Sunny Pereira &#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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“There is a pool of thought, and all of a sudden one day a black spot appears in the middle of it, and the fellow can’t move. That incident you will find on most time tracks. Here was the pool of illusion, and if you ever want to see grief pour off a case, it is the individual’s loss of his home universe. They will tell you in various ways. You can take the most hard bitten preclear and run him back to a point of the track where all of a sudden the stars are falling down in his universe. He will cry and cry. He had a universe, he was probably one of several who invented this universe, and it was a perfectly good universe, and one day all of the stars fell down. Why? Somebody else got a universe invented, and it sort of overlapped and ate it all up. And that is what our MEST universe is doing, evidently. It is an expanding universe, and it just keeps on eating into everybody’s time and space.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 23, 1952

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“LA CONGRESS: That sure should be quite a Convention in LA. Looks like we made it on Flag. They had no program, two halls with two ‘Congress’ programs, different, going on in each. Tony is there by now getting it grooved in. They did great selling tickets and publicity. Originally they wanted me to do a colour film for them. You ever stand under enough light to shoot colour? It’s about 150 degree F fry. All joking aside, it’s impossible.” — The Commodore, June 23, 1970

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“Many of you have lost perspective of what is Scientology’s role on this planet and its relation to the current state of affairs. Scientology is a ROUTE OUT. It is not just something to make you more able, more happy, more causative. It’s a ROUTE OUT. A route that if followed all the way to its end will bring about FREEDOM AND SALVATION. Something no one on this planet has right now no matter if OT VIII or not, Class XII or not, and something no one have had for eons.”

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2001: LA Weekly published an article on Keith Henson, a refugee in Canada after being convicted in California of interfering with the Scientology religion. “Henson, a Palo Alto computer consultant, was in custody at the ‘super-maximum-security’ Metro West Detention Centre on a Canadian immigration warrant. The warrant was based on Henson’s April 26 criminal conviction in Hemet, California. Henson was found guilty of a single misdemeanor count of interfering with a religion. To those familiar with a ferocious five-year war between the church and its Internet critics, it comes as no surprise that the religion was Scientology. Earlier this month, Henson was freed, pending a hearing on his application for political asylum in Canada. Henson, who says he did no more than post nasty Usenet messages and picket Scientology locations, claims the church set him up. The case is likely to raise questions of how far a religion can go to protect itself from dissidents, and of free speech on the Net. Skeptics have long congregated on alt.religion.scientology (ARS), a lively but not exactly headline-grabbing Usenet group. In 1995, Scientology tried to shut the site down. The retrospectively ill-advised attempt was followed by denial-of-service and ‘sporging’ (forgery and spoofing) attacks, which raised the hackles of the hardcore Net community. A new generation of anti-Scientology activists was born. Alt.religion.scientology now is one of the most popular Usenet groups. ‘Scientology’s action had the psychological effect you would have seen of a gang of thugs riding into a Midwestern town and burning down the newspapers,’ Henson said. Henson began picketing Scientology facilities nationwide, including the church’s film-production compound outside Hemet. The razor-wire-enclosed spread, called Golden Era Productions, occupies 500 acres along Gilman Hot Springs Road. Critics claim the compound also houses the church’s highly secretive security apparatus. Many of the 700 Scientologists who work at Golden Era are bused in from apartment complexes in Hemet, dressed in blue seafaring uniforms. One of his postings was a suggestion to land a ‘Cruise missile’ on Gold Base; another said of Scientology, ‘destroy it utterly.’ Henson says the messages were inside jokes: ‘Cruise’ referred to actor Tom Cruise, a longtime Scientologist, and the ‘destruction’ quote was a takeoff on one of L. Ron’s own incendiary statements. Golden Era general manager Ken Hoden says Henson’s bomb postings were taken seriously. ‘Based on evidence we were able to collect off the Internet, his intention was to destroy [the production facility] utterly, to leave not one stone unturned,’ Hoden said. After a disastrous non-defense defense – Henson and supporters say Riverside County Superior Court Judge Robert Wallerstein gutted their case – the jury hung on two counts, but convicted Henson of the interfering charge, which is classified as a hate crime. Facing a recommended 200 days in Riverside County Jail, which Henson feared had been infiltrated by the Scientologists’ Criminon rehab program, the defendant fled before his sentencing date to Toronto, where he and Hagglund, a Canadian Scientology foe, picketed a downtown Scientology office. The church complained, bringing out the SWAT team. Henson blames his prosecution on a Scientology doctrine called ‘fair game.’ In 1967, Hubbard announced that any suppressive person (Scientology jargon for ‘enemy’) ‘may be deprived of property or injured by any means, by any Scientologist. He may be tricked, sued or lied to, or destroyed.’ Frank Oliver of Florida, flew in to testify on Henson’s behalf, but the judge refused to let him take the stand. Oliver told New Times Los Angeles his Scientology duties: ‘Spy on people. Gather intelligence. Write reports.’ Henson’s asylum application could take nine months to two years to resolve. In the meantime, he plans to be back on the picket line soon, despite a Canadian order to keep away from the church.”

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“I have never advocated for violence or vandalism against the cult for the obvious reason it would turn them into martyrs.”

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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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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] Mike Rinder and Christie Collbran have some good news for us all
[TWO years ago] Transcript: When Valerie Haney completed her escape from Scientology by vowing not to sue
[THREE years ago] The celebrity Scientologists going out on a bit of a media blitz right now
[FOUR years ago] The key thing about Danny Masterson’s ‘DJ Donkey Punch’ nick is why he stopped using it
[FIVE years ago] Scientology is hiring for a drug rehab whose location is a secret
[SIX years ago] Scientology and celebs: ‘Miscavige had several of us catering to Tom Cruise behind the scenes’
[SEVEN years ago] We have your Scientology ‘Maiden Voyage’ robo-call invitation, Los Angeles!
[EIGHT years ago] Sailing with L. Ron Hubbard: A Scientology saga of Sea Org dedication
[NINE years ago] Reed Slatkin dies of heart attack — Scientologist served time as major Ponzi schemer
[TEN years ago] Marc Headley continues his Scientology tour, and Steve Hall describes his defection
[ELEVEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Gets Colorful!

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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 2,940 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,435 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,950 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,500 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,490 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,371 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,675 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,546 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,098 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,439 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,006 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,925 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,093 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,674 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,935 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,971 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,687 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,251 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,566 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,741 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,292 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,423 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,761 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,614 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,735 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,091 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,394 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,500 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,898 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,774 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,339 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,852 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,106 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,214 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 23, 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.

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’s Sea Org: Almost no pay and no sleep, but plenty of swearing and smoking!

Sunny Pereira — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:00:14 +0000

Why do Sea Org members smoke and swear so much? I think the first time I remember hearing a swear word was when I was around four. By the age of five, I was swearing like a sailor. By 15 I was in the adult RPF, smoking nearly a pack a day of cigarettes.

Well, the Sea Org thinks it’s full of sailors, so could that be why all the swearing?

Within the Sea Org itself, swearing isn’t anything that I have ever seen a punishment doled out for. The same for smoking.

But going to meals on time? Leaving per your schedule to shower and sleep? Oh yeah, you can be punished for those.

We always had urgent things that had to be done that day, or that afternoon. So, it was very common to overhear, or be told, “You don’t go to dinner until you have a fucking person arrived into the Sea Org!” or “Nobody secures until the entire damn shithole of Central Files is brought up to Sea Org standards!” or “If you don’t resolve this right fucking now, I will send you to the RPF.”

We all felt the constant threat looming over us. Would we eat today? Would we be able to rest? If I only slept an hour last night, will I be allowed to make it up the next night (no)? Orgs set out leftover dinner at midnight for those who had been told they could not secure until something or other was done. Midrats (short for midnight rations) might have been the most visited meal in the Sea Org.

I guess swearing with anger tones gave an emphasis that you meant business. Seniors swearing and joking sometimes meant they were in a good mood and you might get your mealtime or even go to bed on time that night. It was rare, however.

Sometimes the swearing was misconstrued and ended up being something we all laugh about for years. For example, the story of Guillaume Lesevre, Executive Director Int. Those who know him know that he speaks English with a heavy French accent. He had been sent, in the middle of the night, to wake up Janet Light to tell her she was going to Australia. I believe it was somewhere around 2 AM or so. Waking up Sea Org members was common. Many were lucky to get full night of sleep. He banged on her door to wake her up. She came to the door sleepily and he told her to “get dressed, you are being sent to Australia,” to which she screamed “get the fuck out of here!” as an expression of surprise. Guillaume looked a little taken aback and said “no, I’m not going anywhere.”

This still cracks me up.

Have y’all ever heard about people who were on the RPF and had been given permission to leave? They were wanted back on post? And they refused to go? Why would that be? I’ll tell you what the most people told me, that had refused: because on the RPF they got regular sleep and meals. Some just wanted another month or so of rest before going back into the Sea Org. Yes, the work on the RPF is heavy and difficult, but for many, they preferred it to the torture they endured on posts. At least they got regular meals and sleep on the RPF.

I know this also raises the question of why these people didn’t leave. Well, this article isn’t about that, but we can note here a basic and simple answer: They were under heavy mind control in the Sea Org. Many were held back because of family, many truly believed that Scientology was the only answer and they felt they had to endure in order for everyone to be free. There are a lot of martyrs and would-be martyrs in the Sea Org.

So what about the smoking? Well, smoking isn’t forbidden anywhere in Scientology or the Sea Org. Locations for smoking are designated, of course. But Sea Org members could be denied food, denied sleep, but they were always allowed a cigarette break. Plus they killed our appetite and even perked us up with a little energy for a while. And there was no limit to the number of cig breaks you could have. For example, if you could not rest until Central Files was perfect, that could be many, many days being up. So those cigs were what kept you going. Those were the only brain breaks we had sometimes. And so we smoked. Liked chimneys.

Shortly after I left the Sea Org and realized that the scam of Scientology was much more than I originally thought, I took my last drag of my last cigarette and said “fuck that.” I was done with smoking and Scientology.

I have tried to quit swearing, and I think I have gotten much better at it than I had been. Like another ex famously said, “I only swear when I am talking about my Scientology past.”

I’d say that is because of what it brings out of us. Maybe the swearing helps us process what we have been through.

