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater!

Ooh! Some shots inside Ruth Eckerd Hall last night which give you a pretty good idea of just what a small venue it is (capacity is only about 2,100). These photos were posted by someone from the Calcutta Dianetics Center who was in Clearwater for the celebration. Now, if we only had a shot of Dan Sherman and his silver mullet!

Get your checkbooks out! A model of the L. Ron Hubbard Hall, going in next to the Super Power building, has been unveiled…

Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!

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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 15, 2015 at 07:00

E-mail your tips and story ideas to tonyo94@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. Here at the Bunker we try to have a post up every morning at 7 AM Eastern (Noon GMT), and on some days we post an afternoon story at around 2 PM. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Scientology really, really, really doesn’t want you to see this movie

Tony Ortega — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 11:00:43 +0000

We’re five days out from Alex Gibney’s film Going Clear opening in theaters in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and things are getting downright nutty. Like, Scientology is losing its mind.

But here in the Underground Bunker, we’re over our fever, the cats are napping like champs, and we’re ready to get back to our essential weekly feature, Sunday Funnies.

You see, even as David Miscavige is panicking like L. Ron himself was coming back to give him an R-factor and throw him in a chain locker, the rest of the organization can’t stop begging for cash, even for a minute.

And you know what that means for us — comedy gold! So let’s dig in.

Ooh, pretty planes. Anyone have photos from last night’s party in Detroit?

Dharma is doing something about it!

“There lies the misconception that this cycle of action has anything to do with money. It doesn’t. Trust me. It has to do with people getting honest with themselves and confronting that they can do way more than they will ever be asked to do.” (Translation: Write a bigger check, dilettante.)

Celebrity Centre International going “Ideal.” Does that include Dave Petit, too? Does he get ideal duds or something?

Jordan, call your mother.

Kamrie, call your mother.

Melissa, call your mother.

This has to be the greatest L. Ron Hubbard quote of all time.

Oh look, rich people paying for more truckloads of a booklet that isn’t the lamest guide to life advice ever written, honest!

Hey, New Zealand, got any elder abuse laws down there?

“There is nothing else we could do.” Yeah, sure, they live in that boring, dead-end town of Austin. What the hell else could there be to do in that crap town but hand over cash to Scientology?

“The reverse point of the universe.” That’s almost clever.

We can’t really think of another way to recover our infinity of future, so we should probably go to this.

Flag’s getting fumigated. Might as well go to LA and drink every time Dan Sherman says “in point of fact.”

And finally, those young Scientologists sure have long tusks…

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Bonus photos from our tipsters

Photo by Dan Parris of Alex Gibney at the True/False documentary film festival in Columbia, Missouri, where ‘Going Clear’ was shown three times over the last two days!

The Freewinds in Aruba, ready to take you to OT 8!

Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!

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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 8, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Sunday Funnies: Scientology going all-in with fundraising and fire fighters

Tony Ortega — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 12:00:20 +0000

Hey, it’s nice to get to our weekly feature, Sunday Funnies, when we can sit back and watch our great commenters take apart the latest fundraising fliers put out by Scientology.

Our tipsters have another fun collection for us this week, and as always we’ll be looking for interesting patterns or wacky new theme-party ideas.

We’re going to start with another example of successful “safepointing” of a local figure with an event put on by a Scientology front group. In this case, it’s the “Volunteer Ministers” — the yellow-jacketed folks Scientology flies in to disaster areas to hand out recruitment literature and get in the way of first responders with their faith-healing juju.

The VMs are putting on a “Disaster Preparedness” expo at the Los Angeles Ideal Org (part of the “Big Blue” PAC Base complex on Sunset Boulevard), which seems really appropriate because nothing says “disaster” right now like PAC base.

And the church has managed to attract a member of the Los Angeles Fire Department, a Captain John Ignatczyk, to be a part of it. We’re sure he knows what he’s getting into, right? (And thanks to @IndieScieNews for the tip.)

How many of you think Inglewood, Pasadena, or Orange County are really going “Saint Hill Size” anytime soon?

Hey, somebody bought an $800 T-shirt!

Dave Wells tells us that this society can and will be salvaged!

We sure hope we get some party pics from this event last night in Orlando!

Joe Baba is all in!

OT’s come in 2 billion megawatt versions now? Take our money!

How many more years of begging before something actually gets done to the Valley Ideal Org?

“As I progressed through the rundown I had a release of toxins and the masses connected to them. They are not plastered to my beingness any longer.” Hooray!

How many Sea Org members have walked by the cafe on L. Ron Hubbard Way, wishing they could have just a bite of one of these steaks!

