We have some updates on some of the legal cases we’ve been watching, and thought we’d collect them in a single piece. First, we are kind of surprised to find that Danny Masterson is apparently not trying to appeal his most recent defeat in his criminal rape case.

If you’ve [...]]]>

We have some updates on some of the legal cases we’ve been watching, and thought we’d collect them in a single piece. First, we are kind of surprised to find that Danny Masterson is apparently not trying to appeal his most recent defeat in his criminal rape case.

If you’ve been following our coverage you know that since he was charged in June 2020, Masterson and his attorneys have been trying every possible angle to slow up the case, with multiple appeals and even some downright unusual moves.

Initially, that effort did delay things (as did the pandemic), but once the matter ended up in the courtroom of Judge Charlaine Olmedo, she’s really held both sides to a strict schedule, with the aim of starting a criminal trial on October 11. (Masterson is facing three counts of forcible rape, and if he’s convicted of all three, he’s looking at 45 years to life in prison.)

Most recently, Masterson’s team filed a couple of motions that were meant to derail the case. They asked for count one — the allegations of a woman going by the name Jane Doe 1 — to be dismissed because of prosecutorial delay. They also asked for the remaining two counts to be severed into separate trials.

Judge Olmedo dismissed that second motion in May, and then asked for more briefing before denying the motion to dismiss Jane Doe 1 on June 30. We got a copy of the transcript from that day, and went into some detail about it earlier.

Who could blame Judge Olmedo, after all that’s gone on in this case, when she said at the June 30 hearing that she expected her ruling denying Danny’s latest motion to face yet another petition for appeal, saying at one point, “if there is a reviewing court down the road — and I’m not trying to foreshadow anything…”

Like Judge Olmedo, we’ve been expecting that petition to come. So we’ve been watching the dockets at various courthouses since then, waiting for some sign that the Masterson team had filed something somewhere asking for a review of Judge Olmedo’s ruling, and assuming it would come within two weeks of the June 30 decision. On Friday, after seeing nothing, we called up the court and the clerk also indicated that he saw no sign of an appeal.

Is Danny now resigned to preparing for an October 11 trial? Or is another move coming? In May he fired his attorneys Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum, but that only bought him a six-week delay. Can he get another delay if he now fires Philip Cohen and Shawn Holley? And if they don’t leave, is Shawn Holley really prepared to become the very visible trial counsel for an accused violent, serial rapist right when the series she is co-producing with Kerry Washington and Larry Wilmore, “Reasonable Doubt,” is premiering on Hulu just two weeks before the trial starts? And can David Miscavige really allow a trial to happen that will be soaked through with allegations of Scientology meddling and interference?

If Danny’s done with appeals, his list of options to get out of the trial is growing shorter every day.

Another tidbit about Masterson’s October 11 trial: Earlier we told you that a strange scheduling conflict was really putting us into a quandary: Both the Masterson criminal trial in Los Angeles, and Paul Haggis’s civil trial in New York, are scheduled to start the same day.

Since then there’s been a new development. Haleigh Breest, the woman suing Haggis, has asked the court, with Haggis’s consent, to move the trial start up to October 3. In a letter to the court, Breest’s attorneys explain that they are requesting the change to accommodate an expert they are asking to testify, who can’t make the later date.

We’re still waiting to see if the court approves this request, which would at least help the scheduling crunch a little.

Meanwhile, in the civil lawsuit Bixler v. Scientology, filed by Danny Masterson’s accusers, the US Supreme Court set a date of August 22 for the Bixler plaintiffs to respond to Scientology’s petition. Scientology is asking the court to review a stunning January ruling that struck down its “religious arbitration” derailing of the lawsuit. The ruling, from a California appeals court, restored the lawsuit, and Scientology complains that the decision was a shocking violation of the church’s religious freedom.

Odds are long that the Supreme Court will want to get involved, but if the Bixler side wants to respond, they have until that date, August 22.

And finally, Scientology’s “International Justice Chief” Mike Ellis is apparently taking his sweet time responding to Valerie Haney’s nomination of Elisabeth Moss as an arbitrator in her derailed lawsuit.

After trying and failing to get the motion that forced her lawsuit into religious arbitration overturned, Valerie was faced with little choice but to write personally to Ellis on July 1, asking Scientology to begin the arbitration process. And when she was asked to nominate a Scientologist in good standing to be an arbitrator (one of three for the panel), she named Moss.

It was a cheeky move and an excellent form of protest. But we’re kind of surprised that it’s taken this long for Ellis to respond. (We assume he’s just going to say Moss is unavailable, and will ask Valerie to suggest another name.)

Since this will be only the second religious arbitration in the 70-year history of Scientology, what’s taking Ellis so long? It’s not like he’s busy or something.

Bonus items from our tipsters

Mark your calendars!

 
——————–

Now available: Bonus for our supporters

Episode 5 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers, and it’s a conversation with Sunny Pereira dishing secrets of Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 4 available to everyone, with Bruce Hines on the crazy life in the Sea Org, Jeffrey Augustine on recent Scientology court cases, Claire Headley exposing Tom Cruise, and Marc Headley on what it must be like for David Miscavige living in Clearwater, Florida. Go here to get the episodes!

 
——————–

Source Code

“You don’t have to know anything about electronics. You don’t have to be able to do one of these things, or make one, you just have to be able to run one….A retractor beam is used somewhat on the order that you bulldog a calf or rope a steer, or something of the sort. It’s to grab hold of something and hold it and pull it in….Why do men stay on Earth? Have you ever had a pc that gave you the idea that he was held down and was going to take root and grow? Have you ever had the idea that you’re sort of anchored in one spot? Did you ever feel heavy? Did you ever get up in the morning and feel tired? You get out of bed, you’re feeling all right, but the second you stand up you feel kind of tired. All you’re doing is kicking in one of these darn retractor somatics.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 24, 1952

Avast, Ye Mateys

“I think you’ll find the water tastes better. The contaminated water (defiled by a decayed hose being used to take it aboard probably) has been taken out of No. 4 tanks and pumped into Deep Tank forward. Clean water is reported as now in the lines.” — The Commodore, July 24, 1970

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Chris Shelton mainly has a voice because some higher profile ‘experts’ are supporting him. These guys have ‘important insider’ information on what happens only when the tech is squirreled and abused. Do they ever report all the successes? The one true expert on Scientology is LRH. He is the one to study and listen to.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

2000: From Jeff Jacobsen: “Tonight Bob Minton, Mark Bunker, Duncan Pierce, Grady Ward, Gerry Armstrong and I picketed in front of the Ft. Harrison Hotel from about 9 to 10pm. A woman came and said to each of us ‘you picked a bad night, there are hundreds of us coming! You should leave now!’ 60-100 Scientologists converged on us, waving small US flags for some reason. They immediately began shouting and screaming at us and getting in our faces. They continued this the whole hour. A small boy, maybe 9, kept his flag in front of my camera for 10 minutes straight, so I finally asked an officer if something could be done about that. She said no, but at least the kid got scared and quit. There were times I was deliberately bumped into and pushed, but nothing too bad. The cops seemed completely bewildered as to what to do, and actually parked a paddy wagon in front of Flag and opened the back door. The cops took Dennis Clarke aside finally and told him to go home They also pulled another woman out who had been literally screaming in Gerry’s ear. She was given a warning. People were slapping Dennis Clarke on the back as he left, a job well done. The little kids that they bring are learning this hate and will no doubt continue it to the next generation.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“Just like with Esmeralda the Gypsy fortune teller proclaiming that her powers won’t work if non-believers are present, the same cautions exist within Scientology, as well as the rule that demonstrating OT powers to those on a lower gradient is an out-tech high crime. Ron knew the tricks on the spiritual bunco trade.”