— Sunny Pereira

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Technology Cocktail

“TR 8 is begun with student holding the ashtray which he manually makes execute the commands he gives. Under the heading of training stress is included the various ways and means of getting the student to achieve the goals of this training step. During the early part of this drill, say in the first coaching session, the student should be coached in the basic parts of the drill, one at a time. First, locate the space which includes himself and the ashtray but not more than that much. Second, have him locate the object in that space. Third, have him command the object in the loudest possible voice he can muster. This is called shouting. The coach’s patter would run something like this: ‘Locate the space.’ ‘Locate the object in that space.’ ‘Command it as loudly as you can.’ ‘Acknowledge it as loudly as you can.’ ‘Command it as loudly as you can.’ ‘Acknowledge it as loudly as you can.’ That would complete two cycles of action.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1967

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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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“We’re not in the business of whether people are crazy or not crazy. It’s just a method of calling dirty names anyway. The psychiatrists have no idea who’s crazy and who’s sane, and so forth. It’s just a matter of saying, ‘This fellow’s no good, and the US government wants to get him out of the way so he’s crazy.’ It’s just a matter of expediency. It says en masse, ‘We don’t agree with this particular person. He sees spiders on the ceiling and we don’t. Therefore he’s crazy.’ Has nothing to do with anything we are doing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Just forget those classifications. We don’t care how potty this guy’s ideas of the physical universe are, you know, he just might have come down here from the Martian scout command or something like this, and they probably have very, very odd ideas, you see? The quality, the significance of the fellow’s ideas are no business of the auditor’s.” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 19, 1963

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“Recently Flag was divided into 3 separate orgs. The Flag Bureaux (FB), the International Management Org was the first to be formed fully. It is the FOUNDING Org of the other two. It is doing very well and has stats rising in most areas and is heavily in the Mission business. Its colour flash is GREEN. The Flag Admin Org (FAO) is the Service Org. It trains, processes and handles Finance. It has the pattern of the standard 7 Division Organization. It is the ESTABLISHING ORG. The FAO flash color is RED. The Flag Ship Org is the ship itself. It consists of the usual yacht organization functions of Command, Deck, Stewards and Galley and Engine Room. The Ship Org Flash color is BLUE….To summarize the FB is running excellently, the tech and training of the FAO is tops. Finance FAO is going in well. By constant personal work and lots of help, I have these points in hand. Now the three numbered points above must occur and every effort, including very heavy Ethics, will be made to bring them into existence. Your cooperation will be appreciated.” — The Commodore, February 19, 1971

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“We need auditors well trained. When I went through the upper sections no one could get on the solo course without the Briefing Course first — that was (and is) the level of understanding it takes to make happy, successful OTs. Unfortunately that no longer seems an option either in the independent field or in the Church of Scientology. No Saint Hill Special Briefing Course offer there, I have heard. I offer it, but so far, no takers, not in 20 years. So how do we get OTs functioning and happy? It takes a lot of personal attention, helping the student solo auditor fill in his missing data, helping him through his levels.”

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1996: Peter Lucey reported this week concerning the Jive Aces, a bar band preaching Scientology propaganda at gigs in the U.K. “I was in the ‘Bier Keller’, a bar under the Coppid Beach Hotel, Bracknell, UK on Friday, 16th Feb and the band booked was called the ‘Jive Aces’. [T]hey were ‘sponsored’ by Dianetics and there was much more ‘buy Dianetics’ adverts on the flyers than band info. Scn was not mentioned but the band’s booking address was Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead. I talked to the leader – he described Jon Atack as a ‘wanker’ and said he was expelled from the CoS for drug dealing; my retort, that the ‘unconvicted drug dealing’ was a confession taken from his PC-folders after he left, fell on stony ground.”

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“Confiscating people’s passports is a classic Eastern European sex trade/slave tactic. It doesn’t get more obvious and sinister.”

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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 January 29, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, motion to strike/anti-SLAPP motions by Scientology to be heard January 9, 2024.
— 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.

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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] Celebrity Sunday: John Travolta, Anne Archer, and ‘rising star’ Joy Villa
[TWO years ago] Valerie Haney asks court for reconsideration after Scientology defeat in Masterson case
[THREE years ago] Transcript: In the Danny Masterson lawsuit, Scientology continues to get its way
[FOUR years ago] California is going ‘Ideal,’ and Scientology is on fire about it
[FIVE years ago] Leah Remini accuses former Scientologists of sabotaging an episode of ‘Aftermath’
[SIX years ago] Atack: What David Mayo told me about L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the upper levels
[SEVEN years ago] Disconnecting from the dead: Another employer accused of forcing Scientology is taken to court
[EIGHT years ago] DOX: A former L. Ron Hubbard business partner dishes on Scientology to the feds
[NINE years ago] HBO moves back ‘Going Clear’ to March 29 and TV’s most coveted spot: Sunday night
[TEN years ago] SCIENTOLOGY’S PRAYER: The Hail Mary petition to keep David Miscavige from being deposed
[ELEVEN years ago] SUPER POWER UPDATE: Scientology Has Even More Excuses Not to Open Its Boondoggle

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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 2,815 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,310 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,825 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,375 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,365 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,246 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,550 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,421 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,973 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,314 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,881 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,800 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,968 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,549 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,810 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,846 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,562 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,126 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,441 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,616 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,167 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,298 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,636 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,491 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,610 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,966 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,269 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,375 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,773 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,649 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,214 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,727 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,981 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,090 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 19, 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.

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…

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How Scientology makes forced disconnection even worse than the separation

Sunny Pereira — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 12:00:27 +0000

[Sunny and her mother]

“She knows what she has to do.”

It was a matter-of-fact statement to my husband from my mother. I was pregnant with our second child and we wanted to let my Sea Org mother know about it. She had never met my children or my husband. We had thought he could call her up and let her know she was welcome to see our children and us. Of course she would not, because I, her daughter, was labelled a “Suppressive Person” by Scientology, over a decade earlier.

She was making it very clear to my never-in-Scientology husband, that on no uncertain terms, if I wanted to see or hear from her, I knew what I had to do.

You see, Scientology has what they call the “A to E steps.” They have been talked about in many places and forums that discuss Scientology. In a nutshell, what I had to do to be able to speak to and have a relationship with my own mother was to pay back Scientology for my “freeloading,” turn in all of my SP friends, and grovel and beg for Scientology to accept me back.

It got me thinking recently, though. Why is it that everyone who has left Scientology has the opportunity to do this and get back in touch with their family, but really no one ever does it?

In my 32 years in Scientology and the Sea Org, I only remember one person who had been SP declared and actually went through the steps and got back in good standing. That person actually ended up joining the Sea Org and became a laundry person for the Manor Hotel (a/k/a the Hollywood Celebrity Centre). Yes, a billion years washing linens for hotel guests. And not only that, they would never be allowed onto the OT Levels and would always be treated as if they “owed” more than anyone else.

I could imagine coming back and then having endless demands for financial donations. Nothing could ever be enough for them. And Scientology family members punish those family members not actively on the “Bridge to Total Freedom.” Scientologists tend to “mini-shun” those not active on the Bridge. You are punished with less time and attention from your Scientology family members. Getting back into the good graces with Scientology requires not one hundred percent, but more a thousand percent of your time, money, and sacrifice.

I can only speak for myself about why I would never do the steps. I would not even do them to be able to be in touch with my family that is still in. In talking with a few others in the same boat, we have noticed a sad pattern with those family members still in. Even when we were in touch with them, from prior to being SP declared, our relationships with Scientology (and especially Sea Org) members, was incredibly strained.

Visits were often brief. Conversations were boring, about good weather and good roads. There is a common ground understanding missing between family members that are in Scientology and those that are not. It is sad to see the cloistered view of these people, and to watch the befuddled faces of those who cannot comprehend it.

I remember one time my grandmother, who sadly has since passed, asked me about a call she had with my mother. My mother only called her for a few minutes on Sunday mornings. This was the only time my mom was free to talk. They chatted about weather and things for a minute or two, then my mom said “I have to go, the shower is open.”

Clearly she expected my grandmother to understand this comment, but she did not. I did. Shower time in the Sea Org is waiting in a large line for communal style showers. You miss your turn, you go to the end. You may end up late to post and all kinds of other trouble. She had to go. I understood the urgency, but my grandmother could not.

So for me, I don’t see any point in ever clearing my name with Scientology in order to have a “relationship” with my mother. In my case, and in many others I have heard from, parents and other family members are rarely a nurturing and loving relationship. I felt more like my family was just other Sea Org members that I had known longer.

So why would I ever grovel back to Scientology? Nah. Unthinkable.

There is plenty of good and love in the life I have now. We are building new and nurturing relationships from our generation onward.

Right before Thanksgiving I did have a wonderful gift come to me. Some thought this gift was incredibly cold-hearted. But I knew otherwise.

I had found out from another family member that my mom thought I still had some kind of beef with her. She thought there was something still between us needing to be resolved. Of course she will not come to me. But since I knew her email address, I thought I might as well send her a message.

This is what I sent her:

“Hi mom, I just wanted to tell you I forgive what happened when [redacted] and I were kids. I know a lot of what happened was not in your control. I am doing very well and have a good life. The life I wanted, I have. I wish all the best to you.”

Her response:

Yes, it seems incredibly cold. But you know what? She received my message. That’s all that mattered to me. I have said what I wanted to say and made my peace with her. And she has heard it. The rest is really none of my business, and honestly, completely out of my hands.

And so this year I went into Thanksgiving with a big heart and love for my family. I held them closer than ever and told them that they are loved. And we move forward.

— Sunny Pereira

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“Clay Table Healing is a study in repetition and simplicity for an auditor. It is easy. It is very successful. But it is very simple auditing. However that simplicity has to be done right. Therefore it is a very precise series of actions. An auditor who can’t handle the auditing comm cycle shouldn’t ever be let near Clay Table Healing as the pc will be made ill by constant ARC Breaks.” — 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

——————–

“A god of this universe, an anthropomorphic god — and I hope that you understand me very clearly when I use this word ‘god’ loosely and even blasphemously, for the good reason that this thing g-o-d is something which man has set up in his image. And it is merely an ambition on the part of a thetan, it’s an effort, a co-effort on the part of thetans to have a playing field and so on. And there is, actually, beings above the beingness of this universe. There are beings, but they are not this anthropomorphic thing who is the jealous god, who has hate and vengeance and so forth, that happens to be above that level. And the jealous god, the most jealous god there would be, would be a god who would insist at all times that he must not be duplicated, even to the point of not using his name in vain. He mustn’t be duplicated. No graven images. His space, it’s all his space and so forth. And we go on this way. Interesting, isn’t it?” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 14, 1953

——————–

“SMERSH: Good news. Adelaide trouble had a reprieve when they did not pass a ban bill at once but delayed it until Feb due to the filibuster tactics of our opposition and the ferocity of the defense. The ‘Parliament’ there was considering a bill to ban Scn, backed of course by the Health Minister who is a SMERSH appointee.” — The Commodore, December 14, 1968

——————–

“There is a big difference between the Hanas of the world and the new public who really don’t know the subject. Hana, and some others, who present themselves as long term Scientologists, worked with LRH, etc, who then bash the subject — I have no respect for them whatsoever or desire to help them as they are doing real damage to the uninformed. (After all, they must know, right?) And damage to me as the bad PR muddies up the general public image. No, they have placed themselves beyond receiving any help and their only course is to get their own ethics in and figure out what they could do to make up the damage.”