And finally, hey wait, that’s Dave Wells again! And this time he has an alias with a very Guardian’s Office-sounding name! Does this mean Kansas City got two checks out of Dave this week, or just one?

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Bonus photos from our tipsters

Hey, Jenna, where’d you go last night? Anyone know? Was it Scientology-related?

We think this was taken Friday night at Flag graduation. See the Jive Aces in the background?

Oh wait, you mean CCHR had an after party for its annual gala? Who knew shattering the psychs could be so damn fun?

Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!

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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 1, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Sunday Funnies: Scientology’s latest insider fliers for your dissection and delectation

Tony Ortega — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 12:00:45 +0000

It’s that time of the week again, when we serve up the latest Scientology fundraising fliers and mailers that have been forwarded to us by our great tipsters.

We call it Sunday Funnies, and we hope you enjoy the collection of items we have for you today. And at the end of it, we have a new video from Karen de la Carriere!

So let’s dig in.

We’ll start off with something fairly meaty, and voluminous. It’s yet another report from Scientology about the latest progress in its transformation of KCET’s old Los Angeles studios into the mothership of Scientology media production, the likes of which will turn the world upside down and bring David Miscavige’s to every smartphone and television screen on earth.

Here’s all six pages of it. We’re looking forward to your comments!

So let’s get back to our other fliers.

We can’t help it. We see this advertisement, and we hear, SCHWING!

Ha ha, Rusty thought he was done donating when he got to ‘Humanitarian.’ Oh, Rusty, stop, you’re killing us.

We don’t know if Columbus is going to get much expansion with that telephone number.

We love graphs with no numbers!

“We had to stretch a lot of MEST barriers to make it go right” — we’re guessing maybe second mortgage? Sold a child?

Ooh, a speaker from the Landlord Office! Sign us up!

Ooh, pretty.

Grant and Elena wrote another check! They are like the most humanitarian humanitarians ever.

In a couple of years, he’ll be asking Ted Babbitt this question a little bit differently: “Why DID I donate to the Ideal Org?”

And finally, we love these post-event wrap-ups. This one is from South Africa!

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Karen de la Carriere on Scientology’s fibs

Karen de la Carriere and Jeffrey Augustine call out Scientology for the way it massages the images at its events and deceives people about its drug rehab network, Narconon.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 22, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Scientology Sunday Funnies: New ‘Continental’ Narconons opening soon?

Tony Ortega — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 12:00:30 +0000

It’s that time of the week again, when we share with you some of the Scientology communications that our great tipsters have sent us.

We also have a couple of emails that some members received. And we have a new video from Chris Shelton, as he looks forward to Alex Gibney’s documentary airing next month on HBO.

Let’s start off with the emails.

In the first, you get a glimpse of what Danny Masterson tried to deny was happening in his interview — that L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday is a big holiday for Scientology, and church members around the country are getting their travel plans and formal wear for the party in Florida.

And security is tighter than ever. This year, you’ll not only need an ID card to get in, but you need to send a head shot ahead of time so they can put it on the card. They’re taking no chances!

Subject: Save the Date – March 13th at Flag
Dear Xxxxx,
Hello. I wanted to make sure you were planning on being at Flag for the LIVE LRH Birthday event in just 5 weeks, on Saturday the 14th of March.
There will be so much happening to celebrate such an occasion. There is a full weekend of activities in store for you, starting on Friday, March 13th.
I am writing you now to ensure you save the date, book your flight, get your accommodations secured, pick your formal wear and get set up with your 2015 event admission card.
We will need a headshot photo sent to the following email address to make your event card. The email address to send your headshot to is: photos@cos.flag.org.
We have also set up accommodations for ALL Scientologists coming from out of town, including transportation and meals. The email address for reservations is reservations@flagaccommodations.org.
Save this date and please spread the word to others so not a single Scientologist misses out!
Please email me back to confirm you will be joining us and what help you need to arrive for the LIVE event and weekend.
Sincerely,
Meagan Tucker
Local Public Relations Officer FSO

In this next email, we’re told that the new set of “ideal” Narconons — which Scientology leader David Miscavige announced on New Year’s Eve, will be opening soon. To us, this feels like something of a do-over since the current Narconon network of drug rehab facilities is embroiled in so many controversies and lawsuits.

Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2015 20:11:23
From: nicolef@iasadministrations.net
To:
Subject: VERY VERY HOT NARCONON NEWS:
Hello,
VERY VERY HOT NARCONON NEWS:
TODAY – we are completing the funding of ALL Ideal Continental Narconons so they are ready to OPEN THIS MONTHS!!!!
All final parts….uniforms, materials for delivery, equipment…..!
WE ARE SOOOOOOOOOO close! SOOOOOO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!
ALL the Ideal Continental Narconons – Europe, UK, Canada, South Africa, South America, Australia, USA…) ALL OF THEM.
PLUS
We just bought 2 more….and we are now going to renovate them and once they are ready their locations will be revealed :-)!!!!!
This is done to handle the planet’s NO1 ruin and the one thing that blocks anyone from going free: DRUGS!
Advertisement
This is possible due to YOUR donations to the IAS!
THANK YOU! Please consider another donation TODAY so we complete this massive project.
Every donation counts today – we are on a FINAL COUNT DOWN!!!!!!!
Send in your donation to www.iasmembership.org/uk (please put in comments box : “please forward this form to Nicole at St Hill)!
Thank you VERY much!
I would very much appriciate a little ack from you so I know you got this :-)!
ARC
Nicole

Our tipster tells us that in briefings, some members are being told UK Narconon will open as soon as next month.

Now, here’s Chris Shelton with some words about Alex Gibney’s documentary Going Clear and what former members of the Church of Scientology should be doing about it.

And on to our weekly Sunday Funnies.

Society is taking wrong actions! Take our money!

“Find out the magic of your track which goes back almost to the beginning of time itself.”

Yves is Clear!

Dot feels very much in PT.

Fearless Leader is already scraping the bottom of the barrel on these. Will he really get to 100?

Even with the Cardones, sure is taking a while for the Miami Ideal Org to get funded.

We assume they mean Colombian.

As Mike Rinder recently pointed out at his blog, it’s rather stunning for former Scientologists to see ASHO (the American Saint Hill Organization, one of the locations at the Los Angeles base complex) focus on the “Survival Rundown” and give up on L. Ron Hubbard’s “Saint Hill Special Briefing Course,” which was the purpose for the building to begin with…

The West US is on fire!

Sunday service. Yeah, we buy that one.

Graphs!

Johnny Lewis’s father, Michael Lewis, handing out relationship advice? That’s not creepy at all.

And finally, an item that we first put up last night. Louis Farrakhan is giving a speech in Chicago, and it’s being webcast live at the London org…

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Bonus photos from our tipsters

These Scientologists in Buenos Aires just can’t wait any longer for their OT superpowers to appear!

Caption from Drug Free Africa: “Caldonia United FC is a very popular soccer club for juniors in Geluksdal. Today I invited my angels to the pool for a bonding session and some Drug Education. Aka Big Mama’s Boys”

Two postings from Scientology Polanco, a part of Mexico City, for Valentine’s Day…

Hey, Bunker-Brits: It’s another placement of the VM ad in a British publication. What was that about Scientology not getting away with that over there?

Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!

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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 15, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Ryan Hamilton’s plan to consolidate his lawsuits against Scientology rehabs is denied

Tony Ortega — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 12:00:36 +0000

Ryan Hamilton

We’re so used to Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton running roughshod over his opponents, this comes as a bit of a surprise. But Hamilton’s attempt to have his many lawsuits in several states against Scientology’s drug rehab network Narconon consolidated into a single federal court in Nevada was rejected on Friday.

Consolidating the cases would have simplified things for Hamilton — with so many cases (27 filed in total), they’re generating many motions which are very similar to each other.

But the US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation found that the cases, while similar, had enough differences to argue against consolidating them into one court.

These actions are primarily fraud actions and will involve significant case-specific facts, such as the specific representations regarding the Narconon Program made to each plaintiff, the conditions at the different facilities attended by the plaintiffs at different times, and the widely varying injuries allegedly suffered by plaintiffs.

Well, yes, it’s true that different Narconon victims suffered different harm. Some of Hamilton’s plaintiffs are alleging simply that they were ripped off when they signed up for drug counseling and got Scientology training instead. Others allege actual physical harm as a result of Narconon’s unscientific ‘detox’ programs. And others say they were physically or sexually attacked.

But in every single case, Narconon uses the exact same Scientology booklets for its training routines. It uses the same come-ons, with false claims that it has a sky-high success rate and that it’s “secular” and not related to Scientology. And every single Narconon answers to the same Scientology umbrella groups, governed by the same internal documents, which Hamilton has submitted in each of the lawsuits.

But OK, that similarity wasn’t enough for the judicial panel. Hamilton’s the one who filed 27 lawsuits, so he’ll have to deal with the hassle of juggling them all, and making sure he can get to courts in several different states on time.