 
——————–

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, pretrial conference August 17.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 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.
— 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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

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.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology is known for stalking people years after their involvement. Here’s how they do it.
[TWO years ago] Weeks after the protests, Scientology in LA remains boarded up and abandoned. What gives?
[THREE years ago] Inside Scientology’s emergency San Fernando Valley confab, planning for US takeover
[FOUR years ago] Scientology used an ice cream ‘date’ to run up $20,000 on senior’s credit cards
[FIVE years ago] RAY JEFFREY TO JUDGE: ORDER RATHBUNS TO TURN OVER FINANCIAL RECORDS AND TESTIFY
[SIX years ago] A billboard sprouts in Florida, and other Scientology chaos in our social media review
[SEVEN years ago] Long before Xenu: Scientology’s actual origin story, as told by a former member
[EIGHT years ago] A lawsuit over counseling credentials now aims at the essence of Scientology
[NINE years ago] Scientology Continues to ‘Handle’ the ‘Black PR’ of Leah Remini’s Defection
[TEN years ago] Scientology Wins Appeal In Lawsuit Alleging Forced Labor and Forced Abortions

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 24, 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.

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, 1995-2021 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)

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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 One of our favorite correspondents here at the Bunker has been Sunny Pereira, a former Sea Org member who served in the Hollywood Celebrity Centre. She’s written devastating pieces for us not only about what happens there, but also how her own family was ripped apart by Scientology’s toxic policies.

We were communicating with her recently [...]]]>

 
One of our favorite correspondents here at the Bunker has been Sunny Pereira, a former Sea Org member who served in the Hollywood Celebrity Centre. She’s written devastating pieces for us not only about what happens there, but also how her own family was ripped apart by Scientology’s toxic policies.

We were communicating with her recently and realized she has a key piece of the puzzle in regards to when Scientology developed the “religious arbitration” legal strategy that is derailing lawsuits filed by former church members.

We also knew she’d have some interesting things to say about Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson and the curious way the church is backing him so strongly through a five-year criminal investigation of the That ’70s Show actor.

And of course, we discussed the crazy things she saw at the Celebrity Centre, and she told us some new things about the celebrities that was a real surprise.

Today, we’re releasing the fifth episode of our podcast to our paid subscribers at Substack. You should receive it presently at your email inbox if you’re on the list.

We hope you enjoy the hour we spent talking to Sunny, who knocked us out with some new secrets of the Celebrity Centre.

Not a paid subscriber? Well, we have something for you, too. Last week’s episode was with Bruce Hines discussing the Sea Org’s insanity. In the weeks before, Jeffrey Augustine helped us review Scientology’s latest moves in litigation, Claire Headley exposed Tom Cruise in some new ways that really blew us away, and Claire’s husband Marc told us some great stories about Scientology leader David Miscavige that we had never heard before.

Those first four episodes are now free to all of our subscribers, paid and unpaid. All of our podcast episodes can be found here.

 
——————–

Source Code

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

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

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

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“There is no ‘LRH 2.’ Ron does come back — I have no doubt in that — Ron is on our side, you can trust that. But I can tell you what LRH is thinking or would think about us: ‘Why don’t you do your job, you have the tech. What are you waiting for? When do you start?’ Do you know what is going on in Switzerland regarding the coronavirus? In Switzerland an MD was institutionalized because he called coronavirus a fake. Ron warned us even back in 1952. And also in KSW: There is no democracy. Friends, the situation is more serious than you may think.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

1999: “Fier” protested this week at the Canberra, Australia org. “Louise and I spontaneously decided to hand out some Xenu flyers, and we got quite a reaction! Starting at midday, we began to hand out the flyers to pedestrians near the cult headquarters. Within seconds, several staff came down to attack the attackers… Soon after we began, the troops of staff came down and started to give out ‘What is Scientology’ pamphlets. The majority of people were happy to get both sides of the story though. The Ethics officer verbally abused me again and again, with very sly libelous comments to me, like ‘have you fucked any sheep lately?’ ‘How do you screw the sheep, Hemi, from behind?’ He called me a child molester, and a turncoat SP… At 2:00pm (stat time) the DSA gave me a letter from their lawyers. ‘TO BE DELIVERED BY HAND RE: CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY: We are the solicitors for the Church of Scientology. We are instructed that you are engaged in distributing documents which contain unpublished Church Scriptures which are subject to copyright. You are acting in breach of the Copyright Act. We have instructions to commence proceedings in the ACT Supreme Court for an injunction if you continue this activity. We would ask the Court to order that the costs of the application be borne by you.'”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

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

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration.
— 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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

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.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

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

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 23, 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.

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, 1995-2021 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)

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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

What a treat it was this week to speak with Ursula Caberta, someone we haven’t heard from in several years. Longtime readers will remember that Ursula was a political figure in Germany who spearheaded a state-sponsored effort to expose Scientology abuses in that country.

She retired several years ago, but on Wednesday we spoke to [...]]]>

What a treat it was this week to speak with Ursula Caberta, someone we haven’t heard from in several years. Longtime readers will remember that Ursula was a political figure in Germany who spearheaded a state-sponsored effort to expose Scientology abuses in that country.

She retired several years ago, but on Wednesday we spoke to her by phone and she asked for the help of the Bunker community. We’re certain that our readers are eager to help if they can!

Ursula was speaking about a case that has mystified the authorities in Germany for a few years now. On September 25, 2019, a 23-year-old Leipzig woman named Yolanda Klug told her roommates that she was going on a shopping trip to a nearby IKEA before meeting a friend. But she never met up with the friend, and she never returned. According to phone records, her phone was turned off at 2:15 pm that afternoon, and never turned on again.

Her passport was still at home, and she had about 8,000 euros in the bank that went untouched, which cast some doubt on the idea that she had simply decided to go elsewhere.

Over time, the case has gained notoriety in the country, not the least because Yolanda’s family is heavily involved in Scientology, and Yolanda herself apparently had left the church a couple of years before her disappearance. The night before her disappearance, she had met her Scientologist father for dinner. In an interview, he said that his daughter was talking about taking a trip to Jordan.

According to German police, Yolanda had a health condition that caused her to have fainting spells. After her disappearance was reported, police used dogs to find traces of Yolanda’s scent at the IKEA and the area where she was supposed to meet her friend but never did.

Ursula tells us that no one has accused Scientology or Yolanda’s Scientologist parents of being involved in Yolanda’s disappearance. But after nearly three years of dead ends, they are finally starting to ask some more questions about the church.

And for that reason, they reached out to Ursula to get some background on the organization.

In particular, Ursula says the police are interested in learning more about Yolanda’s sister, who reportedly is a Sea Org member in Los Angeles, and also has the last name of Klug. Ursula says that the sister came to Germany and met with Yolanda shortly before her disappearance.

Ursula wants to know if anyone in the Bunker community has any information about the sister, and particularly what her role might be in the Sea Org in Los Angeles. If you know something, please drop us a line.

Again, we want to stress that no accusations have been made about Yolanda’s father in Germany or her mother, who is in Switzerland, and their involvement in Scientology. But the police, after three years of fruitless searching, want more information about Scientology to help them get the total picture.

 
——————–

Today’s Scientology happy news. Yes, an excerpt from an actual press release put out by the church this week.

Share the energy and spirit of Mexico’s premier Church of Scientology as it works with the community to create an even brighter future for all. Mexico City, one of the largest metropolitan areas on Earth, combines ancient traditions, colonial influence and 21st-century cosmopolitan culture in its own unique style.

Its pre-Columbian pyramid, Templo Mayor, an ever-present reminder of the city’s Aztec forebears, stands next to the Metropolitan Cathedral, whose striking architecture recalls the city’s Spanish past.

And just a half mile west, 7,000 Scientologists and their guests welcomed the National Church of Scientology of Mexico as Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige dedicated the new Church on July 10, 2010.