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1998: ABC News program 20/20 aired a show on Scientology this week. From the ABC web site: “The Church of Scientology, which claims a membership of 8 million worldwide, inspires a passion in its members as strong as any other faith. Yet a number of critics call the church’s practices extreme and, in some cases, dangerous. Two years ago, the controversy turned into a criminal investigation after the sudden death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson at the age of 34. McPherson’s family claims Scientologists held her captive – without food and water – and watched her die of dehydration. Exclusive video of a Scientologist ‘auditing’ session – the practice
where church members relive painful events, sometimes from previous lives hundreds or even thousands of years ago Rare interviews with celebrity church members John Travolta and Kirstie Alley Interviews with five former church members who claim they were held captive by Scientologists in what they call prison camps An interview with Frank Oliver, a former member of Scientology’s internal security force, who says he personally took part in campaigns to harass, intimidate and threaten those regarded as enemies of the church. Frank Oliver, former Scientologist internal security official: ‘They can send private investigators out to your home or to your place of work, talk
to your neighbors – they will illicitly try and obtain copies of your phone bills or credit rating – they will try and create problems for you at your place of employment. They will try and sue you. They’ll do everything they can try and do to stop you or to silence you.’ Stacy Young, former church member: “At 4 in the morning one night – Vaughn and I were asleep, and there was a knock on the door, and two security guards were there, and they took me away into the prison camp. Vaughn Young, former church member: ‘You go through interrogations, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month. Breaking you down. Breaking you down, breaking you down.'”

——————–

“Most animals have more of an affinity for their offspring than the average Scientologist.”

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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 January 29, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

——————–

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

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Photo appears to confirm small Scientology service for Kirstie Alley at Flag Land Base
[TWO years ago] Clearwater’s new city manager: ‘We must develop a partnership with the Church of Scientology’
[THREE years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 7: The litigators
[FOUR years ago] Glam for Xenu: When Scientology celebrities ruled the world
[FIVE years ago] Finally, L. Ron Hubbard’s first ‘Clear’ — Sonya Bianchi — found again after 68 years
[SIX years ago] He was Scientology’s most famous spy, then he turned witness and vanished. Now, here he is.
[SEVEN years ago] Nora Crest’s powerful new video: Why you can’t be gay in Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] Who are those WISE guys? A tipster helps us get some names of Scientology operatives
[NINE years ago] Another Scientology ambush, this time of Marty Rathbun with Louis Theroux present
[TEN years ago] Jon Atack: What we have here — in Scientology — is a failure to communicate
[ELEVEN years ago] DOX: Florida Officials Fight Attempt to Hide Drug Rehab’s Scientology Connections

——————–

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 3,243 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,758 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,308 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,298 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,179 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,483 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,354 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,459 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,906 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,248 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,814 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,733 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,901 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,482 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,743 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,779 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,495 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,059 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,374 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,549 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,100 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,231 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,569 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,424 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,543 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,899 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,202 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,308 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,706 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,582 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,147 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,660 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,914 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,023 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on December 14, 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.

One of the shocks of leaving Scientology: Immortality is overrated

Sunny Pereira — Sun, 20 Aug 2023 11:00:47 +0000

“Yes ma’am, your application looks good and we are just about ready to approve it,” the man said over the phone. “We are just trying to understand why, at your age of 32, we are not seeing any type of credit history on your name and social security number. We just need to fill in the blanks, you understand.”

I knew I had to build my credit. I knew it was important, really important, in the many years to come. I was trying to get my first credit card, which was a secured one. I thought I could just give them $1,000 and build my credit with that as my limit. I didn’t have any idea I would have to explain anything.

I tried a few answers, but he kept coming back to me saying the underwriters (Who are those people? I imagined them as people in strange suits and funny looking glasses sitting in dark tunnels slouched over paperwork, sneering) needed a better explanation.

Ugh. I guess I would just have to say it. At least it was over the phone, so he could not see my very red cheeks, flushed with embarrassment. “I was raised in a cult and I just escaped a few months ago.”

Long pause.

I had thought they would judge me. Maybe Scientology was right about the way people are out here. Nobody to help, you are alone and helpless. I was sure he was going to tell me he could not help me and then hang up.

Finally he said, “Oh, we can just write that you dealt in cash only.” Bang. Credit card approved. Phew.

Leaving Scientology after so long leaves incredible marks on its ex-members. The task of rebuilding can be terrifying in itself. Some, actually most, who leave Scientology, leave alone and have to work these things out on their own. It’s awkward and uncomfortable.

I remember having to write my first resume and trying to convert my Sea Org posts into job descriptions. Of course the Sea Org teaches an incredibly high work ethic (we didn’t think anything of working around the clock), but how do you explain what a “Case Supervisor” is? I was some kind of bossy manager.

I did get one hint, which helped, that I only had to put on a resume the last three positions that I had held. So if I could keep a job for a medium-long period and then quit, three times, the Scientology crap could be off my resume entirely. Don’t quit too soon, though, or you look flighty.

Oh, and about quitting jobs. I remember so clearly when I found my second job after leaving Scientology. My first one was making sandwiches at a shop for $6.25 an hour (I could not believe it when I made $11,000 in my first year. I felt so rich!). The second job interview they had showed me a P&L and wanted to see if I could understand it. Easy. So I was hired. But then I had to give notice.

Quit a job?

After having left the Sea Org, the idea of quitting a job has a meaning at an entirely new level. Leaving a job is a failure. It means you could not do it. You failed. You are a degraded being.

I dreaded having to tell my boss. I knew I should give two weeks notice, and that was my plan. But in a sense, I was prepared for interrogations and a boss who would insist, even demand, that I stay. My whole body was tense and I was prepared for a verbal fight. I knew I would need to hold my ground and be prepared with answers to any and all objections. I knew I had to keep my integrity and keep my path. No matter what he said or did, I would be polite, but my plan was to move on, either way. I had braced myself for a Sea Org style “I’m leaving” treatment.

When I did sit down with my boss, fully prepared with whatever he may throw at me to try to get me to stay, I gave him my notice….. he was sad about it, but he told me I had done such a great job and he wanted to give me an extra bonus and I was welcome to come back any time if I changed my mind.

I almost passed out. What the hell?

Over the years, I have moved on from several jobs, but every time this was the response I got. A bonus, a thank you, and a note that I could come back anytime. Hugs. Goodbye parties, tears.

Damn. I want to be human. I don’t want to be immortal. Those immortals in Scientology can be real jerks!

— Sunny Pereira

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“If the auditor is a woman then run ‘What have you done to a woman?’ ‘What have you withheld from a woman?’ If the sex of the auditor is male then run ‘What have you done to a man?’ ‘What have you withheld from a man?’ All the above must be clean as a whistle before one tackles a case. So making sure of the above, no matter how many hours it’s devouring, will give wins all the way.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1960

——————–

——————–

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

——————–

“I thought of a difference between a Scientologist and the world at large on this particular planet. The people think that what we’re doing is unreal, but we know the substance of their unreality, which of course makes us top dog every time. We know the substance of their unreality. In other words, we know where their itsa line is out. See, they know what — they’re not identifying, see? Their itsas are just for the birds, you know? ‘Man is an animal. He is a biochemical protoplasm which goes no place. At death there is a cessation of cellular commotion.’ That’s a good itsa, isn’t it? That just immediately makes nothing out of everybody.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 20, 1963

——————–

“Musical Chairs in life is the mechanism below ARC Brks in Grade III! To unstabilize gives ARC Brks! Whole staff can be put into a sad effect! This is the mechanism govts use. It’s the basic tool of the socialist. If he can just unstabilize everyone he can kill them with degrade. It’s a basic tool of the insane to maintain their own stability by unstabilizing everyone else. There’s more to it, but it’s a major discovery that affects even the ARC Brk rud and affects the no case gain case. So that’s where I’ve been working lately in research and wow is it paying off!!! It began when I assumed that the musical chairs he get in orgs was a social aberration not an admin error. From there it’s been discovery all the way.” — The Commodore, August 20, 1971

——————–

“Every brand of Scientology has the same problem of impermanent gains because they do not recognize the effect that continually being surrounded by spirits with engrams will produce. You can get rid of many of your own engrams with Scientology or Dianetic processing, but you will never clear the thousands of beings who surround you every day. Getting rid of troublesome spirits is like dusting your house or washing your car. As soon as you finish cleaning things up, there is another group of spirits landing on you.”

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2001: The St. Petersburg Times reported that Scientology has completed a new housing complex in Clearwater, Florida. “The Church of Scientology boasts more hotel rooms and religious counseling spaces in Clearwater than ever before with the completion this summer of $9-million of construction downtown. The church now has 565 hotel rooms in and near downtown Clearwater. In a typical week, about 1,300 visiting Scientologists from around the world lodge there while receiving spiritual counseling and training. The newest expansions at the Sandcastle retreat and the Osceola Inn are part of a construction boom that marks Scientology’s fastest period of growth in Clearwater since it arrived in 1975. Construction continues on the massive $50-million Flag Building downtown slated to open in March 2003. At the Sandcastle a three-story, 34,000-square-foot addition was recently finished. It has 84 rooms that are 8 by 10 feet, and are finished in cherry wood and brushed brass. The rooms are used for spiritual counseling known as auditing. The ‘Osceola at the Sandcastle’ opened this summer with 76 rooms, including two stylish penthouses on the sixth floor with spectacular views of the bay that go for $425 a night. The penthouses are the best church accommodations in the city. The Osceola is already fully booked with a months-long waiting list, officials said. It has 14 suites, smaller versions of the penthouses; a fully equipped fitness center with saunas in the locker rooms and a personal trainer; and a tropical-themed cafe that serves smoothies, sandwiches and dessert. Suites are $120 to $140 nightly. Regular rooms rates are between $45 and $70.”

——————–

“You come on here with a bunch of fantastical yarns that sound like one big cliched Scientology horror story, offering no proof for any of it, and you expect something other than derision?”

——————–

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.