Meanwhile, other attorneys are watching. We told you that an attorney in Michigan filed two lawsuits within a week recently that appeared to be modeled on Hamilton’s suits. We’ve learned about a California attorney who quietly filed about a dozen lawsuits in state court there, and we’ll be bringing you more about him and his suits soon. And many of you noticed that an attorney in Bloomington, Minnesota suddenly started advertising that he’s looking for plaintiffs to sue Narconon, and he’s even advertising on television nationally…

We’ve put in a call to James Rolshouse, and we hope we get a chance to talk to him soon about his slick ad and how soon he thinks he’ll file his first lawsuit.

Narconon won this round against Hamilton, but things really aren’t looking much better for Scientology’s rehabs.

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Sunday Funnies

Hey, let’s get back to our weekly feature and have some fun with Scientology’s latest fundraising fliers, sent to us by our great tipsters.

Yes, Scientology has figured out how to turn Valentine’s Day into another opportunity for prying cash out of its members. Don’t forget your tux, suckers!

Hey, for those who didn’t want to spend $80,000 for a Members Only jacket, here’s something new — the “Promise to Ron” recognition club in Miami, limited to only 40 people! Show how much you love Ron, give us cash!

“The object is a cleared planet…the only way to do that at a rapid enough rate and in volume is to go Ideal.” Yeah, those Ideal Orgs are really ropin’ ’em in, aren’t they!

They really do think we’re all going to be scrambling on our smartphones to get the stuff they’ll be pumping out of the old KCET studios, don’t they? And in order to “commemorate” all that new dissemination, how about dropping five thou on a new E-meter!

Perhaps one of our Kiwi readers could tell us how Helen is a legend. (We know, we know, it’s the size of the last check she wrote.)

Uh-oh. “Mission Holders Conference” and David Miscavige? That’s had some bad connotations in the past. Anyone know how things went down on Friday night?

We don’t know why, but this made us laugh out loud. Maybe it’s knowing what the Sea Org slaves are forced to survive on just a block away or something.

Isn’t ‘New Civilization Builder’ in the million-dollar range? New Zealand will be cleared in no time!

“Fully hatted” has always been one of our favorite Scientology phrases.

Finally, Leona paid $800 and got a T-shirt! And now she’s off to infinity, or something.

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Bonus photos from our tipsters

A Latvian organization that calls itself “Happy Kalve” is using Scientology’s The Way To Happiness booklets in anti-drug presentations in local schools.

Actual caption from The Way to Happiness Foundation India’s Facebook page after the pamphlet was used (for some reason) at the Delhi Traffic Police Headquarters… “It is very good to know about Traffic Rules and regulations and “The Way to Happiness” is very helpful. Like to know about the moral values, Ethics and what promises we do with our family and society and our duties towards the society.”

No, this isn’t creepy at all.

The Scientology quotient at tonight’s Grammy Awards is likely to be high! Or at least very weird. Wacky Joy Villa and genius Willow Smith were snapped yesterday at a pre-Grammy bash…

Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!

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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 8, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Super Sunday Funnies: Will you get to see Scientology’s ad during the big game today?

Tony Ortega — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 12:00:57 +0000

UPDATE: We have a new leak from Scientology that suggests the church will be airing its “Age of Answers” ad from October as its commercial during the Super Bowl, and it will occur at halftime. See the update, below.

Ah, Super Sunday, when, for the past few years, the Church of Scientology has caused a Twitter freakout by placing its creepy TV ads in certain markets during the big game.

Scientology leader David Miscavige has been on a media buying blowout, placing full-page ads in USA Today and the New York Times, and paying for web ads in every conceivable place lately. Miscavige is scrambling to deal with his latest crisis, in this case the imminent airing of Alex Gibney’s documentary, Going Clear, on HBO on March 16.

We’ll say what we’ve said many times: These ads are not meant for you, and they’re not meant for us. The ads trashing Gibney and Lawrence Wright and the other people in the film, as well as the slick Apple Computer-like TV spots trying to sell Scientology, are aimed at Miscavige himself and his biggest financial donors.

It’s important to keep that in mind when you see Scientology doing something seemingly incomprehensible — like sending stern letters to every person who reviewed Gibney’s film without calling the church for a quote. As ridiculous as that seems, rank-and-file Scientologists eat it up with a spoon, as we showed in a story on Thursday. Scientologists, who assiduously avoid negative press about the church, want to see the organization punching back and smearing its critics, as well as trying to spread the word about L. Ron Hubbard.

And that’s why today, it will be important for Scientology’s donors to see an ad during the Super Bowl to make them feel like Miscavige is fighting the good fight.