In honor of their anniversary, the Church of Scientology extends an invitation to one and all to watch “ Destination: Mexico City ”—an episode of “ Destination Scientology ” on the Scientology Network.

“Mexicans tend to be friendly people and they like to enjoy the moment,” says one of the Scientologists interviewed in the episode. “We have this phrase,” says another, “‘My house is your house.’ It’s really like that. You’re part of a really big family.”

Advertisement

In this episode, experience the energy and spirit of the city. Journey through one of the most important cultural centers in the Western Hemisphere with local Church members as your guide. And with stops at Alameda Central, the oldest public park in the Americas, and the historic city center with its iconic Angel of Independence monument, get a taste of the breathtaking beauty of this 7,000-foot-high city.

 
——————–

Now available: Bonus for our supporters

Episode 4 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers, and it’s a conversation with Bruce Hines about the mind-warping life in the Sea Org and a new story about Shelly Miscavige we hadn’t heard before. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 3 available to everyone, with Jeffrey Augustine on recent Scientology court cases, Claire Headley exposing Tom Cruise, and Marc Headley on what it must be like for David Miscavige living in Clearwater, Florida. Go here to get the episodes!

 
——————–

Source Code

“I took a hard-boiled, hardheaded, sonic shut-off, somatic shut-off, reality shut-off case and had him pretend he was dead, in the hope that he would swing into the dead person in whose valence he was, and then he could tell us all about the funeral. So I said, ‘Go to the time when you were dead.’ So he obligingly went to 1797 in Sicily, when he was in a farmhouse dying. He died with full somatics. I thought this was very interesting, so I brought him up to present time and thought about it a little more, and took another case….We are discovering incidents back there. I never investigated them before, although I probably should have. We don’t currently know much about them except that people feel better when they are run. This is not part of the standard technique of Dianetics at present although I have known this material was there for some time.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 22, 1950

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“NOTICE: Any FEBC student who arrived here before April 20th is overdue for completion. Your Orgs need you; therefore, you should do everything in your power to complete all your outstanding cycles quickly and thoroughly so that you can be fired. As per HCO PL of Feb 22, 1968, ‘The secret of any executive success is the ability to COMPLETE cycles of action QUICKLY.’” — Mary Sue Hubbard, Controller, July 22, 1971

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Never in history have I seen a religion so attacked and so maligned as Scientology, and mainly by its own ex-members and especially by its ex-executives. Look at all the people writing — for years and years — about how bad Scientology is. Well, they aren’t nuts per definition, they just have overts and especially missed withholds.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

1998: Bob Minton was picketed at his New Hampshire home this week, leading to a confrontation when Scientologists entered his property. “Two Scientologists picketed my NH house this evening and trespassed to photograph me and Stacy Young while we were swimming in the pool. They also yelled obscenities from 200 feet away. After the shots over the heads of OSA boys, somebody called the police to have them checkout the shooting incident in NH. I was called by police and told there were 4 police cars in front of my house and I should walk out of the house, hands above my head and surrender to the police. I was handcuffed and held in my driveway for 20 minutes while the police decided what was going on. Now I am free again and I urge everyone to read my post tonight entitled ‘Scientology versus Democracy Redux.'”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“My opinion is that the ‘true believer’ type personality is as much, if not more, the reason why some people end up in cults, than the ‘mind control’ explanation.”

 
——————–

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, pretrial conference August 17.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 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.
— 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.
— 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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

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.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Here’s our motion to quash the subpoena Danny Masterson’s attorney slapped us with
[TWO years ago] Scientology is a special hell for the ‘staff’ who work at your local ‘org’
[THREE years ago] Sudden change in Maiden Voyage events in Los Angeles a clue to Ideal Org problems?
[FOUR years ago] A tale of two cities: Scientology courts pols and police in one place, acts sneaky in another
[FIVE years ago] Janis Grady’s new book on life in Scientology: Jon Atack’s take, and an excerpt
[SIX years ago] Was it something we said? Scientology wants Cindy Plahuta’s letter in fraud lawsuit struck
[SEVEN years ago] How Scientology is Tom Cruise? How he put ethics ‘ruthlessly’ in on his own family
[EIGHT years ago] More trouble for Scientology fundraising and recruitment in Europe
[NINE years ago] DISCONNECTION: A Double Dose of Scientology’s Toxic Use of ‘Leverage’
[TEN years ago] Neil Gaiman, 7, Interviewed About Scientology by the BBC in 1968

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 22, 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.

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, 1995-2021 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)

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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 The dog days are really on us now. Some serious heat enveloped New York yesterday, and we know that some of our readers are in places that are going through unprecedented heat waves. Scotland, for example, had its hottest day in recorded history on Tuesday.

As much as we were tempted to merely take a day [...]]]>

 
The dog days are really on us now. Some serious heat enveloped New York yesterday, and we know that some of our readers are in places that are going through unprecedented heat waves. Scotland, for example, had its hottest day in recorded history on Tuesday.

As much as we were tempted to merely take a day off and hope for cooler weather, we were thankful to hear from one of our longtime readers and correspondents, who brought us an item that seemed perfect for this week’s temperatures. So grab a cool drink, crank up the fan, and beat the heat with this summer-fun anecdote. Scientology, it never fails to provide entertainment…

In the mid 1990s – before climate change was real to most people – Jarrett Buys, a Scientologist living in Clearwater, Florida, created a buzz in the Scientology community by predicting, using Hubbard’s method of data analysis, that planet Earth was headed for another Ice Age.

I was an active Scientologist at the time and heard about this from a friend. My friend also arranged for me to attend one of his briefings, which I did in around 1994.

Jarrett had studied the Hubbard Elementary Data Series Evaluator’s Course, which intended to teach Scientologists how to evaluate a pile of data and establish which things were true, false, important, less important, unimportant, etc. Like all Hubbard’s courses, this one included the study of theoretic principles as well as practical application.

If I remember correctly, Jarrett did an “eval” (short for “evaluation”) on the Earth’s environment for the practical requirement of the course – he had to choose a topic that warranted heavy, detailed “evaluation” and chose the Earth’s environment and what was going on in it. He had obtained a huge amount of scientific information and analyzed it according to Hubbard’s rules.

His conclusions, in a nutshell, were that the Earth was headed for another Ice Age and he predicted this would occur within the next 15 years or so (around the year 2010). Even though the issue of global warming was already on general public’s radar screen at the time, Jarrett insisted the scientists were wrong and the real deal was that the Earth was headed for another Ice Age.

Like any good Scientologist, he had sent copies of this “eval” with his findings to International Management, and they responded that this seemed like an important study, and they suggested that Jarrett head up some kind of unit to deal with this.

So Jarrett took his little show on the road and gave talks about this to Scientologists. My friend arranged for me to attend one of his talks on the environment in Los Angeles, which I did – along with a few dozen other Scientologists.

Jarrett spoke for about two to three hours that night; he talked a lot about studying chemtrails over the North Pole and a lot about exploration done in the South Pole to measure depth of ice, to determine how long it had been since the last Ice Age, how often they occur, etc.

Jarrett’s findings at the time boiled down to this: that the soil on planet Earth had demineralized to the point where another Ice Age would hit soon. The purpose of the Ice Age is to remineralize the soil. He said that life would not cease to exist during an Ice Age, but both the north and south parts of the planet would be uninhabitable due to glacier activity – i.e. the ice caps would descend from the North and South Poles to a point much closer to the equator. Most people who were able to would move to the land areas that were relatively close to the equator where the temperature would be warm enough to support life.