——————–

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

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] PODCAST: Marc Headley answers the question, would a Scientologist lie about Xenu?
[TWO years ago] Judge Charlaine Olmedo on point: What was said in court about Danny Masterson’s subpoenas
[THREE years ago] Even Alaska — yes, Alaska — gave Scientology COVID-relief funds, for Xenu’s sake
[FOUR years ago] Scientology finally solves its recruiting woes with professional ham hock Grant Cardone
[FIVE years ago] While the Scientology scandal swirls in Colombia, a key figure relaxes in Florida
[SIX years ago] How badly does Scientology need new staff? Miscavige is bringing back the ‘Universe Corps’
[SEVEN years ago] Atack: Why those who try to save Scientology from itself are doomed to failure
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology superstar: What it’s like to be big in Taiwan
[NINE years ago] Narconon’s cancer spreads: New lawsuits and a court order for Scientology’s rehab network
[TEN years ago] Scientology Makes the Grade: Touching Walls to Total Freedom
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s Grip on the Mind: An Ex-Sea Org Member Explains It For Us
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Deluge: Commenters of the Week!

——————–

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 3,127 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,642 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,192 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,182 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,063 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,367 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,238 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,343 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,790 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,132 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,698 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,617 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,784 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,366 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,627 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,663 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,379 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,943 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,258 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,433 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,984 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,115 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,453 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,308 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,427 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,783 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,086 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,192 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,590 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,466 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,031 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,544 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,798 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,907 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on August 20, 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 wanted you to believe that the urge to leave was a failing. It wasn’t.

Sunny Pereira — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 11:00:10 +0000

[Sunny, serving her billion-year contract]

Scientology in the 1970s was known for being a fun place, a cool hang out, a place to make new friends. This appeal brought in many new followers. Scientology was supposed to be a different kind of religion, a hip and cool one.

Although the general beliefs and goals of Scientology have not changed over the decades, the day-to-day operations have in many, many ways. I believe that the evolution of Scientology over those years has made it hard for some to back away and say, hey, this isn’t what I signed up for.

Some have woken up and realized they did not want to be there, and that is what this article is about.

Has the desire to leave or “blow” Scientology ever been an overwhelming feeling for you? Have you felt an urge suddenly to take off? Or fight the bad in Scientology? This is a recognized feeling known as “fight or flight.”

Scientology believes that the only reason a person wants to leave a place is because of “overts and withholds.” In other words, the person who does not want to be there is only waving a flag saying he has undisclosed transgressions.

The fight-or-flight reflex is an indicator of trauma, not overts and withholds. In my personal opinion, Hubbard had it upside down, backwards, mistranslated, incorrect and very, very wrong.

A fight-or-flight response happens when a person is in the presence of something physically or mentally terrifying. The response is triggered by the release of hormones that prepare your body to either stay and deal with a threat or run away to safety.

If these stages occur over and over again, such as when a person is under constant stress, it can cause the body to become exhausted and break down.

Never have I seen a person truly recover from fight-or-flight mode by interrogations. For the most part they remain traumatized, because the trauma is not properly recognized or addressed at all in Scientology.

I had signed my first billion-year contract when I was 6. I knew that my mother would also have to sign it as a witness (because I was a minor), which is why I agreed in the first place. Back then I was still trying to get her attention. If I had to sign a billion-year contract to see her for five minutes, then so be it. Between being 6 years old and signing the Sea Org contract, there was more leniency and trust from the day care, and I had, in a sense, more freedom. At this age, one qualified to be a Cadet. As long as you had the other basics in such as being able to read and doing simple math. As a Cadet, we were now getting prepared for the Sea Org. Also, Hubbard did say we were adults at the age of 6.

We had one person overseeing all of the Cadets, called the Cadet Co-Ordinator. Otherwise, it was a regular Sea Org Org, making money and having its staff work long hours. We did what was called “missions,” which were just assignments into the regular orgs for things they wanted done, such as selling Freedom magazines, filing papers, stamping and mailing things, etc. The orgs would pay the Cadet Org for the work and the Cadet Org had its own financial planning and payroll.

As always, the adult staffing for the care of children was deficient, and when one staff member had enough and no longer was there (blew post or reassigned), it would be forever or never that a new person would be assigned to supervise the children. Meanwhile, the Sea Org style Cadet Org would run, to a degree, in its machine-style.

But it also gave some of us more of a chance to wander, goof off and even, heaven forbid, play. Sometimes. As the days without adults turned into weeks, months and years, things really got out of control with the kids.

When the childcare staffing was lacking, it was the responsibility of the parents to keep their kids under control. This sounds like a simple task, but with so many Sea Org children improperly raised, it was more havoc than anything else. We had some kids starting fires, others smoking cigarettes, others stealing, some torturing animals, some learning how to build pipe bombs, some off playing video games all day. You name it, the kids there, who were raised essentially by the streets of Los Angeles, were not in any sort of parental control.

The parents would try, between and after post, to be parents. But what an impossible task when you have the demands of a Sea Org post as well. A post in the Sea Org required more than 24 hours a day of work, and only if you were incredibly efficient, could you get everything done.

The parents, honestly, never had a chance.

But coming back to fight-or-flight, the true point of this article.

For me, as a child, I saw my only parent as an unreliable and mean person. It’s funny looking back and talking to so many people who knew her, she was actually apparently quiet, kind and mannerly. That was not the same person who was constantly frustrated with me for the “thing I did that day.”

I got tired of the fighting, got tired of someone trying to control me, tired of a dumb life that I could not understand or figure out.

I was going to run away! But for my mom to know I was missing, I had to leave her a note. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure she would even try to look. I left a letter in an envelope on her bed and I left. I went down the street to a local market and played video games for a few hours. I got bored and went back home. My mom had just finished reading my note after a long day on post.

“Are you back already? I thought you were running away.” She asked me.

I had an urge to turn around and leave. I already knew I really had nowhere to go. I felt sad. Trapped. Alone. Unloved. Angry. Frustrated.

“You know wanting to leave and leaving are signs of overts and withholds. So that means you better sit yourself down and start writing them down for me. You will never be happy until you clear up all your bad acts. I’m sure if you clear them up you will be happy here again.”

I could not, for the life of me, get across to my parent that I was not happy there. I did not want to be there. Bad things had happened and I did not like the life we had there. I did not feel safe at all. I had no idea what the future held.

But what I did learn is anytime I don’t like my situation or feel like leaving it, its my own fault. I am the reason I want to leave. Its because of something I did that makes me no longer want to be in that place. And this became a lifetime (or at least “while in the Sea Org/Scientology”) concept.

Scientology cannot grasp the actual concept of trauma, or the fact that it is capable, just by the way that it functions, of causing trauma. Anyone with grief or complaints about Scientology or the Sea Org or the way it functions has their own hidden transgressions.

Scientology and the Sea Org does not have to change, ever. Because the archaic technology of its founder tells its members that only transgressions make a person desire to leave. No other reason ever, at all.

But in the real world, where people live and try to survive as best as they can, trauma is a very real thing, and can really cause confusion and upset in a person’s life. And Scientology does not acknowledge or address it at all.

So please, if you’ve been in Scientology any amount of time and wonder to yourself, “What did I do to deserve this?” Or if you feel compelled to search for your own transgressions, remember this: It was not your fault. We all got conned to one degree or another.

Staying in a mode of fight-or-flight is not good for our health and can cause chronic physical problems (from the stress) such as chronic fatigue, depression, gastrointestinal issues, headaches, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and even breathing problems.

We can move forward and do what really matters to us. And love those who matter to us.

No matter what Scientology tries to make you think about yourself, remember this: You matter. You are loved. You are important. And transgressions you may or may not have ever committed have nothing to do with your desire to leave something. And just because you feel the urge to fight something, does not mean you need a sec check or an ethics handling. You have a right to your feelings. Listen to them.

— Sunny Pereira

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“Only with Scientology have we come back to the straight of it. And the straight of it is that one cannot be injured until he has postulated that Thetans can be injured and, by example of Thetans pretending to be injured, has come to the point of himself not only consenting to be injured but actually getting torn to shreds. The basic postulate of injury or death (or harmful communication) is best summed up by ‘victim’.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1959

——————–

——————–

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, what’s the matter with the planet at this particular time is ethics is out. And that is proven by the fact that you are having a hard time getting tech in. With the technology which you know at this particular moment and the results which you are delivering even at lower levels, you have a total monopoly of all mental activities, all religious activities and all social activities on this planet. That is what you are entitled to at this moment. Do you have them? Well, therefore, tech is out. Obvious. So, the only thing that puts tech out is if ethics is out. The only thing that can get tech in is ethics.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 2, 1966

——————–

“Recruits are not the answer, not the total why to no production. Lots there already. Training and hats are needed. 2.5 hours a day study time. Part time Crew Cse Super and properly programmed crew students properly enrolled and properly mustered at suitable times will improve things faster than new recruits. Recruits are longer range.” — The Commodore, August 2, 1971

——————–

“Give it a blind eye if you want, and people will for various mostly personal reasons. I however will not. Reverse Scientology started in 1973, the main obstacles were dealt with, handled, reversed and pushed through during 1978-82. Confronting evil, for me, is seeing things for what they are, to deal with that which can be confirmed. The stories told by people (tale telling) is surely not part of that! You don’t give matters a blind eye because of personal preference. Start to realize that David Miscavige is only the face outward! My research does not suffer from ‘bank generalities and identifications.’ If it does, you can point out exactly where I went in the wrong.”

——————–

1997: Scientology’s Poole, England location was again the site of street protests. Martin Poulter, Dave Bird and Jens Tingleff provided reports on the action. “Six people staged a peaceful protest in Poole High Street about the aggressive and deceptive recruiting used by the Scientology/Dianetics organisation. Unlike previous such protests, the two sides mostly kept apart from each other and the protesters were able to make their point to the public without being harassed or abused by the Scientologists. The public response was very enthusiastic and supportive as always. The most unpleasant Scientologists from last time were not around, and those that were on the street mostly avoided us. A couple of Scientologists’ reactions are worth reporting. One bloke with short hair and sunglasses walked by in a Dianetics t-shirt, slowing to a stunned halt as he saw us. He eventually came up to us and asked ‘WHAT are you DOING???’ ‘We’re protesting against Scientology.’ ‘What have you got against freedom?’ As I tried to reply, he shouted ‘You people are CRIMINALS!’ and stormed off, obviously upset. The star protester of the day was our senior friend, who asked passers-by for signatures on a petition, collecting 139 signatures in less than three hours. Smart, polite and approachable, she had more success with the public than the rest of us could have. People were keen to sign the petition, and gave us enthusiastic encouragement.”

——————–

“Massholio is 4 months of winter wasteland followed by a month of sumptuous spring followed by four months of hellish heat and humidity followed by two and half months of fabulous fall weather. There’s definitely room for improvement, Sherb.”