Problem is, as profligate a spender as Miscavige is, even he doesn’t want to pay nearly $4 million for a thirty-second spot during the game. What many folks don’t realize, however, is that during the many hours of broadcast before and during the game, a few spots are reserved for your local broadcast channel to sell to advertisers. These spots are much cheaper than the official nationally aired ads. One expert told us that Scientology could buy spots in numerous markets around the country and end up paying about $1 million — a much less expensive way to go. Last year, Scientology only bought these spots in cities where “Ideal Org” projects had been finished as an incentive for other cities to catch up.

Which cities will get the Scientology ad this year, and which ad will they show? We’ll know from Twitter reactions and comments here which places get to see the ad. And as for which one will air, we still think the spot Miscavige created about Scientology’s “social betterment” programs will be the one that gets shown. (Nope. See the update, below.) Here’s the two-minute version of it again, in case you missed it when we talked about it on January 7. For the game, Scientology will pare down a 30-second version of it…

Since then, Scientology has debuted a really remarkable new ‘Dear Leader’ video that’s nearly eleven minutes long, all about how David Miscavige is the greatest genius who ever lived. We think this one is less likely to run for the simple reason that Miscavige would have a tough time choosing his favorite 30 seconds from it…

So, keep your eyes peeled and let us know which ad pops up during today’s broadcast. If the past is any guide, you’re most likely to see it during the final hour of the pregame show, and immediately after the end of the first half. Keep your wits about you!

UPDATE: A tipster has forwarded to us a message from Scientology’s Kathy Feshbach which suggests that the church will be using its “Age of Answers” ad during halftime.

Here’s the message that was forwarded to us:

DEAR FLAG OTC MEMBERS,
The IAS funded Scientology – The Age of Answers video will play at half time during the Super Bowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The next day on Monday following the Super Bowl in USA TODAY – full-page ad – The Age of Answers – ensure you buy the paper!!!!
Also, on YOUTUBE – on Monday we will be on the front page for 24 hours straight!!!! People can watch The Age of Answers video, do OCA test or any of the on-line free courses!!!!!!
Thank you for all your donations to the IAS – keep them coming, we are changing the world together!!!!
Ml,
Kathy Feshbach

Here’s the ad, which we first shared with you in November…

So keep your eyes peeled at halftime! [End of update!]

Now, let’s move on to a video that’s actually useful. Chris Shelton left Scientology’s “Sea Org” recently, and since then he’s produced a whole series of videos helping people understand how things in Scientology’s management structure actually work.

Today, he has for us something a bit more direct — it’s an open statement to David Miscavige himself. Let us know what you think about the message Chris has for his former boss!

“You and I know L. Ron Hubbard hated criticism, and so do you,” Shelton says. “Do you want your legacy to be that of a self-important tyrant, an uncaring dictator, who gleefully destroyed people’s lives for your own sick amusement?”

That’s good stuff. Now, let’s turn to our regular weekly feature, Sunday Funnies, with a few of the newest Scientology fundraising fliers sent to us by our great tipsters…

How many of these people will be looking up Ted Babbitt’s phone number in a couple of years?

Drummer Bob Sullivan: “Scientology is the most exciting thing in this universe in like, literally, forever!”

It’s a central files party in Columbus, Ohio! Find out how many of your neighbors are receiving an endless supply of Scientology fliers and other crap!

Woo-hoo! The new multi-million dollar Portland Ideal Org has cleared 19 people since November 2013! The state of Oregon is going to be cleared in no time!

Drew says LRH set a high bar for helping others!

Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami — four of the places in the east struggling to finance new ‘Ideal Orgs.’ (Philly and Boston are struggling as well.) And look at that turnout! Why, there might be hundreds of Scientologists east of the Mississippi!

Ori was frightened by a staff 2.5 year contract? Oh young man, you have no idea what’s coming.

These young people are Oh-TEE! (And for only a few hundred thousand clams, you can be too!)

It’s so easy to look up technical terms with a dictionary. Who knew!

And finally, come and hear Weston’s great wins!

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 1, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Who are the 8 Scientologists profiled in ‘Going Clear,’ premiering today? We have a guess.

Tony Ortega — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 12:00:51 +0000

Our countdown is finally over, and today we learn just who is in Alex Gibney’s HBO documentary, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. But even though the premiere is still several hours away, you didn’t think we were going to head for the theater without at least taking a guess who’s in the movie, did you?

Now, we want to be clear about this. We were interviewed for the film, we think we may have a couple of lines in it, and we answered a few other questions for the folks turning Lawrence Wright’s epic 2013 history of Scientology into this project. But we were never told who the film was focusing on, and we haven’t seen a screener. What we do know is what HBO has said about Going Clear, that it tells the stories of eight former Scientologists and the abuse they experienced in it or witnessed.