I think everyone who attended this briefing assumed his conclusion regarding another Ice Age due to soil demineralization had to be true because it was arrived at using Hubbard’s method of data analysis. I recall that it evoked anxiety or fear in the attendees, because while Jarrett wasn’t exactly predicting the end of the world, it sounded like a huge upheaval of people’s lives bordering on catastrophe – rather like what’s now going on in 2022.

— A Bunker correspondent

We sent an email to Jarrett Buys, asking if he was still predicting an ice age, and we received a lengthy reply from him. He tells us that our correspondent was wrong, that he was not predicting an ice age by the year 2010, but that one is coming, whether “in the the next 30 years or the next 1,000.” And he did acknowledge that he had graduated from the Data Series course twice, and was using it to evaluate data about the planet’s environment.

To simplify, the Data Series teaches you where to look by determining through a list of “out-points” where the “major departure from the ideal scene” is located – the area – so that you can further evaluate that situation and narrow the target, so to speak and come up with the WHY and the WHO (as there is always a WHO that is responsible for the WHY). Of course you have to know what the IDEAL SCENE is so you can determine what would be the major departure from it, in order to start your evaluation.

Back then, in ’94 and for a few years more, I did give a number of “briefings” within both the Scientology community, not only in the LA area but in Clearwater and NYC pertaining to the topic of Earth, its climate, the media’s obsession with “global warming” and the basics of having a safe foundation per Hubbard’s Precept 12-2, in THE WAY TO HAPPINESS book, which I am sure you have read or at least seen.

As for the data he used for his analysis, Jarrett helpfully directed our attention to a chart in a 1993 book which discusses temperature changes on the planet going back 600 million years.

As you will notice from the graph, the mean average temperature of Earth has only been declining for the past 150 million years. In the past 500,000 years that decline has intensified in frequency as well as gotten even colder. The apparent cyclic pattern is represented by approx. 90,000 years of glacial activity, followed by a much briefer and warmer 10,000 year Inter-glacial period, followed by another 90,000 year glacial period, on and on, right up to today where THIS current warming period we are now in – call the HOLOCENE – is coming to an end. I could go into a much longer and lengthy explanation of how I know this but I have not got the time to do this right now. Trust me, we are coming to the end of this Interglacial period – whether it is in the the next 30 years or the next 1000, it is “winding down”; there are indicators.

Advertisement

Last time around – the end of the last Interglacial epoch – it happened in about 20 years – went from a warm Interglacial period (like we are currently in right now) to a glacial period. That’s why the the members of the Explorers Club (of NYC), which L. Ron Hubbard was a member, went on an expedition to Greenland (circa: 1953) and uncovered a woolly mammoth in a block of ice, that had fresh flowers in its mouth! Yes, that animal did not have time to even chew that vegetation as it was flash-frozen. There is scientific record of such occurrences many times on this planet; they are called pole-shifts. You should do some reading about this topic.

Ah! We are so glad that Jarrett brought up this particular piece of evidence. We have, in fact, read extensively on the subject of the “fresh flowers” supposedly found in a woolly mammoth that Hubbard found so impressive (he actually cited it as fresh vegetables in a mammoth’s stomach).

In 2018 we looked into this, and found that the great Jason Colavito, one of our favorite destroyers of myths, had thoroughly debunked the story.

“Legend has it that in 1951 the Explorers Club served meat from a frozen mammoth, as you can read in this 2014 Mental Floss article that takes the story at least somewhat seriously. But a new analysis of the preserved remains of that dinner (don’t ask why anyone kept the leftovers for 65 years) determined that the food was actually turtle, which had been passed off not as mammoth but as megatherium, an extinct ground sloth. The Christian Science Monitor misunderstood what a megatherium was in 1951 and reported that the food was mammoth, causing the legend,” Colavito noted.

As for the idea that the mammoth had frozen so quickly it had fresh vegetables in its stomach, Colavito also explains that there’s a long history of crackpots repeating that thoroughly debunked story as well. (Some flower pollen found in a carcass somehow became fresh flowers and then vegetables as the story got retold by various Creationists and other catastrophists.)

For Creationists, these badly mangled stories about flash-frozen mammoths have been used to argue that the Earth is extremely young. Hubbard used the story for a much more entertaining reason: To suggest that the “mammoth” had been instantly freeze-dried because some Operating Thetan had ripped the atmosphere off the planet with a flick of the finger. (Hubbard’s message was that you too could have such godlike powers if you studied his Scientology methods.)

Jarrett says the story of the mammoth is proof of sudden pole shifts, which he warns is really the problem with climate change.

We will give Jarrett the last word, and we thank him for responding to our email. It was such fun to think about that bogus mammoth story again.

Anyway, there are other scientific evidence of these things called Pole Shifts which can be learned about rather easily, if one’s head was not constantly being filled with the latest media BS, not substantiated by any science at all……..like global warming!

So, my point: Mankind is prone to only look at very short periods of time and make decisions based on what GEOLOGICALLY is a mere blink of time. The why for this is that many people are set on the concept that it’s “Miller time” – you know, you only go round once, so go for the gusto! – in other words, they are “one lifers.” So it is easy to make decisions that only entail their life or the future lives of their children and possibly their grandchildren – a couple of hundred years at best. “Grab what you can and go for the gusto” as you only have this one chance. Another big falsehood and really quite silly.

As to something to write about? The next glacial epoch, or better referred to by some as “ice age,” is still thousands of years away from now, not in your lifetime, your children’s, their children’s….etc. Unless we have a pole shift! So is this an extinction event for mankind? NO! How do I know that? Look back at the graph on page 27, I referred you to. See where HOMO SAPIEN begins? About 400,000 years ago! There have been three to four ice ages since then, many more pole shifts and God only knows what else. And, here we are still! So mankind made it! We ADAPTED to whatever was going on and are still here as a species on planet Earth. This was also the message at any briefing I ever gave – if those who were there were actually listening. But I am sure you know how that goes sometimes!

UPDATE: Jarrett expressed disappointment that we didn’t cite the source of the chart he drew from for his environmental data. We’re happy to add it: He was referring to a chart on page 27 of Tony McMichael’s 1993 book Planetary Overload. And we’ll do even better and post the image of that chart itself here:

 
——————–

Now available: Bonus for our supporters

Episode 4 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers, and it’s a conversation with Bruce Hines about the mind-warping life in the Sea Org and a new story about Shelly Miscavige we hadn’t heard before. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 3 available to everyone, with Jeffrey Augustine on recent Scientology court cases, Claire Headley exposing Tom Cruise, and Marc Headley on what it must be like for David Miscavige living in Clearwater, Florida. Go here to get the episodes!

 
——————–

Source Code

“All sorts of disastrous things will occur If you become an expert Dianetic auditor. Then we’re all in trouble because we will start curing everything, you know, and knocking out psychosis and neurosis and doing all those poor doctors out of their jobs. And you don’t want to do any doctors out of their jobs. But I say this in all sincerity, this leads you in to the fact that you can heal, and that is not your profession. You’re trying to clear people, and these processes will heal people, even badly run. They’ll cure migraine headaches and arthritis and lumbosis and medicosis and all kinds of wild illnesses. But it doesn’t necessarily follow that it’s uniform. In other words, you don’t get one for one for one, you see, for the excellent reason that the whole reactive mind is the reason for very severe illnesses. It’s the whole mind. And you can key out parts of it and make somebody quite well, you see. You can key out some very specific illness like that and have it go away but don’t be too surprised if it comes back. So therefore, ‘cure’ is not well used. It’s ill-advised as a word.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 21, 1966

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

WWIII: The 18 July statement of Russia that it would back Arabs against Israel after an apparent squeeze play on Nasser is the first whiff of World War III. Yesterday’s news items of Soviet Rocket tests north of Hawaii is a confirming item. The Soviet has the US will to fight very knocked out internally in the US and is now following up to pressure the Middle East and the Pacific as a strategic action. They have of course misgauged the US reaction and a belligerent response wrongly done can tip over the cold war into a hot one. This is mentioned because it becomes a factor in our operations to be alert, preserve reserves, and beef up UK and EU.” — The Commodore, July 21, 1970