——————–

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] The Scientologists doing battle with the SEC over a $1 billion pile of cash
[TWO years ago] Escaping for the second time: Cathy Mullins on forsaking Scientology’s Florida swamp
[THREE years ago] VIDEO LEAK explains how to rope in the unsuspecting: ‘We don’t explain Scientology’
[FOUR years ago] Scientology finds a friendly physician to help out in its attack on an effective drug
[FIVE years ago] Colombian roast: Will Scientologists care about David Miscavige’s latest fraud?
[SIX years ago] Carol Nyburg is back, and she has a Scientology story that will rough you up
[SEVEN years ago] For Scientology’s most infamous dirty trickster, retirement has a happy ending
[EIGHT years ago] Garcias’ appeal rejected; now the couple faces the real possibility of Scientology arbitration
[NINE years ago] Video proof that Scientology makes you a stellar communicator
[TEN years ago] Underground Bunker Night at The TomKat Project — Get Your Tickets Now!
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s Concentration Camp for Its Executives: The Prisoners, Past and Present
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Goes Hillbilly; Also, Broke in Ireland and Big in DC

——————–

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 3,109 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,624 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,174 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,164 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,045 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,349 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,220 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,325 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,772 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,114 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,680 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,599 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,766 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,348 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,609 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,645 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,361 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,925 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,240 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,415 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,966 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,097 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,435 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,290 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,409 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,765 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,068 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,174 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,572 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,448 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,031 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,526 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,780 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,889 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on August 2, 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.

Why growing up in Scientology can be so damaging, even years after leaving

Sunny Pereira — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 11:00:55 +0000

Although this story is my personal experience, and many could have had variations of this, I think it’s worth noting what Scientology’s “applied religious philosophy” does to its youngest members as far as trauma and damage.

In therapy, real therapy, not Scientology’s balderdash, there is so much research and understanding of what causes trauma, and ways to manage it. When babies and kids learn that someone who loves them can also deeply hurt them or ignore their needs, it creates an inner turmoil that manifests in other and later relationships.

Scientology and Sea Org parents alike are indoctrinated to be, in a sense, distanced emotionally from their children.

“You have lived before, Sunny.” My mom says. I’m only 3. I’ve barely figured out I’m alive at all. And now I’ve been handed immortality, whether I want it or not.

“You already know all of this. You just need to remember.” She continues.

And she leaves me in a Sea Org daycare that is extremely understaffed and full of more than 200 children and babies in chaos. Dirty diapers, hungry kids, fighting kids, upset kids, you name it. All dropped off while parents go off to save and Clear the planet.

I want to cry. I want to go back to our old life. This place is too much for me. I don’t know anyone. Where is my brother? I find him, he’s as lost as I am. But at least we know each other. He had already, before we even came to LA, tried to get away. Back in Austin, he was once found by police walking down the center of a six-lane road, saying he was walking to his grandmother’s house, 375 miles away, in Lubbock.

We were both lost and confused. It quickly became clear to us that crying would get us nowhere. Everyone else was already crying. So we stood quietly, wondering when or if we would see our one parent again.

Left in a disorganized and unsupervised place, we decided to explore. Our only instructions had been to “remember” how to grow up again. It was very clear we were very much on our own for this endeavor.

Visits from our mom were rare back in those days. We never knew from one day to the next if we would see her at all. Sometimes it was days, sometimes weeks or even months without a parent. Just the chaos that was the daycare.

Sometimes I would wake up in bed at the apartment mom had. She would pick us up as late as midnight, but I would not remember that. I would just wake up and be home. It was nice to have the quiet sometimes. But then it would be another drop off the next morning and the same routine of “figure it out.” We had to learn early and young how to Make Things Go Right, a common, very overused term in Scientology.

Fend for yourself was the motto we learned early on. It was hard, and nearly impossible to get the attention of a caretaker because of the chaos and messes they were dealing with. They were clearly overworked and never got breaks either. Looking back on it, I’m pretty sure they were working 24 hours a day trying to keep up with all the kids. There was no help or end in sight for them either.

So I learned to be on my own at a very young age. I learned that no-one would be there for me when I needed help or support. Food? Find it. Clean clothes? Ha, that’s a joke. A towel to dry off after a shower (with no soap, and no assistance, I did what I could in a bath)? No. A cot or bed for a nap? Ha. Just find a corner of a room and nap there. Try to find a dry spot where no one had pissed recently.

With so many children and babies missing their parents, lost and confused, there was no way it could have been anything less than chaos.

Many of these children, including myself, because of this unpredictability, developed attachment disorders. In my case, and probably 99 percent of the children there, it created the rare type, called disorganized attachment.

What’s that? Well, it causes chaotic, unpredictable or intense relationship patterns and behaviors. It causes extreme fear of rejection as well as difficulty connecting and trusting others. It causes extreme need for closeness while pushing others away. It causes aggressive behavior towards caregivers and partners, and even friends. It makes us have a negative self-image and low self worth. Shame, anxiety, feeling unlovable, inadequate or unworthy.

I had to learn at a very young age that I was not going to get support or comfort from anywhere. In a sense, every child was on their own. In an environment like that, there was no time for caregivers (or parents, essentially absent) to provide nurturing and education to their offspring.

It was so much easier for them to tell us to remember. Then it was all on us to figure it out.

And if your “figuring it out” results in doing something out-ethics (such as “stealing” food, the one I always got into huge trouble for), you would hear about that from your parent, whenever you did finally see them.

Make it go right, but don’t steal (that’s suppressive!), don’t do anything without permission. Hell on wheels, mom, there’s nobody to ask around here! We are all on our own.

The only rare visits from the parent became less and less affectionate and more and more “ethics handlings” for whatever bad thing we did this time.

In the early years I did want to see my mom, but when it became visits from mom meant I was in ethics trouble again, I had no desire to see her.

After years of trying to understand and figure all of this out, plus with a single parent who was rarely present, it was very hard to attach to her, or anyone, for that matter.

Things went on like this for somewhere around a decade. Rare parent visits that I didn’t want anyway. I became a cranky, violent, sneaky, unstable teen around the age of five. It was the only way to survive there.

By the time my mom got a post assignment that kept her in the LA area regularly, the damage was already done. I pushed her away emotionally from that point on. To me, she was just another Sea Org member, not a parent.

Outwardly, I became a hard core Sea Org member and did my assigned posts with my all. But deep down, I hated being in Scientology, I hated my life and never wanted it. I had become a trained auditor (the Scientology auditor – the one who delivers counselling sessions in Scientology) because Hubbard said they are the most valuable beings on the planet.

And I wanted my mom to value me. I wanted her to see that she should have loved me. I wanted to have value and matter. I wanted her to reach out to me. So I could shove her away and put her back in her place. She needed a dose of what she dished out.

Yes, this is and was childish of me.

This is a very predictable pattern recognized in therapy. Disorganized Attachment is very real. And rare. But I believe that many of those raised in Scientology or the Sea Org might recognize the pattern of it in themselves. If I can just help one person feel better about themselves, all of my writing about Scientology would be worth it.

Remember this, second gens: It was not your fault. It just never was, and never will be. You matter. You are loved.

— Sunny Pereira

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“We have a whole world full of ‘victims.’ That’s enough. We don’t have to be victims ourselves. It’s a scarcity we don’t have to remedy. New Definition: A Scientologist—one who is not a victim. We can make victims into people without Q and Aing.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1959

——————–

——————–

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 Rock has such terrific significances connected with it: violations, survival, not to survive, thisa, thata, the other thing, identifications, cross-references, see file B, see file A 1,002,642, cross-reference Navy Department, you get the idea. Bulletin of War, Space Command, planet Exnoo, figure-figure-figure-figure, think-think-think-think-think-think, figure-figure-figure-figure, thought-thought-thought-thought, thought, significance-significance-significance-significance… And when he looks at this particular piece of matter, energy, space and time which is all it’s conceived of, he doesn’t conceive of matter, energy, space and time. He thinks, Cross-reference: Space Command, 8,000,000,682, general order to all torpedo-men. Following: pursuant to the orders of the admiral… See? Now, this unfortunately cross-references with Order of the Day, Monastery Platitude, Mount Xenu. There shall be peace. Which conflicts with, Dear, I know you are dedicated to holy orders, but I need a new pair of shoes. Which in itself is very vastly in conflict with Order of the Mount: Honor thy father and thy mother. Wait a minute, how’d that get in there? And that’s why the preclear’s so baffled.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 25, 1958

——————–

“LOCAL MONEY: Be sure you turn in your local wallpaper. I sure hope it’s cooler at sea!” — The Commodore, July 25, 1969

——————–

“Why have we lost so many of our powers after coming to this planet? I mean, I remember shortly before and I was a giant disembodied Thetan that new ALL of the sciences that make up everything and I also had enormous magical creation of ability, and I use to sweep across enormous gigantic masses of planets and instantly create groundcover foliage. I met a guy in Scientology that I used to know when we are on a spaceship just before coming to this planet. He didn’t go through the implant station like I did, and he was extremely OT, more than I. I lost most of my powers, but he was not or could not go exterior to his body and create anything magical and neither could LRH, either. These bodies just soak up a Thetan like a sponge since with all their automaticities they are 100 percent effect and a Thetan is 100 percent cause, so the two just snap terminals like a magnet.”

——————–

1996: The Associated Press released an article entitled ‘Cyber War.’ A few excerpts: “Some on the Net call it cyberspace’s Vietnam. Others prefer the analogy of the Spanish Civil War. Whichever it is, the back-and-forth skirmishes of this guerrilla conflict are an excellent example of the kind of vigilantism that rules in the anarchy that is the Internet. The ongoing confrontation is perhaps the best example of the Internet as a self-regulating anarchy: When the church made ample use of the U.S. legal system to stop the illegal posting of its copyright materials, Internet users countered with hit-and-run online networks to spread information faster than the church could file suits. Things boiled over in January 1995, when Scientology lawyer Helena Kobrin attempted to delete an Internet discussion group devoted to Scientology because she believed it violated the church’s intellectual property rights to the word ‘Scientology’ itself and that it had been initiated with a forged e-mail address — one that misspelled the name of a church leader. ‘It was intended as an attempt to protect intellectual property rights. Nothing more,’ Kobrin said from her Los Angeles office. Numerous anti-Scientology Web sites also have gone up, meticulously detailing each court case, summons and outcome, with whole libraries of newspaper and magazine article appended. Scientology has countered with its own massive Web site, weighing in with more than 30,000 pages in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. It includes information on church beliefs, a virtual reality tour of Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles and even a sound clip of Scientologist John Travolta performing. The most recent engagement was last month’s massive ‘vertical spam’ of alt.religion.scientology, a tactic that overwhelmed almost all discussion. No one knows who was sending the messages, which sometimes came at a rate of 100 per hour. Scientology spokeswoman Debbie Blair said the church had no part in the attack.”