But which eight? We’ve come up with our list based on asking a few questions and making some educated guesses. For all we know, we could be way off. But we’re very much looking forward to finding out today who’s really in the movie and then updating our list.

So here they are, our guesses, in alphabetical order…

Jason Beghe: Plays the starring role in NBC’s Chicago PD after his character in Chicago Fire proved to be such a strong part of the series. Jason left Scientology in 2008 and became the first former church celebrity to speak out loudly about what he considered its abuses. “Let’s see a motherfucking Clear,” he famously said, denying that Scientology has ever produced the superhuman abilities it promises.

Tom DeVocht: Once ran Scientology’s building operations in Clearwater, Florida and was a close associate to church leader David Miscavige. Told the Tampa Bay Times after his defection that Miscavige makes fun of Tom Cruise behind his back and has even showed Cruise’s private auditing session videotapes to others in order to mock him.

Sara Goldberg: Profiled in a stunning Tampa Bay Times piece by Joe Childs, Sara suffered one of the most blatant (and very recent) examples of “disconnection,” the toxic Scientology policy that rips families apart.

Paul Haggis: The focus of Lawrence Wright’s 2011 New Yorker story that grew into Wright’s book, Haggis is an Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter and father of two lesbian daughters, and he could no longer ignore Scientology’s deep-seated homophobia.

Mark “Marty” Rathbun: Once the second-highest ranking official in Scientology, Rathbun was Tom Cruise’s auditor before he defected in 2004. When he began to speak out in 2009 with criticisms of Miscavige, he became the target of an intense years-long intimidation campaign out of Scientology’s classic mold.

Mike Rinder: Former top Scientology spokesman who lost his family to disconnection when he decided he could no longer endure stints in the church’s internal prison for executives and extended periods working closely with Miscavige.

Spanky Taylor: One of the surprise stars of Wright’s book, she worked closely with John Travolta in his early days in Scientology, and she ended up being treated horribly as she was trying to raise a young daughter.

Hana Whitfield: Worked closely with L. Ron Hubbard in Scientology’s early days, actually captaining one of his ships as he ran the organization from sea in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

If you were following things here at the blog last night, you know that some of these folks are here in Park City to see the premiere. Marc Headley and your proprietor compared notes and realized that we were each photographed by the same Scientology private eye at the baggage area in Salt Lake City’s airport. (Headley insisted to us, by the way, that he is not one of the eight people the film focuses on.)

We don’t know if the flatfoot snapping photos of us means that Scientology is going to try anything funny today. But at least they have new photos for Freedom magazine or something.

We’ll do our best to update you on the day’s happenings in the comment section, but we expect a pretty chaotic day.

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Sunday Funnies

And now our regular Sunday feature, when we look at the latest wacky Scientology fundraising fliers that have been forwarded to us by our great tipsters.

L. Ron Hubbard was born on March 13, 1911, but folks in Los Angeles and other places will be celebrating the date later, after Scientology has had a chance to ship video of the main party in Clearwater, Florida. Mark your calendars!

Things are steamy in Pasadena…

Yes, this is the very definition of sanity…

Detoxification must be real, this flier says so…

As former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder has pointed out, the prices on the Freewinds cruise ship are hitting rock bottom. Ten nights for $2,600 and all meals included? Wow.

Translation, “Why don’t you ever come to events anymore? Sincerely, Dave Petit.”

Yet another fundraiser in the Valley, this time featuring former NFL player and miracle worker Bob Adams!

L. Ron Hubbard invented Wellington boots? Who knew!

Translation: “This place is a graveyard. Please come to ASHO, the American Saint Hill Organization in Los Angeles, where we can barely keep the lights on.”

If you remember, Michael Chan is the enthusiastic barnstormer who goes around the country telling Scientologists that someday L. Ron Hubbard’s super secret OT 9 level will be released (Marty Rathbun has assured us it doesn’t exist), and at that point church members will live into their 120s, and they’ll get the ability to clone themselves so they can form an unstoppable Scientology army to take over the planet. (We’re serious. We had a mole at one of his talks.)

Linda’s been in a “release state” since she turned over a huge check to Scientology. We have a feeling we would be too!

And finally…”Planetary Clearing is not a fantasy.” Yeah, just keep telling yourselves that — it makes the check-writing easier.