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“He is part LRH-Tech genius in some ways but he has also a lot of Justin Craig the Gangbanger, Ex-Con, and thug still in him. I can grant beingness to all of that, we are all works in progress, and he admits he has not regained all of the wisdom or charisma or writing ability that LRH had. He may be the same being, he may not, but his universe and his personality is not at all the same.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

1997: The declaration of Roxanne Friend was posted for the first time on the net this week. Roxanne later died from a tumor that went undiagnosed during her time on Scientology staff. Some excerpts: “It was my understanding that everything about Scientology could be proven factually in the same manner as a scientist proves a scientific fact. These points are discussed at length in many Scientology publications. The Scientologist is not exposed to the above teachings until long after he/she has been indoctrinated into the group and subjected to mind control. Thus, for me, it became impossible to see the conflict between the scientific pretenses of Scientology and the ‘beliefs.’ I never accepted Scientology as a religion or belief and I continued to consider myself Jewish throughout my association with Scientology. I was also told that Scientology attempted to gain its status as a religion for two purposes–one being to avoid taxation for the organization and its constituents; and two, being to avoid having to come under scrutiny for its practices of Scientology and the far-out nature of the Upper Levels while I was still a member. During my relationship with Scientology, I was referred by Scientology to the Shaw Health Center for regular medical treatment. I was told that all of the doctors at Shaw were practicing Scientologists who used Scientology principles and techniques in their diagnosis and treatment. I was consistently dissuaded by my auditors and case supervisors from obtaining treatment from non-Scientologist physicians. [I]n the spring and summer of 1987 I was given auditing that I didn’t want and was not allowed to leave Flag when I wanted to. I was made to stay there for months to undergo auditing that I did not want and even though I told them I wanted to go back to Los Angeles because my father was visiting from the east, I was not permitted to do so. During this time I went from having mono to having pneumonia and getting very ill. Still, I was made to do auditing and was not allowed to leave. In December 1989 I went back to Florida for the purpose of doing a process called the Purification Rundown but was again forced to do the Introspection Rundown auditing. I left without Case Supervisor approval which was always required prior to leaving the Flag Land Base in Florida. I left in the middle of the night and took a taxi to a hotel near Tampa airport because I did not want to be on Scientology premises or continue the Introspection Rundown. Also, I made phone calls to the Clearwater, Florida or Tampa, Florida police saying that I was being held against my will. The Scientologists had the phone in my room cut off when I did this. In addition to the trauma of the kidnapping and imprisonment, the Scientologists took away my privacy. In December 1989 and January 1990, I was spied upon constantly, 24 hours a day. My phone calls were monitored (when I had a phone in December); my comings and goings were reported on; and, of course, in January when I was completely imprisoned, every aspect of my life was under constant surveillance. After I was released, I was unable to function at all. I could not work, I could not take care of personal business matters. I couldn’t think properly or have any social intercourse what-so-ever. I was so unbalanced by the experience that I was arrested for an assault and ended up under observation at U.S.C. Medical Center.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“He’s found the right balance between non-sequitur sesquipedalian punster and heartfelt commenting.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration.
— 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.
— 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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

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.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] US Supreme Court: Valerie Haney fires back at Scientology about its ‘religious ritual’
[TWO years ago] We’ve talked to the FBI’ Leah Remini says in first podcast, calling for Scientology raid
[THREE years ago] Evidence that Scientology is adopting an anti-vaxx strategy, and with political aspirations
[FOUR years ago] From Sands Hall’s excellent ‘Flunk. Start.’ — the paradox of ‘Keeping Scientology Working’
[FIVE years ago] As Leah Remini’s second season approaches, more Scientology survivors are opening up
[SIX years ago] Scientology goes shopping for a new top cop in L.A., and a new video from Chris Shelton!
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s speechwriter, the word of God, and a Hubbard bio that will never see the light of day
[EIGHT years ago] Surviving Scientology podcast: Former treasury employee Mat Pesch spills the beans
[NINE years ago] Neil Gaiman’s Nephew Fights for Scientology Marriage Rights in the UK
[TEN years ago] Why Do Scientologists Accept the Xenu Story?
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s Top Former Spokesman Talks Spying; The Church’s Hollywood Properties Probed

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 21, 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.

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, 1995-2021 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)

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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 We’re trying to get our heads around what is revealed in a new flier that one of our great tipsters sent us. It purports to describe a fundraising event held in Atlanta, but for the purpose of raising money for an as-yet-unopened “Ideal Org” in Philadelphia. And in order to get the Atlanta folks into [...]]]>

 
We’re trying to get our heads around what is revealed in a new flier that one of our great tipsters sent us. It purports to describe a fundraising event held in Atlanta, but for the purpose of raising money for an as-yet-unopened “Ideal Org” in Philadelphia. And in order to get the Atlanta folks into the spirit of the thing, they were apparently encouraged to dress up with 1776 in mind. Because, you know, Philadelphia and Ben Franklin and all.

At least the emcee was decked out in colonial garb. In Atlanta. In June. Well, whatever, just prepare to get yer wallets out, pilgrims!

 
While Mr. Nesbit was praying that the air conditioning didn’t fail (and with how anemic attendance at Ideal Orgs like the one in Atlanta have been, that’s a legitimate worry), he brought on the day’s entertainment to get the crowd riled up.

 
“Our keynote speaker, Double Humanitarian [$200,000] David Morris, gave a powerful message of how embracing the Ideal Org strategy can change one’s life and is truly the most important thing one could be doing as a Scientologist.”

So, forking over huge donations so David Miscavige can build gleaming new cathedrals where they immediately fall empty is really the most important thing you can be doing as a Scientologist? If you say so, Mr. Morris.

 
Translation: Come up here and pledge your kid’s college fund before Mr. Miscavige declares you all!

 
The high-flying American eagle, right there! OK, now this is a party.

 
Well, it might make a little more sense to us that Atlanta Scientologists would be hit up for money for a Philadelphia building if Atlanta was, you know, going gangbusters and could afford to “flow” some “energy” to the City of Brotherly Love. (In this case a whopping $100,000 was apparently raised, which will likely make only a small dent in the millions a renovation in Philly will actually cost.)

But we know that isn’t the case. Atlanta, like the others, went quiet after its initial opening. Our question for our readers who have been regged like this, did you have moments when you realized that the ask didn’t make a lot of sense? Aren’t some of the people in Atlanta being dragged to this thing cognizant that it doesn’t make any sense at all? Let us know.

 
——————–

Technology Cocktail

“THE AIRCRAFT DOOR GOALS: This goal pattern was in use in an aircraft-type set between 315 trillion years ago and 216 trillion years ago and less, and is the pattern which precedes the Helatrobus Implants in this galaxy. It remains to be seen if all preclears have it. The goals were given with one or more goals in a series, usually one, and that goal was To Create. The preclear possibly has this goal several times during this period. It was given in the mocked-up fuselage of an aircraft with the thetan fixed before an aircraft door. (There are also two or more aircraft fuselages used in the Helatrobus Implants, but the preclear moved through them, was not fixed in them.) The date is the way to tell the pattern. The Helatrobus Implants existed only between 52 trillion and 38 trillion years ago, the total life span of the Helatrobus government. If the goal is found to lie earlier, between 315 trillion and 216 trillion or later, up to 52 trillion years ago, then it is probably this pattern. The goal items were laid in with explosions.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1963

 
——————–

Today’s Scientology happy news. Yes, an excerpt from an actual press release put out by the church.

