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 Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
Last time, Claire introduced us to “study tech.” This week she’s got a huge amount of material for us. What’s this course called, Claire? CLAIRE: The Hubbard Qualified Scientologist course. This was my first official “hard course” in Scientology. I started this at age 12. The course took me about eight months to complete, and approximately 200 hours of study. Continue reading Scientology Means Never Having to Tell an Ashtray You’re Sorry
 The Underground Bunker is already largely fueled by its readers. Our worldwide tipster network keeps us informed of the latest breaking stories, and feeds us inside information that you can’t get anywhere else. For 17 years we’ve been writing about the world of Scientology, and since this time two years ago, we’ve carved out something unique: a daily blog that breaks Scientology news, analyzes stories breaking elsewhere, and brings together one of the very best commenting communities anywhere.
[BREAKING NEWS: See below for news about Oklahoma’s drug rehab bill] We owe a lot of that to you. And now, we’re asking you to help us out even more. Most of you are probably fully aware of how the journalism industry has been decimated by the Internet. But the ‘net has also given rise to amazing new opportunities, like this singular website. We’d like to keep it going, but in order to do so, and in order to make plans that will help us keep it going for the indefinite future, we have decided to post a Paypal Donate button. Continue reading We Need Your Help, Scientology Watchers
 Karen Black at last year’s gala The tuxes have been fitted, the limos have been rented, the speeches have been written, and the strange dances have been choreographed. And now it’s time to party the way only Scientology knows how! Well, we don’t actually know if this year’s Writers of the Future gala will feature odd interpretive dancing like last year, but we can only hope. Please join us as we watch the live Internet stream of tonight’s celebration — it’s the 29th annual contest celebrating talented new science fiction and fantasy writers and illustrators, with help from an illustrious list of established artists as well as Scientology celebrities! Continue reading Writers of the Future Live-Blogging! Black Tie Not Required
 We have so much for you today, we hardly know where to begin. On Sundays, we bring you the latest wacky Scientology fliers and mailers and other things that our worldwide tipster network has brought us during the week. And today is special — tonight, Scientology is holding its annual posh gala for science fiction writers and illustrators, and like last year, we’re going to live-blog the ceremony as it streams on the ‘net!
Please check back here later today for our live-blog entry, which we’ll post at around 7:30 PM Eastern/4:30 PM Pacific (12:30 AM London/9:30 AM Sydney) to get the conversation started. The event itself begins at 9:30 PM Eastern/6:30 PM Pacific (2:30 AM London/11:30 AM Sydney). As for this morning, we have a great collection of weird stuff for you. Let’s start with the Writers of the Future contest itself… Continue reading Scientology Sunday Funnies: Buffalo Gals Go ‘Round the Outside, and the Return of DEDE!
 Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He now has a new edition of the book out, and on Saturdays he’s helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on the Internet.
Jon, there’s a large and active “independent” movement that has split away from the church and gets a lot of news coverage. But throughout its history Scientology has experienced schisms and breakaway groups. In particular, David Mayo’s “Advanced Ability Center” in Santa Barbara comes to mind. What are the basics that we should know about Mayo, his involvement in the upper level materials, and why church leader David Miscavige considered him such a threat? Continue reading The Saga of David Mayo: Scientology’s Banished Tech Wizard
 Last year, we noticed that some former winners of Scientology’s “Writers of the Future” awards were nervously wondering if they’d been had.
With so much bad publicity plaguing the church, was it really such a good thing to win an award from an organization becoming increasingly known for things like locking up its executives in a hellish office-prison? The contest attracts very prestigious writers in the science fiction and fantasy realms to judge entries by new, unpublished writers for a big boost in their careers. There’s no doubt that it’s a great contest, and it’s awash in money, putting on a weeklong celebration in Hollywood. But could all that glitz and glamor be tied directly to Scientology’s more nefarious activities? Last year, we proved that connection definitively. Continue reading Scientology’s Lavish Annual Party for Pampered Sci-Fi Writers, This Sunday!
 Prenatal engram material? Dianetics , with the help of ex-Scientologist, Bay Area lawyer, blogger, and author Vance Woodward. Go here for the first post in the series.Vance, in this next chapter of the section on therapy, “The Auditor’s Role,” Hubbard lays down some pretty important guidelines which still seem to be in force today. One of the key ideas in Hubbard’s therapy is that the listener — which he has named the “auditor” — must not interfere with the person he’s listening to. There’s a quick sneer at “the couch” in this chapter, and it’s a telling one. For Hubbard, the practitioner in that other talking cure — the psychoanalyst — is too controlling, too judgmental, and too powerful. Continue reading Dianetics: Your Life Was Ruined Before Birth by Your Parents and Their Dumb Culture
We have a very special treat for you today. We noticed recently that French publications were suddenly making a big deal about a British crime writer and his long association with the Church of Scientology. Naturally, we turned to our man in Paris for help understanding why.Jonny Jacobsen is a Brit who lives in Paris and writes one of the best blogs on Scientology, Infinite Complacency. He was good enough to provide us with this explainer — tomorrow, a longer version will show up at his site. [ALSO TODAY: A report from Nathan Baca about Narconon in Nevada.] Now here’s a twist in the tale: English thriller writer R.J. Ellory, who only last year had to apologise for an egregious lapse of professional ethics, turns out to be a longtime Scientologist. Continue reading Brit Writer’s 27 Years in Scientology is Suddenly News in France — Our Man in Paris Explains Why
 Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. In 2005, Claire and her husband Marc escaped from Scientology’s International Base after many years as “Sea Org” workers. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
Claire, we’re glad you’re back after a little time off. Last time we were talking about overt and withholds. Where are you taking us next? CLAIRE: Next up is the Basic Study Manual. It’s another beginning course and a person’s first introduction to “study tech.” Continue reading How Scientology’s “Study Tech” Turns Schoolwork Into Conditioning
 Before Brandon Ogborn’s play The TomKat Project blows up even bigger than it already has, we thought we better get to know him a little — before he becomes so famous he won’t return our phone calls.
Fortunately for us, Synthia Fagen caught the Chicago production and first clued us in that it was a riot. So we asked her if she would interview Ogborn for the Underground Bunker. The idea behind The TomKat Project is deceptively simple: Ogborn took all the insane media coverage of Katie Holmes’s split with Tom Cruise last summer and constructed from it a parody of our obsessions with celebrity (with Scientology getting a skewering along the way). With a small cast that has actors playing numerous roles each, the play weaves together actual language from media coverage with lines invented by Ogborn. The result is a smash, say critics, and the small production is sold out in Chicago through April, with hopes for bigger things soon. Continue reading An Interview with Brandon Ogborn About His Play, The TomKat Project
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Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
![RJ Ellory [Photo: E. Garault]](http://tonyortega.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/RJ_Ellory.jpg)