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on January 25, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Monday Funnies: More evidence that Scientology is gearing up for a really tough 2015

Tony Ortega — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 12:00:10 +0000

Surprise! If you’re looking for our Monday reveal, we sprang it early, on Saturday afternoon. Our big secret was the title and subject of our forthcoming book, ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely,’ about the life of Paulette Cooper, which London-based Silvertail Books is publishing in May.

We decided to keep that announcement up the rest of the weekend, so today we’re going to post our delayed Sunday Funnies — they’re our Monday Funnies!

And we’re going to start off with more evidence which convinces us that Scientology is taking very seriously the threats it is facing in 2015. We know that the organization has been dealing with dwindling membership for years, key defections by important officials, a tenacious “indie” movement that tries to entice other members to leave, and the growing legal problems of Narconon.

But an Alex Gibney documentary that is premiering at Sundance this month and then airing on HBO on March 16 is another matter entirely. So how is Scientology leader David Miscavige responding? More and more, we’re convinced that he thinks he can make a difference with an all out media blitz.

If you missed it, on Friday we posted an image of the full-page ad Scientology placed in the USA Today on Thursday. Here’s another look…

Former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder reminded us that Scientology also turned to full-page ads in USA Today to counter the disastrous publicity of TIME magazine’s 1991 cover story, “Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power.”

“I would say it is a pretty clear indicator how worried they are about HBO,” Rinder said.

Meanwhile, the newest Scientology television ad is showing up at prominent slots on the networks and will probably get an airing at some point during the Super Bowl. And Miscavige has been making noise for more than a year now that he is going to turn the old KCET studios in Los Angeles into a major new source of Scientology programming.

Rinder also posted a notice by Scientologist L.D. Sledge who claimed that Freedom magazine, Scientology’s ironically named propaganda magazine, is hiring positions in order to open a full newsroom in Los Angeles. (We got the feeling that Freedom, which barely managed an issue each year, was put together by an editor or two and a few freelancers.) That seems like a significant move if it’s true, and we can’t help thinking it’s related to the HBO film as well as the BBC’s movie project, featuring Louis Theroux.

But here’s a problem that Scientology faces if it really wants to fight bad publicity with good publicity: It has not had a spokesperson who can go on camera for almost five years now. Instead, Miscavige is pushing out Scientology’s celebrities for more coverage now, and also finding other ways to get the word out about the good works the group claims to do.

Here’s just the latest example, some happy talk on BBC London radio in an interview (if you want to call it that) with Louisa Hodkin and Ale Calcioli, the couple that married last year after they sued England over its antiquated marriage laws and won.

If you have a hard time enduring softball interviews by presenters who don’t seem to know the first thing about what controversies Scientology is involved in, you might have a tough time getting through this happy few minutes on the Inspirit program with Jumoke Fashola. But if you can stomach it, it’s the latest example of the charm offensive Scientology is increasingly engaging in as it faces what should be an even bigger avalanche of bad press this year…

We especially like the cute way Alessandro dodged the silent birth question. Was it too difficult to explain fetal engrams, Ale?

Make sure, if you aren’t really familiar with their story, that you check out our backgrounder we wrote for the British press that this Ms. Fashola apparently missed. Hey, BBC, aren’t you supposed to be the serious news organization over there?

Moving on to some of the fun things our tipsters sent us this week. Hey, why’d they leave Annalisa’s last name off of Melbourne’s flier? It is, in fact, Rinder, and Mike tells us she’s married to one of his nephews, but he’s never met her.

This has got Fearless Leader’s fingerprints all over it…

Mike Rinder posted a flier from Inglewood that almost identical to this one from the Orange County org. Isn’t it funny that everyone’s graphs look just alike?

Spencer got detoxed in San Francisco!

Rocket up the Bridge so you can get to the such exciting high-level stuff like the Purif and Objectives!

Ooh, fundraising for the Valley Ideal Org finished in time for Hubbard’s birthday on March 13? Does Nancy know about this?

Help us out, former Oatees — who’s Clive Rabey and why would we be excited he’s coming to town?

Hey, Sharon just wrote a big check, and does she look happy!

Getting back to this weekend’s big excitement, we want to thank our great commenters for the party you all had on the website. And we hope you’ll continue to help us build excitement for our book. We have some more news coming soon about it, and we’re going to be including more details in a newsletter for our subscribers.

We also want to thank Chicago Fire actor Christian Stolte for the humbling statement he made at his Facebook page yesterday. We thought you might like to see it…

Thanks again to Christian and all of our tipsters!

——————–

Karen and Jeff: David Miscavige and his fear of depositions

Karen de la Carriere and Jeffrey Augustine once again take us into the very funny world of Scientology…

——————–

Bonus photos from our tipsters

Ah, here’s an Instagram photo from inside the bridge that leads from the Fort Harrison Hotel to Scientology’s Super Power building! It was taken by actress Veronica Milagros, a longtime Scientologist.