Summer Fun at the Church of Scientology Los Angeles: Anyone wishing to find L. Ron Hubbard Way last weekend needed only to follow the laughter and shouts of the children as they scrambled up and came plummeting down the inflatable water slide or splashed in the wading pool. It all happened at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and L. Ron Hubbard Way, with scores of young Angelinos celebrating the unofficial start of the summer.

There was cotton candy, watermelon, and a donut-eating contest. Live music filled the streets. And the arts and crafts booth, balloon sculptures and face-painting artists were in high demand.

Then mid-afternoon, a drum roll signaled the start of a Memorial Day parade and ceremony honoring those fallen in service to America. The program culminated with the presentation of a special award to Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, an officer in World War II, for his service to mankind.

The Church of Scientology Los Angeles is an Ideal Scientology Organization, configured to service Scientologists in their ascent to spiritual freedom and serve as a home for the entire community—a meeting ground of cooperative effort to uplift people of all denominations.

 
——————–

A note from the Proprietor

Monday, we got into the comments to explain why things are changing here at the Underground Bunker. Recently, we had a discussion with Substack’s CEO, Chris Best, and he convinced us that his emerging platform is perhaps our best bet for making Internet journalism actually pay a living wage. As a result, we’ve removed the daily feature story from this website and put it on our new Substack, tonyortega.substack.com.

At Substack, subscription is free and will continue to be for now. Eventually, it will require a paid subscription to access some material. We owe it to our family to explore this option. If you do not want to subscribe to Substack, or if you cannot add another subscription on your budget, we will understand. Tonyortega.org, this website, will continue to be free to read, and we hope it will remain a nexus for people seeking Scientology news and discussion.

— Tony Ortega

 
——————–

Source Code

“It’s a long story. But in 1950, a fellow name of Palmer walked into the Explorers Club just as I was leaving the mail room, and Palmer says to me, ‘Hey, Ron, you want an expedition?’ And I said, ‘Well, sure.’ ‘Well, he says, ‘there’s a whole bunch of Greek and Roman statuary that was being brought from Athens to Rome, and the ship went aground on the north side of the Dodecanese.’ And he says, ‘Been there ever since. And they’ve just located it at about thirty fathoms of water’….And I’ve just been sort of working on this in my spare time and getting it together. Nothing very dramatic in the way of progress….And just today, why, their delay was explained. They had already put it before the Flag Committee and the board of directors and that sort of thing. So the expedition, as of that action, became an official scientific expedition: ocean archaeological survey with the purpose of discovering various periods of marine history in the past, as possibly represented on the floors of sunken harbors long since passed from the view of man where there are, of course, still ships. And I don’t guarantee that we won’t stop by on some of the stuff sunk during World War II and pick up a few tommy guns.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 22, 1961

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“FLAG RUMOURS: You should write all your friends to correct field impression of Flag with brutal ethics and cat-o-nine. I worked out what really happened. In Melilla in the Spring of ’68 we had a flood of raw, relatively untrained, unaudited people arrive. We also had five people who were very heavy handed and suppressive, since blown or dismissed (Berez was booted out of the SO for drug use and is in jail for drug running and possibly Taunton). The ship during the VIII Class was (a) poorly manned (b) had SPs aboard and (c) had very few trained Scientologists and (d) was under heavy enemy attack (the Greek affair with bird dogs aboard). (The UK ban.) What happened was, we trained and processed up the crew, we opened the gate on the SPs and dumped them, we made quite a few auditors and beat the enemy attack with excellent PRO Area Control and the ‘dead agent’ caper, meaning getting documentary proof that what was said of us was lies and getting the agents booted out of the country.” — The Commodore, June 22, 1970

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“I don’t think that Ron was or is perfect. I doubt that even the Tech itself is perfect, otherwise there would be no room for improvement. But the things that LRH discovered and created are so breathtakingly amazing that it is unfair to criticize him, his writing style, or his work without keeping the reality of his accomplishments in perspective. To do so would amount to a false report because it would be an incomplete report. As I once mentioned on one of the other blogs, it is fairly well documented Sir Isaac Newton behaved ‘strangely’ at times and once had what we would call a psychotic break……so now what? Are we supposed to abolish the laws of physics and declare calculus to be bullshit? In my reality Ron’s discoveries are at least as stellar as Newton’s and he deserves comparable respect and consideration.”

Past is Prologue

1996: The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was forced to disband this week, as a result of the $1 million award against CAN in the Jason Scott case. Scott’s attorney was cult member Kendrick Moxon. Reuters reported: “A jury’s decision to award $1 million to a Kirkland man who had sued the Cult Awareness Network is forcing the non-profit group that monitors religious cults to shut down. The bankruptcy will force the network, based in Barrington, Ill., to liquidate its assets and shut down its telephone hot line, which takes an average of 20,000 calls a year.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“The putrefaction shakedown is a more accurate name for it.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference June 30. Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court.
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Next hearing scheduled for June 29.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for 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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

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.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology miracles from its 1980s heyday: How do they compare to today?
[TWO years ago] Scientology donor’s financial firm hit with new charges of securities violations
[THREE years ago] How Scientology is likely going to come back at the explosive new lawsuits
[FOUR years ago] Why we think nutty Las Vegas councilwoman Michele Fiore might be a Scientologist
[FIVE years ago] HOWDYCON 2017 IS HERE — DENVER IS CLEAR!
[SIX years ago] CLEARWATER DONE DEAL — Couple seeks big crowd for Scientology ‘disconnection’ billboard
[SEVEN years ago] LIVE-BLOGGING: The Toronto conference on Scientology kicks off and we’re on the scene
[EIGHT years ago] Sunday Funnies: The desperation in Scientology fliers is getting worse. Much worse.
[NINE years ago] Meet the Man Behind WWP, the Web Home of Anonymous and Project Chanology
[TEN years ago] How Hooters — Yes, Hooters — Could Mess Up Scientology’s Refund Scam

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on June 22, 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.

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, 1995-2021 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)

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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 On Thursday, we told you that Valerie Haney’s attorneys submitted a 5-page declaration to prepare the new judge in her case for this Friday’s hearing. At that hearing, both sides will be explaining to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gail Killefer why, more than two years after her predecessor Judge Richard Burdge forced Valerie’s lawsuit [...]]]>

 
On Thursday, we told you that Valerie Haney’s attorneys submitted a 5-page declaration to prepare the new judge in her case for this Friday’s hearing. At that hearing, both sides will be explaining to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gail Killefer why, more than two years after her predecessor Judge Richard Burdge forced Valerie’s lawsuit into Scientology’s own brand of “religious arbitration,” no progress has been made toward that goal.

We learned that Valerie had made yet another attempt to overturn Burdge’s January 30, 2020 ruling, this time with another petition to an appeals court, California’s 2nd Appellate Division. Valerie had hoped that the court would reconsider Burdge’s ruling in light of the stunning January decision that the same appeals court made to overturn a similar arbitration motion in the Bixler lawsuit, brought by Danny Masterson’s accusers. The court denied Valerie’s petition by agreeing with Scientology’s attorneys that Valerie could not rely on the Bixler decision because it was not formally published. But Valerie’s attorneys were encouraged that the division’s presiding justice, Laurence Rubin, included a note pointing out that although the Bixler decision is unpublished, that didn’t prevent a court from considering its arguments.

Valerie’s attorneys are obviously hoping that Judge Killefer takes the hint and thinks about relying on the Bixler arguments to reconsider Burdge’s ruling that denied Valerie a right to trial.

In the meantime they are also telling Judge Killefer that Scientology has made it impossible for Valerie to make any progress toward starting an arbitration because the church refuses to communicate with her through her attorneys, insisting that Valerie go hat in hand to Scientology’s “International Justice Chief” Mike Ellis.