——————–

“I prefer to think of D.M. as Theon Greyjoy.”

——————–

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] Jon Atack escaped Scientology, but then he got himself into much deeper trouble
[TWO years ago] More proof Scientology’s ‘Fresh Start’ clinics going belly up: San Diego County site for sale
[THREE years ago] Scientology to the rescue: After losing son and wife, Johnny Lewis’s dad is happier than ever
[FOUR years ago] For once, a target of Scientology gladhanding did his homework and said no thanks
[FIVE years ago] 50 years ago today, Scientology was banned in the UK — Here’s why it was a bad move
[SIX years ago] The Rathbuns hire a lawyer, and Ray Jeffrey answers questions about his legal salvo
[SEVEN years ago] Why does Scientology have no sense of humor? Because seriousness is a sacrament
[EIGHT years ago] A video response to Scientology’s crass celebrities, Jenna and Bodhi Elfman
[NINE years ago] French prosecutors investigating claims that a company forced Scientology on workers
[TEN years ago] Scientologists Warned about Facebook “Entheta” After Leah Remini’s Departure
[ELEVEN years ago] Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s Split Becomes an Advertisement

——————–

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 3,101 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,616 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,166 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,156 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,037 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,341 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,212 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,317 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,764 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,106 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,672 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,591 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,758 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,340 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,601 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,637 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,353 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,917 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,232 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,407 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,958 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,089 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,427 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,282 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,401 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,757 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,060 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,166 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,564 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,440 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,023 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,518 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,772 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,881 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 25, 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.

Listen to the podcast here.

Pre-trial Scientology special: The new episode of Up the Bridge, for everyone!

Tony Ortega — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 11:00:27 +0000

In 2013 we began a very popular series at the Underground Bunker which lasted more than a year.

We called it “Up the Bridge,” and with Claire Headley’s help we explained something about every step on Scientology’s “Bridge to Total Freedom,” from beginning to end, and tallying up the costs along the way.

We wanted to give non-Scientologists some sense of what it was like to go all the way from beginner to Operating Thetan, and learn something about what Scientologists actually do all day as they’re making their way to that goal.

Recently we decided to try that again, but in a special podcast series for our subscribers, and with the help of our technical expert, former Hollywood Celebrity Centre officer and Sea Org veteran Sunny Pereira.

For several weeks now Sunny has been taking us on a pretty strange and entertaining journey through what it’s like to go through Scientology courses and auditing.

And now, with everything about to change as we head back to LA for the Danny Masterson retrial, we thought we’d let the rest of you get a listen to what an episode with Sunny has been like. So, for this week, we’re making the new installment available to everyone.

As you’ll see, we’re now up to Grade One on the Bridge, and things are only getting stranger!

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Technology Cocktail

“Connectedness is the basic process on ASSOCIATION of Theta with Mest. All forms and kinds of association, including being caught in traps, are prone to become identifications as in Dianetics. Connectedness puts the thetan at cause in making the Mest (or people when run outside) connect with him.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1957

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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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“We are processing as close to definitions as possible. This has always been true in the Advanced Course — in these Clinical Courses. We process as close to definitions as possible. And when we’re right on the button with definitions, we see that space is a viewpoint of dimension, we of course have the basic of any universe. Of any actually created universe, the basic is that there must be somebody there to be the central viewpoint of it. Well, whose postulates would hold in that universe? Of course, the person whose viewpoint it was. That person’s viewpoint would hold. Therefore, we have the god concept. Now, the other things that are manifest here that aren’t mentioned on this data sheet — down here we see the Know to Sex Scale is something that you could use for diagnosis and hasn’t been gone into here very thoroughly. Now, here we have know, look, emote, effort, think, symbols, eating and sex.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 13, 1954

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“GOOD NEWS: Indications are that we will have won the war with Smersh in a year or two. They have lost further ‘prominent leaders.’ We have directly traced and documented their origin to East Germany and have found the crimes they sought to hide. Lesser lights in their ranks are turning to us for guidance. Their network is collapsing under the various stresses to which they have been subjected. They may fight more skirmishes through men they control in govts but it is obvious we will win the war.” — The Commodore, April 13, 1971

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“One of the ideas that Hubbard most frequently said of exteriorization is quite stupid: that a great part of people can exteriorize easily and the rest can easily be audited into it. False. Quite false! I’ve had experiences where I almost come out of my body. Or, once, I had an experience when I woke up floating above my body! But it was startling. And scary. It feels like you’re going to die. This fear is quite common among people. And Hubbard barely mentions it. I also can say I’ve had other experiences where I am expanded, more brilliant, disconnected from case or exteriorized from space or time. Those experiences are also quite recognizable. But they are not ‘exteriorization’ as defined by Scientology. Perhaps the road to exteriorization is to audit out the fear involved, all the bad things going exterior can be associated with, and case linked to it in general. To audit it directly, instead of expecting that general auditing will (for real) get you exterior.”

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1998: The Washington Post published an article, which included discussion of comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s involvement in Scientology. “Seinfeld, while he says he is not a member of the Church of Scientology, took pains during an interview to defend the controversial sect. He said he had taken Scientology courses years earlier and found them to be very ‘pragmatic’ and helpful. He said he was ‘interested in Eastern religions generally,’ apparently thinking Scientology to be one of them. ‘I think the stuff I learned there really did help me a lot,’ he said. When reminded then that Time magazine had just run a cover story about Scientology that included charges it was a ‘thriving cult of greed and power’ and a ‘ruthless global scam,’ Seinfeld scowled and dismissed the article as ‘poor journalism.'”

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“Have you ever destroyed a planet with a jim-dandy whizzer?”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Mistrial declared November 30. Retrial scheduled, jury selection begins March 29. Next pretrial hearing: Feb 16.
— ‘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 Feb 13.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next status conference Feb 13.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing November 17 to argue the arbitration motions, awaiting ruling.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: March 15, 2023.
— 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 February 7.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

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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] The origin of Scientology’s notorious prison program: Hana Whitfield’s eyewitness account
[TWO years ago] Scientology chiro Jay Spina sentenced to 9 years for case that made judge’s ‘blood boil’
[THREE years ago] Scientology really reaching in latest attempt to keep Philly lawyers out of Masterson lawsuit
[FOUR years ago] Scientology and evolution: The otherwordly experience of reading ‘A History of Man’
[FIVE years ago] Returning to Clearwater with a Miscavige cutout and memories of the Lisa McPherson Trust
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s celebrities to the rescue! John Travolta shills while Jenna Elfman melts down
[SEVEN years ago] Class action lawsuit against Scientology’s drug rehabs refiled with new plaintiffs
[EIGHT years ago] If you want the IRS to re-examine Scientology’s tax exempt status, it’s time to get real
[NINE years ago] Sunday Funnies: The Writers of the Future and more success stories!
[TEN years ago] The Saga of David Mayo: Scientology’s Banished Tech Wizard
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Admits Connection to Slimy Anonymous Attack Websites

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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 2,998 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,503 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,053 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,043 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,934 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,238 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,109 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,214 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,691 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,003 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,569 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,488 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,656 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,237 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,498 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,534 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,250 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,814 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,129 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,304 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,855 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,986 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,324 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,179 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,298 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,654 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,957 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,063 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,461 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,337 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,920 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,415 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,669 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,778 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 13, 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.

Kirstie Alley: Forgotten by the Scientology Hollywood Celebrity Centre?

Sunny Pereira — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 12:00:30 +0000

I’m glad I won’t be dying at the hands of Scientology.

I don’t even know (or care) if my death will ever be remembered, but hey, a couple of “goodbyes” would be nice, when the time comes.

I was saddened to learn, according to a source inside the church, that Kirstie Alley will not have a memorial service at Celebrity Centre. According to that source (which Tony told us about first last week), it appears that the only Scientology memorial service for Kirstie will be held as a private event at the Flag Land Base in Florida. Heck, it might even have already happened.

In the ten years that I worked at Hollywood Celebrity Centre, Kirstie was always a figure of personality and influence in the org. She was often around or available when she was needed for promotion of events and such. I can’t remember a single year that she missed the Christmas Stories fundraiser event. From the very first time Christmas Stories was done, she was always playing several characters in the various plays.

And when we had the launch of the Golden Age of Tech in 1996, she was the celebrity there waiting at CC to greet and welcome back our newest and freshest trained staff from Flag. And we are talking about people who were arriving home from their flights very late at night, or early morning. And she was there ready to welcome them.

And what happens when she dies? Because of the way staff is isolated, nobody at Celebrity Centre would have known that she had passed away.

According to that source, and our own checking around with our contacts, we have seen no evidence of a memorial being held at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre.

From my own personal experience, a chance to grieve and remember a person helps, and is part of, the healing process. In Scientology, if you are upset about something, you get a session about it (after you pay for it, of course) and that is supposed to be the end of the grieving. They truly believe their technology is that effective.

My own personal experience has been that I still grieve some people that have passed from decades ago. It’s part of being human, I think.

And so it saddens me to find out that this lady, who did so much for Celebrity Centre, not only won’t be remembered, but might as well be forgotten.

I’m deeply sadden and angered that someone had dedicated so much of themselves to their religion, and their religion does not take the time to allow its parishioners, all of them, to remember and grieve one of their own. What does that say about this religion called Scientology?

Well Kirstie, I wish you well and I thank you for the contributions you have made to this world. I send you virtual flowers to whatever skies you have gone to.