The London org wants you to do your Purif again!

Hey, the New York chapter of Foundation for a Drug-Free World (featuring the glamorous Meghan Fialkoff) is looking for corporate sponsors to foot the bill for their annual awards in June! Who’s got a checkbook handy!

Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!

OUR COUNTDOWN

13 days until Alex Gibney’s film Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief opens at the Sundance Film Festival at 2:30 pm on Sunday, January 25 in Park City, Utah

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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 12, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Sunday Funnies: Scientology now selling the idea it solved the Ferguson crisis

Tony Ortega — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 12:00:59 +0000

Barry Coziahr

It’s our first Sunday of 2015, and that means it’s time to start another year of Sunday Funnies! Each week, we bring you the best Scientology fundraising fliers that have been forwarded to us by our great tipsters.

This week, one of our readers noticed that a Phoenix event was being promoted in a flier posted to Twitter. (More and more, Scientologists are using social media — if you happen to spot something on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter, please send it our way!)

The flier indicates that Barry Coziahr has quickly become a rising star in the church for the publicity he managed to get in Ferguson, Missouri.

Before his star turn in Ferguson, Coziahr was known to us for his role in helping to pull Jeremy Powers away from his family — a classic case of Scientology “disconnection.” While Jeremy’s family, including his mother Meshell Little, were turning away from the church, Jeremy married Coziahr’s daughter and was encouraged to break ties with his parents. Last July, we reported that Jeremy finally spurned the Coziahrs and the church and has reunited with his mother and grandmother.

Barry went on to his fame-making gambit when he showed up in Ferguson during the recent unrest to hand out copies of The Way to Happiness, the 1981 booklet that Scientology put out in L. Ron Hubbard’s name while he was in seclusion in order to give the impression that the church — which had just gone through the prosecution of eleven of its top executives for infiltrating the US government — actually had some kind of moral code. It’s a hilarious little booklet of ripped-off moralizing.

Anyway, now Barry is apparently on the road, explaining to people how his efforts solved all of the problems in Ferguson, and naturally the church will treat it as a fundraising opportunity…

Keep signing those checks, Grant and Elena!

Note the repeat names on this list. Just imagine how much regging they’re going through…

The East US is rocking!

Ooh, a New Year’s greeting from the folks at CSRT — the Church of Scientology Religious Trust — the folks who will be knocking at your door at 2 am to make sure you sign that check for an L. Ron Hubbard Hall donation!

“Your infinity of future” — just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it.

Ah, money!

1,000 auditors by March 13!

And finally: Yikes, is Fearless Leader asking us to shed a little blood for Scientology?

Thanks again to our great tipsters!

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Who is on Scientology’s anti-aquarium hit squad?

The Tampa Bay Times had a fascinating story yesterday about the Church of Scientology being sneaky and trying to undercut the city of Clearwater’s attempts to move an aquarium to its desolate downtown. Since Scientology used subterfuge to invade the Florida town’s downtown in 1975, the place has become a creepy desert that tourists have learned to avoid. The aquarium, which features the dolphin Winter, the one with the prosthetic tail, is probably Clearwater’s best chance to start to revive the place.

But the Times reported that the church, which is officially neutral, has been working behind the scenes to keep the project from happening — clearly, Scientology wants the creepy downtown all to itself.

The Times cited city commissioners who said the church’s opposition is obvious, but the most interesting part of the story was this assertion that the church has hired a kind of hit squad that is investigating the aquarium non-profit just like it would any other former church member or critic…

The campaign has become increasingly aggressive. The church has brought in an accountant, an economist and an investigative reporter to dig into the nonprofit aquarium’s financial projections and its animal-care history, according to aquarium supporters.

That is so Scientology! But for some reason, the newspaper didn’t name these three individuals. We can guess who the investigative reporter might be, but do any of our tipsters know for sure who that is, as well as the accountant and the economist? We’d love to know!

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Bonus photos from our tipsters

Here’s a Facebook photo of Barry Coziahr suited up for the Cause Resurgence Rundown at Super Power! If you’re going to run around a pole for hours at a time in order to become superhuman, you need the right duds!

Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!

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OUR COUNTDOWNS

21 days until Alex Gibney’s film Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief opens at the Sundance Film Festival at 2:30 pm on Sunday, January 25 in Park City, Utah

8 days until our special Underground Bunker announcement at noon, January 12

Posted by Tony Ortega on January 4, 2015 at 07:00

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING (Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