Valerie has said she considers Scientology her abuser, and she has no interest in communicating with the church any longer after her frightening escape from Int Base that she managed by hiding in the trunk of a car. After that, she alleges, she went through years of stalking and harassment when she went to work for Leah Remini and appeared on Remini’s A&E series, Scientology and the Aftermath.

As we pointed out last time, we are curious to see if the new judge, Gail Killefer, will order that Valerie has to personally submit to Scientology’s officers, and that she can’t be represented by counsel.

Now, Scientology has provided its own answer to that question, and it has doubled down on its previous response: Yes, Valerie Haney has no choice but to submit to the church, and to do so personally.

“Plaintiff and her counsel have been informed multiple times, through written correspondence and in open court, what can be done to ‘advance the ball towards completing’ the religious arbitration: specifically, commencing the arbitration by sending a written demand for arbitration to the International Justice Chief, Mike Ellis,” Scientology attorney William Forman writes in the church’s response.

Forman cites the language of the contract that Valerie signed, and also the statement by Judge Burdge himself, who at a February 2, 2021 hearing said, “Plaintiff needs to commence arbitration pursuant to the terms of the agreement Plaintiff has signed.”

Forman writes that he has pointed this out to Valerie’s attorneys numerous times. Judge Burdge decided that a contract was a contract, and the contract calls for Valerie to write to Ellis, not that her attorneys could do it for her.

“The arguments and excuses offered by the Thompson Declaration are mere posturing,” Forman writes.

And Forman complains that once again it’s Valerie’s attorneys that the court is hearing from, not Valerie herself.

“Notably absent from the submission to this Court in anticipation of the order to show cause re dismissal hearing is: (1) any statement from Plaintiff stating that she does not know how to commence the arbitration or its procedures and (2) most importantly, any statement from Plaintiff that she wishes to pursue her claims in the arbitral forum,” he writes.

“If Plaintiff does not wish to pursue her claims in arbitration, she should dismiss this case.”

Forman also raps Haney’s lawyer Robert Thompson on the knuckles, saying that he didn’t even bother to show up for the last two hearings in this case, on August 8, 2021 and on March 15, 2022.

And finally, Forman says that despite what Presiding Justice Rubin said about the Bixler ruling, Judge Killefer is not in a position to reconsider Judge Burdge’s order.

Judge Burdge may have moved to another courthouse, but any reconsideration of his ruling would need to be done by him, not Judge Killefer, Forman says.

In the only previous example of a lawsuit being derailed for Scientology arbitration, the fraud lawsuit filed by Luis and Rocio Garcia, the Garcias ultimately submitted to the IJC and attended an arbitration hearing in Los Angeles in 2017. Luis later complained that they were not allowed to have attorneys with them, there was no transcript recorded, and 90 percent of the evidence they had brought with them was disallowed by the IJC. The entire thing was a farce, Luis said.

So far, Valerie Haney has shown no interest in taking part in such a procedure and submitting to the people she considers her abusers. It will be interesting Friday to see what the new judge says about it.

 
——————–

Bonus items from our tipsters

More good news from Michigan!

 
——————–

Today’s Scientology happy news. Yes, an excerpt from an actual press release put out by the church this week.

Going to school for the first time means everything to 70 orphaned children in Wanga Parish, Uganda. These are children who lost their parents to recent flooding or disease.

Local Volunteer Ministers have made this dream come true by opening a new orphanage. The community turned out to join the celebration.

For many children, this is the first time they’ve had a bed of their own, not to mention sheets, blankets and other personal items. All nursery-age children received a uniform, shoes, bags and school materials.

In nearby Bubilabi, another team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers is working with orphans providing them food, clothing and an education.

Advertisement

Scientology Volunteer Minister groups in Uganda are forming up and putting new members through the 19 Volunteer Minister online Tools for Life Courses. These provide them with the skills they need to address the most urgent issues in their country, one of which is the plight of the estimated 2 million orphans.

After studying these courses, the new Volunteer Ministers are far better equipped to reach out to others with help.

 
——————–

A note from the Proprietor

Yesterday, we got into the comments to explain why things are changing here at the Underground Bunker. The explanation is simple: We’ve been working for a decade at below minimum wage, and we owe it to our family to try something different. Recently, we had a discussion with Substack’s CEO, Chris Best, and he convinced us that his emerging platform is perhaps our best bet for making Internet journalism actually pay a living wage. As a result, we’ve removed the daily feature story from this website and put it on our new Substack, tonyortega.substack.com.

This website, tonyortega.org, will never require payment to read. And we will continue to look for ways to bolster its content beyond the daily feature story. At Substack, subscription is free and will continue to be for now. Eventually, it will require a paid subscription to read some stories. We owe it to our family to explore this option. If you do not want to subscribe to Substack, or if you cannot add another subscription on your budget, we will understand. Tonyortega.org, this website, will continue to be free to read, and we hope it will remain a nexus for people seeking Scientology news and discussion.

— Tony Ortega

 
——————–

Source Code

“If we weren’t here, the lights of Earth’s civilization would be out in another 25 years. And people know who is sitting, baying at them. But you see the great ease it would be to scoop me up, or shoot me down or do something to me. You might ask, why is it that this has never really happened? It’s come close to happening a couple of times. There’s been an airplane out on a landing field warming up, waiting to kidnap me, and a couple of hoods standing by, real tough mugs. Only they couldn’t handle a .45, and I could. This in the confines of Los Angeles. The war cooled off, as far as I was concerned, many, many years ago, and I don’t expect it to hot up at all. I don’t even bother to lock the doors. And it’s not case as far as I’m concerned. I’m just pointing that out to you as a matter of record. Because if I had a men, number of overts here, or if I had a bugginess going here, the attack on you and the attack on me would be fantastic. But you see, if you haven’t got tremendous motivators, they can’t get a big enough overt going against you, because you just don’t suck it in, that’s all. You see? And that mechanism alone is why we’re still alive. ” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 21, 1961

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“MONEY: If somebody gets on money collection we’ll maybe someday have some upper level bonuses. AUDITOR C/S BONUSES are not cancelled. The w.d. hours and the completion bonsues are paid. Qual Internes are not paid bonuses but will draw SO pay when their 25 hours are made in a week. The bonus B of I is sort of up in the air. The 20% does cover these and B bonuses. Somebody tried to pay me my full bonus when no one else was eligible. I’m sending it back. Total Bonus has to be covered by 20% of the GI before C D E bonuses can be paid. The ‘postulate checks’ got in our hair on this. Anyhow, get the stats up and we’ll soon have some new FEBCs out who will pay their bills! It’s not as it says on the GF, All Black. There’s lots of F/N VGIs around this lovely new tech in auditing and supervising and the eventual prospect of an OT crew.” — The Commodore, June 21, 1971

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Almost every day I audit and all I get are wins and more wins and it is thanks to Ron! I have PCs asking ‘why isn’t everyone doing this?’ Those who INSIST on invalidating Ron and the tech have nasty evil intentions.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

1995: The following LRH excerpt was posted from The Phoenix Lectures at ars this week. “Now here is the most fundamental fundamental that there can be fundamental below the level of consideration. I haven’t written very much about considerations. There really isn’t very much to say about the subject of consideration. If anyone is confused on the subject it is because consideration is consideration so that if you consider something which is considerable, why — you have considered it.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“You cannot detox addicts NON-MEDICALLY. It is INSANE, SADISTIC, and DANGEROUS.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference June 30. Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 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.
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Next hearing scheduled for June 29.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for 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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

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.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] If you ever wondered what Suri Cruise might be like if she had never left Scientology
[TWO years ago] What are Scientologists being told about the Danny Masterson rape case?
[THREE years ago] Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, ‘Provost Marshal’: Another apologist claim debunked
[FOUR years ago] Opportunity missed: What Erika Christensen should have been asked about Scientology
[FIVE years ago] Source: Scientology ship avoiding Dutch waters after evading surprise government search
[SIX years ago] Nearly four years after Stacy Murphy’s death, Scientology files motion to kill much of lawsuit
[SEVEN years ago] ‘Book ’em, Danno’: Just for fun, L. Ron Hubbard’s fingerprints, revealed!
[EIGHT years ago] Ryan Hamilton files lawsuit 14 against Scientology’s drug rehab, and other updates
[NINE years ago] In His New Book, Is Neil Gaiman Exorcising His Scientology Past?
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology “Goons” Rough Up Aussie TV Journos (Video)

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on June 21, 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.