— Sunny Pereira

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Technology Cocktail

“In sanitariums the briefest observation demonstrates that the 8th dynamic is most prominently the aberrative dynamic, for here we have the idea that God inhabits all space, thus making it impossible for the preclear to have any space of his own. The preclear must either have no space or must be himself God. To solve the God problem, one simply rigs up large spaces in abundance ‘full of God’ and more large spaces ‘full of preclear’ until the preclear can have large spaces of both.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1953

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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

— 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

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial

[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19 [12] Oct 20: Day Seven [13] Oct 21: Day Eight [14] First week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [15] Oct 24: Day Nine [16] Oct 25: Day Ten [17] Oct 27: Day Eleven [18] Oct 28: Day Twelve [19] Second week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [20] Halloween special [21] Nov 2: Day Thirteen [22] Nov 3: Day Fourteen [23] Nov 4: Day Fifteen [24] Third week in review [25] Nov 5, Saturday special [26] Nov 6, Sunday special [27] Nov 7, Day Sixteen [28] Lisa Marie Presley breaking news [29] Nov 8, Day Seventeen [30] Nov 9, Day Eighteen [31] Nov 10, Day Nineteen

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“As long as religion brings solace to man in any way, shape or form, as long as churches stand in any way for the spiritual freedom of man, psychiatry will not really be able to progress, whatever its end goals are. Therefore, our rebuttal to any such attack is that psychiatry should not be permitted to wipe out a small church and then go on to a bigger church and then go on to a bigger church, and so take it all over. And also that the Minister of Health, as we have just told the press, has no right whatsoever to comment upon religious beliefs or practices. And in addition to that, that they are telling us that we must not do something we are not doing. Now, this is the yickle-yackle that appears in the world. The public at large is in actual fact getting ready to turn. Much of it has already turned. They see something very rotten in this idea of attacking Scientology. They are sick of this, see, because it’s gone on too long. And we hear cross comments of this particular character here and there. And they’ve gone too far and they’ve said too much! And they are now talking to a hostile public on the subject. It’s up to us to make sure that this is the downfall of all suppressive practices in that line.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 13, 1966

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“Lots of fan mail and FN VGIs from people on the FSO on Valuable Final Products. I hope we can get in any corrections and additions. Send them to LRH Comm Ship. Funny but it’s like gold. Before one sees real gold dust in a miners pan, he can be fooled by anything. He thinks mica, bright rocks, fool’s gold, anything is gold. Then you show him real gold and never afterwards does he fail to recognize it. Can’t be fooled at all. It’s that way about a list of actual valuable final products. Once you see what sort of they are for a department, div or org you can’t ever be fooled.” — The Commodore, December 13, 1970

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“Is the Galactic Federation behind Trump (covering his back), Communists being the Marcab side, what do you think? This news is interesting because it’s mainstream, and the timing of it. ‘This is going to be BIBLICAL’ was Powell’s words about the massive voter fraud now being unwinded. We will also have the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ in the sky for the first time in 800 years. Can this get more interesting than it already is?”

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1995: Tilman Hausherr reported a phone call from Thomas Riche this week, a Scientology private investigator. “He asked me two questions. 1. If I had sent $$ to Atack. I refused to answer this and explained that he’d need a court order to find that out. Since when do PIs call people for financial information? I asked how he had the name, he said ‘from the internet’. Thinking back, it seems that I followed-up to Bob Penny’s appeal for help. He didn’t want to tell more or could not. He later told me that he is not on the internet, but that there is a Cyber cafe nearby. 2. If Atack and Lawley had sent me documents. I said no. I explained that I am just an unimportant guy following this from the net, etc., and that I don’t even know what’s Lawley doing these days. I told him that the church had failed to return some documents to Lawley. He said that Lawley had lived in Wetzlar, Germany for some time.”

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“Future membership growth for the Church of Scientology has been effectively terminated by the Internet and Anonymous and the old guard critics. Its name is MUD. It’s definitely headed for Shakerdom and that was the original goal. As far as bringing DM to justice and the government doing anything about that, I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Mistrial declared November 30. Status conference scheduled January 10, retrial scheduled March 27.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Plea deadline scheduled for December 16.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to time served with three years supervised release, restitution of $9.7 million.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial hearing December 9.
— 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, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing November 17 to argue the arbitration motions, awaiting ruling.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— 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 February 7.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

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

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Why does Scientology lie about founder L. Ron Hubbard’s supposed war wounds?
[TWO years ago] More Scientology orgs boarded up, our readers report: What’s going on?
[THREE years ago] Scientology will try to force Danny Masterson accusers into its internal ‘arbitration’
[FOUR years ago] Scientology reveals it has a secret donor with an NFL connection giving millions
[FIVE years ago] Defeated in court, L. Ron Hubbard’s son boasted about spreading lies in new FBI document
[SIX years ago] LEAH REMINI TO LAPD: COUGH UP PROOF THAT YOU CHECKED ON SHELLY MISCAVIGE
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s latest filing in the Trout Run zoning fight: We bleed for all religions
[EIGHT years ago] Jonny Jacobsen: New Scientology legal setbacks in Belgium, France, and Holland
[NINE years ago] Monique Rathbun back in court today: DAVID MISCAVIGE WILL BE DEPOSED, JUDGE DECIDES
[TEN years ago] HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATING SCIENTOLOGY FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING

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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 2,877 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,382 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,932 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,922 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,813 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,118 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,988 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,093 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,566 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,882 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,448 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,367 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,535 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,115 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,377 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,413 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,128 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,693 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,008 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,183 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,734 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,865 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,203 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,058 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,177 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,533 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,836 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,942 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,340 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,216 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,799 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,294 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,548 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,657 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 13, 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.

What the jurors didn’t hear: How Scientology keeps crimes under wraps

Tony Ortega — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 14:00:07 +0000

[Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre]

Our frequent contributor Sunny Pereira, a former Scientology Sea Org official at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre, came to the Danny Masterson trial on the last day of testimony. She was there as an advocate for her friend, Rachel Smith, who was the final witness to testify in the trial. We asked her for some thoughts on the trial, and this is what she sent us.

What a great idea it is, to hide behind the banner of “Religious Freedom” in a country founded on that very thing. What an absolutely perfect setup it is.

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard decided to try “the religious angle” in 1953, and avoided taxes until the government took away Scientology’s church status in 1967. David Miscavige’s victory over the IRS in 1993 to get it back was the highlight of his career. And as Lawrence Wright said in Going Clear, it meant that Scientology was “protected,” to the detriment of the people in it.

The basic policies of Scientology, as written by Hubbard, do not allow a person to report crimes to the police or any other “civil authority.” Scientologists are expected to report these matters internally. There are various positions, or “posts” where these complaints are heard. They are “Chaplain” and “Ethics Officer.” The people in these positions are trained to keep matters inside the organization.

Meanwhile, Scientology is obsessed with record-keeping. But since the IRS exemption in 1993, Scientology has been careful about the records it keeps of wrongdoing. Not using the word “rape” in an interrogation, for example.

For this reason, bringing in the law, no matter how much you try, can be incredibly difficult.

Even as a young child in Scientology, we knew what to say to Child Protective Services so they would see and think that we were well cared for. The same applies to anyone who is reported for committing a crime. They can hang around the fringes of Scientology as “members,” but they can’t really participate much in any of the services. Scientology won’t let them loose, but also will not turn them in. With my own eyes and experience, I have seen many of these situations in my decades in Scientology.

And here we are with the Danny Masterson case. So how does it fit in?

Well, two ways.

First, Scientology will not offer up any information or help with any investigation into a member. They may pretend to cooperate, but any possible documents “go missing” or the people who might have been witnesses are “no longer around.”

From the information that we have, at least two of these three victims reported their alleged rapes to a member of Scientology, specifically at the Celebrity Centre. I was not personally involved in these cases, but having worked at Celebrity Centre for nearly a decade, I can say I’m familiar with how these things are dealt with.

Of course all the information is taken down, and the women would be subjected to different types of interrogations to determine “what they had done to pull it in.”

It could have been that Masterson also had things addressed with Scientology, and in their minds, when it was addressed decades ago, he was fixed and is no longer this horrible person. Scientology truly believes it can fully change a person’s behavior.

But at the same time, the last thing Scientology wants is one of its prominent members to be convicted of rape. So they hope that this criminal case will go away.

It saddened me to see early on in the trial that much of Scientology’s involvement was deemed inadmissible. And yet this case not only rides on the actions of Masterson, but also the subsequent actions of Scientology in covering it up.

The information allowed to be presented to the jury can never be anything close to an actual account of event. So many admonitions from the judge. And yet there is no full picture of what happened and why, without Scientology.

A divided jury, with not enough information to piece together what is going on. It’s so frustrating.

I am saddened that these ladies may not get justice. They have been brave and strong through all of this and I wish them the best, and they have much support from the community in this difficult time.

And I hope someday Scientology somehow gets the proper justice for its flawed system that covers up criminal behavior. .

Will there ever be a chance for protection of children and victims of crimes within a religious group in the United States?

— Sunny Pereira

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Saturday’s special update: Helping out those in need

While we’re still trying to assess what happened with the jury at the Danny Masterson trial, we turned our attention to a couple of former Scientologists who are struggling and could use your help. We emailed our end-of-the-day video to our subscribers here at Substack yesterday, but this morning we’re releasing it to everyone. And here’s also the version at our YouTube channel.

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Technology Cocktail

“If you think for a moment that it is the purpose of Scientology to produce something intensely spectacular like a ghost that can move cigarette papers or mountains, you have definitely gotten the wrong idea. We are interested in well men, we are interested in people with well bodies who think straight and who co-operate on optimum solutions. We are not making magicians. There are a great many things which a thetan or the analytical mind can do, but all these, until you are certain of them, belong in the field of para-Scientology and are only interesting data. We have no interest in their truth or untruth. If you start filling your pc full of an education about the whole track and electronic incidents and other doubtful things, you are giving him more and more uncertainties and he’ll start on down tone scale.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1953

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——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

— 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

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial

——————–

“We have, in this universe, space has a peculiarity. And there are three kinds of space. Three kinds of space: there’s ‘was space,’ ‘is space’ and ‘will be space.’ There are three kinds of space. And how is this space formed? By postulating it exists….Somebody was serious. And I think the whole, the title of this whole play ‘MEST universe’ could be on that line: ‘Somebody Was Serious.’ And the title of Dianetics could be ‘One Was Stubborn.’ All right.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 20, 1952

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“Recent surveys have revealed that the great and glorious Welfare State period is about to come to a screeching halt. A world recession is already in progress. U.S. currency, the only international money, is rapidly devaluating and may become completely worthless in the very near future. Scandinavia, wehre Welfare Socialism was the order of the day for decades, is on the verge of a crash. Welfarism is the idea that the people can get something without exchanging anything. Over 50 percent of the U.S. population at this time is on a hand-out kick. The Great White Father in Washington is supposed to be able to endlessly spend money which it itself is not covered by production. This brings about money worthlessness because the money isn’t buying anything.” — The Commodore, November 20, 1971

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“Knowing the truth about the body types and races means you can predict things. It’s a science subject which has been kept secret from us and which Scientology almost completely ignored until late in Hubbard’s career, when he fessed up and admitted that he needs to reincarnate into a genetically pure body in order to get anything done next life. For example I was listening to data about Bob Marley and I predicted he would have white heritage. I looked it up and he’s got a white dad.”

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2000: Hollywood.com this week voted Battlefield Earth the worst movie of the year. “Nothing this year has banded the Hollywood.com staff closer together than the John Travolta sci-fi fiasco. Unanimously panned and despised, the half vanity project, half homage to Church of Scientology father L. Ron Hubbard has inspired much critical ass whipping — from the mildly amusing ‘deeply dumb’ to the historically significant ‘one of the worst movies ever made.’ But perhaps what’s more important is that the film, which cost $73 million to make, grossed only $21.5 million, which means that if we’re lucky, there probably won’t be a sequel in our lifetime. Or would it?”

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“I worked off and on in the restaurant/hotel industry for years. When the kitchen got slammed i.e busy, pretty soon tempers would flare and everybody would be cursing one another left and right (sometimes it turned to mild violence). Cooks attacking servers, they in turn attacking the busboys who would in turn attack the dishwashers. When it was over everybody would go to the bar, get loaded and try to have sex with each other forgetting the previous transgressions. Words spoken in the heat of the moment mean nothing.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial began October 11 in Los Angeles.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— 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 December 13.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

——————–

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

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Jon Atack and Chris Shelton answer the question: Are cult members stupid?
[TWO years ago] This changes everything: Scientology ups its cool quotient in swanky London
[THREE years ago] Scientology leader David Miscavige: Screw your lawsuit, you didn’t serve me properly
[FOUR years ago] Someone doesn’t want you to see this rich Scientologist act like a rich Scientologist
[FIVE years ago] Charles Manson and Scientology: What the church doesn’t want you to know
[SIX years ago] Scientology is making this world ideal, one renovated building at a time
[SEVEN years ago] Five months later, Ponzi schemer and Scientologist Reed Slatkin is still dead
[EIGHT years ago] Pearl Harbor Day 2015 — Mark your calendar for a day that will live in Scientology infamy
[NINE years ago] Claire and Bruce Take Us Into the Bizarre World of Scientology’s Operating Thetan Two!
[TEN years ago] Fox 25 in Oklahoma City Keeps Up the Pressure on Scientology’s Drug Rehab Deaths
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology, Indubitably: NYC Anons Make Their Fancy Raid on the 46th Street ‘Org’

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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 2,854 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,359 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,909 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,899 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,790 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,095 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,965 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,070 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,543 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,859 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,425 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,344 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,512 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,092 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,354 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,390 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,105 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,670 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 985 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,160 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,711 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,842 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,180 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,035 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,154 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,510 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,813 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,919 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,317 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,193 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,776 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,271 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,525 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,634 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on November 20, 2022 at 09:00

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.

Watching Scientology lie to foreigners about ‘religious’ visas: A very personal account

Sunny Pereira — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 11:00:24 +0000

[The Hollywood Celebrity Centre]

A thorough new piece in New York magazine about Scientology’s abuse of R-1 visas not only reminded us of research by RM Seibert for the Bunker that we published in 2016. It also inspired Sunny Pereira to send us this memory of what the R-1 visa abuse actually looked like at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre in the 1990s. We think you’ll find it very illuminating.

My soon-to-be husband ran into my office, a panicked look on his face. “My visa is expired!”

This was a huge no-no in the Sea Org. You cannot let your visa expire under any circumstances, because after that it becomes very difficult, even impossible, to get it fixed.

“Let me see it,” I said. I was on the Hollywood Celebrity Centre’s Perimeter Council, which, as one of its duties, kept track of employee visas, including which ones were coming close to expiring. His was not on the list. He was French/Portuguese, and he had come in on an “R-1” visa to the United States.

I had learned within the first few weeks of my post (which was in charge of staff training, among other things), that a large number of staff had come into the country on R-1 visas. They are visas that are reserved for “religious workers,” and so these people had come to this country with the promise that they would go into training to become Scientology auditors and other ministerial positions.

Many of them, including my soon-to-be husband, were asking me when that would begin (it was not my job to get them replaced on their assigned posts, which is why they were not in training). Over time, all of these staff gave up and realized it was a false promise. They had been recruited for the Sea Org and sent to the United States to put them to work as housekeepers, groundskeepers, laundry workers and other jobs that were unrelated to “religious” work.

I looked at his paperwork, and saw that it expired on 8/4. It was only late April, so we had time. I explained to him that it expired on 4 August.

“No!” He said. “It expired on 8 April!”

I explained to him that in the US, we abbreviated the date so that the month came before the day, unlike the rest of the civilized world.

“No!” He repeated. “My birthday is on the 9th of December which is 9/12, see it shows right here!”

Honey, your birthday is on the 12th of September.

“Oh.”

We had already filed an extension for him so he was in the system.

We met weekly for Perimeter Council. The members were myself, the ethics officer, security, the DSA (the local representative of OSA, the Office of Special Affairs, Scientology’s secret police and public relations wing) and any other executive that felt compelled to join for one reason or another. One small, but very important part of the meeting was going over the visa status of each staff member. We all knew the easiest out for any of them was to get married and go the green card route. Any staff member who had any chance of marrying an American was pushed to do so in order to get them legal. It made them no longer a problem to be discussed at our meeting.

But some were not getting married and had visas expiring. So other steps were taken to get them status as religious workers. In many of the cases, they needed to do something called “The Minister’s Course” to extend. This was where I came in, because it was my job to get them through courses.

The Minister’s Course was difficult, even for a native English speaker. It required reading the Bible and several other religious texts, as well as learning Scientology basics. It required practical steps such as running a Sunday Service, and performing a funeral, a wedding, and a baby-naming ceremony. There weren’t enough Sundays (or births or deaths, for that matter) to get all of them through the list of requirements to be “religious workers” in the eyes of the US Government. Especially with how last-minute we all were in the Sea Org. Everything was like that.

The workers with R-1 visas were, for the most part, upset about being misled when they were recruited. They understood that they would be learning Scientology and possibly even bringing it back to their country (especially in the cases of new areas where Scientology was just forming.) This was never under the jurisdiction or decision-making process of a recruiter at all. The recruiters said what they had to, and promised what they had to, in order to get people signed up. Once they were signed up, they were in on the billion-year commitment, just like the rest of us.

Some were able to use letting their visa expire to get out and go home, but then they were in bad standing with Scientology. Some didn’t care because they were honestly never Scientologists to begin with.

— Sunny Pereira

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Technology Cocktail

“‘Flow’ is an electronic flow in a direction. In Phoenix, Arizona, in 1952 an ‘Oscilloscope’ (has a face like a radar, shows wave patterns and directions) was once hooked up to an E-Meter movement and showed that a mental flow will flow just so long in one direction. By reversing the repetitive commands when the left-right directional flow slowed, the flow turned around and flowed right-left then slowed, etc. So actual electrical flow occurs in response to the directional command (like ‘self to another’). Also it jams up when run too long on an average human because his mind has ‘overruns’ in it already.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1971

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Now available: Bonus for our supporters

Episode 14 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers: We check in with Clearwater city councilman Mark Bunker about Scientology’s latest attempts to sabotage progress there. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 13 available to everyone, with such guests as Jesse Prince, Paulette Cooper, Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan, Jefferson Hawkins, Patty Moher, Geoff Levin, Pete Griffiths, Sunny Pereira, Bruce Hines, Jeffrey Augustine, and Claire Headley. Go here to get the episodes!

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Now with no restrictions: Our podcast series on the Scientology docuseries that never aired

In five episodes, we recently looked at something we’ve been curious about for several years: The potentially explosive television show, produced by Sirens Media, that would have featured L. Ron Hubbard great-grandson Jamie DeWolf as its presenter, and that would have taken an active look at the families ripped apart by Scientology’s “disconnection” policy. Unfortunately, even though the series was ready to air on the A&E network in 2016, it never has. Our podcast series turned out even better than we were hoping, and we’ve made all five episodes available to everyone.

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“You could teach people quite a bit about just any one of these Security Checks, you see. Like the children’s check. Teaching them how to use a children’s check. That’s quite interesting. You, of course, mustn’t ask a question which the child can’t understand because you will have an immediate ARC break. He thinks he’s being accused of something; he doesn’t know what you’re talking about. So you have to rephrase all of the questions in the child’s Security Check, you see, so as to reach the comprehension level of a child.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 26, 1961

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“PARTY: That was a great party. The actors in the skits were marvelous. Bill’s Apollo Elastic Band was surprisingly competent. Didn’t know we had that many real musicians and Bill has been hiding a very low and dirty clarinet.” — The Commodore, September 26, 1970

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“This is my 50th year on the bridge and most sessions are best ever! Up to OTVIII in the Church, Ron’s Org. Grenchen these days. Just translated LRH lecture Beingness (Dec. 1953) into German and highly recommend it. Lot’s of OT data in there!”

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2001: The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Scientology celebrity Jenna Elfman has worked to open a new mission in San Francisco. “Jenna Elfman was helping an eager crew put finishing touches on the new Scientology mission set to open tomorrow. She told TIC she’s been spending a lot of time in San Francisco helping to build and paint the children’s art center in the basement. Elfman had befriended firefighters who stopped by yesterday morning. She was wearing a red aluminum bracelet sold by L.A. firefighters to raise money for New York disaster relief efforts. When fellow Scientologist Kirstie Alley called, the four firefighters shouted their hello. Elfman described a day of fire training she’d once done for a magazine story and praised her visitors’ courage and superhuman strength, and they joked about coming to the mission for dance lessons.”

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“Vallarrr use to blather on about how if someone had an irrational fear of spiders and they did some auditing and that fear was gone that was proof of auditing working.”

——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for October 24 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— 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, next status hearing October 25. Scientology petitioning US Supreme Court over appellate ruling.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

——————–

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] Russia’s latest strategy to curb Scientology: Shut down the money pipeline
[TWO years ago] Scientology ex-Sea Orger with ties to dark secrets running for city council in Oregon
[THREE years ago] City councilman demonstrates why Scientology puts so much effort into its front groups
[FOUR years ago] A conversation with Nathan Rich about the unique Scientology hellscape he survived
[FIVE years ago] To help you through withdrawals tonight, take our poll on Leah Remini’s Season Two so far
[SIX years ago] SCIENTOLOGY’S TOP 20 CELEBRITIES — in order of those most likely to defect
[SEVEN years ago] ‘Darth Xander’ files motion challenging Scientology’s anti-protesting injunction
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology prepares for its big party in England, Maureen Bolstad on the Purification Rundown
[NINE years ago] Did Scientology Pay $3 Million To Foil an “Independent Scientology Org” in Clearwater?
[ELEVEN years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 3: Marty Rathbun

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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 2,799 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,304 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,854 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,844 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,735 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,040 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,910 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,015 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,488 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,804 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,370 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,289 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,457 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,037 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,299 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,335 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,050 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,615 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 930 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,105 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,656 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,787 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,125 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,980 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,099 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,455 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,758 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,864 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,262 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,138 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,721 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,216 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,470 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,579 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 26, 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.

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.