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, 1995-2021 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)

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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 Bunker readers! If you were never a member of Scientology but always wondered what it was like to get tracked down and sent invites to the next big church event, we have you covered!

Former church member Ronn Stacy says it’s been five years since he was declared a “suppressive person” by Scientology, but he found [...]]]>

 
Bunker readers! If you were never a member of Scientology but always wondered what it was like to get tracked down and sent invites to the next big church event, we have you covered!

Former church member Ronn Stacy says it’s been five years since he was declared a “suppressive person” by Scientology, but he found that he’s back on the church’s call list.

“Desperate times? I haven’t been on Scientology services since 2009, and I was declared SP in 2012. But I’m back on the invite list apparently,” Ronn tell us.

He shared with us a voice mail he got yesterday, inviting him to one of Scientology’s biggest annual events — L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday, which falls on March 13 but will be celebrated at Clearwater, Florida’s Ruth Eckerd Hall on Saturday, March 11.

“It sounds like she was reading from a script, and probably with a Product Officer standing over her.”

We think it’s a hoot. We put some images from past birthday events to liven it up even further…

 
——————–

Chris Shelton finishes his deep dive into ‘Scientology’!

Says Chris: “This is the final video in the Deconstructing Scientology series. This has been quite a task covering all the academic apologetics and nonsense these guys have spewed, but I think we’ve learned some pretty interesting things along the way. In this last episode, we examine the opportunism and deceptions the Church of Scientology engaged in so they could appear to be the heroes of 9/11 when in fact they contributed almost nothing to the overall effort. Now that this is done, you’ll be seeing more interviews and what I hope will be a pretty interesting analysis of some GO/OSA policies and then I’ll be starting a new series to take on the core bits of Scientology technology (including that E-meter video I’ve been promising for so long). It’s time that the subject of Scientology itself get the same analysis we just gave to these apologetics. Enjoy!”

 
——————–

Aaron Smith-Levin goes in depth

Aaron Smith-Levin sent us a link to a podcast he took part in this week. From its description…

“Ex-Scientologist Aaron Smith Levin joins us once again to discuss the latest news regarding Scientology. Aaron begins by discussing his experiences on Leah Remini’s groundbreaking television series Scientology: The Aftermath. Aaron explains what it was like being interviewed and opening up about a dark chapter in his life and the trauma that Scientology brought down on him. Aaron also talks about the response from Scientology against Aaron, which has been in the form of his very own Scientology hate site.”

 
——————–

Bonus items from our tipsters

 
Your proprietor took part in the Eddie, Jason and Chris show on Idobi radio this week, thanks to Samantha Scarlette…

 
——————–

 
HowdyCon 2017: Denver, June 23-25. Go here to start making your plans.

 
——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 4,658 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 2,255 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 1,295 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy in 1,007 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 474 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 4,592 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 1,762 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,082 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,057 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 413 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin in 4,715 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 822 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis for 1,224 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,097 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 678 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike in 1,183 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 1,427 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 12,536 days.

 
——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on February 9, 2017 at 07:00

E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes 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 book, 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 about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten 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 | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield

What a surprise we got late last night when longtime friend to the Bunker Laurie “Chocolate Velvet” Harness posted some fascinating photos she had tracked down.

She tells us that just a few weeks ago, the woman in the photos, Alexis Connolly, had posted [...]]]>

What a surprise we got late last night when longtime friend to the Bunker Laurie “Chocolate Velvet” Harness posted some fascinating photos she had tracked down.

She tells us that just a few weeks ago, the woman in the photos, Alexis Connolly, had posted them on public websites, and Laurie immediately knew how significant they were.

Alexis, of course, is the daughter of L. Ron Hubbard who was born just weeks before her father published the book that changed his life, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950.

Laurie put together a couple of the photos with one of Hubbard and posted it last night on Facebook…

 
Hubbard was first married to Margaret “Polly” Grubb in 1933 and they had two children, L. Ron Hubbard Jr. (1934-1991) who was also known as “Nibs” and later in life as “Ron DeWolf,” and Katherine (1936-2010) who was called Katy and Kay, and whose married name was Gillespie.

Hubbard married Sara Northrup (1924-1997) in 1946, a year before his divorce to Polly came through in 1947. It was Sara who was with Hubbard when he wrote and published Dianetics and then experienced huge success in 1950. And it was their split in 1951 — as well as the Dianetics craze fading — that made 1951 probably the worst in his life…

 
In Alex Gibney’s documentary Going Clear, based on Lawrence Wright’s 2013 book of the same name, Sara and her story play an important part. Here’s a transcript of a key segment, describing Hubbard and his actions regarding his wife and young child. (Sara’s words were from a diary she left behind that was read by an actress for the movie).

Sara: We were surrounded by sycophants. He began to believe that he was a savior and hero, that he really was this god figure. He was absolutely convinced that he had the cure for the psychological ills of mankind, and that the only reason that it wasn’t being propagated far and wide was that the medical profession had a vested interest in keeping people sick. I think he was afraid that some psychiatrists would pop him into an institution. He degenerated into a really paranoid, terrifying person.

Alex Gibney: Sara threatened to leave Hubbard unless he got psychiatric help. He responded by kidnapping their baby and taking her to Cuba.

Lawrence Wright: He was incapable of taking care of her, so he put her in the charge of a mother and daughter who were both mentally retarded. And they apparently kept her in some kind of cage.

Sara: He called me and told me that he had killed her. He said he had cut her into little pieces and dropped the pieces in a river, and it was my fault. Then he’d call me back and say that she was still alive. And this went on and on and on.

Gibney: When Hubbard came back to the U.S., Sara persuaded him to agree to a divorce and give her custody of their daughter.

Sara: When I left him, he cleaned out all the joint bank accounts so that I wouldn’t have any money.

 
After their split, Ron tried to erase Sara and Alexis from his life. In 1952 he married his third wife, Mary Sue, and they went on to have four children.

Sara and Alexis made a key appearance in our book about Paulette Cooper, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, and we thought it might be best just to reproduce the entire segment here, which included Paulette’s encounter with Alexis as a college student…

Hubbard met Sara Elizabeth Northrup in 1945, when he’d been demobilized from the Navy following the war. His wanderings in California had taken him to the large, notorious Pasadena
house of rocket scientist Jack Parsons, an amateur occultist who only rented rooms to other eccentrics. Northrup was Parsons’s girlfriend, but soon after Hubbard moved in and joined Parsons in his occult activities, he stole Northrup away. Parsons didn’t seem too put out by it. By that time, Hubbard had separated from his first wife, Margaret “Polly” Grubb, but he was still legally married to her when he proposed to Northrup. They were married in Maryland in 1946.

Northrup reportedly wrote some of Hubbard’s published stories, perhaps helping to explain his prodigious output, and she was with him when, in 1950, he published Dianetics: The Modern
Science of Mental Health, the popular book that sparked a brief craze. (Their daughter Alexis arrived just a few weeks before the book did.) By 1951, however, the craze had subsided, Hubbard was broke, and his marriage was a shambles. Things got so bad, at one point Hubbard absconded with Alexis to Cuba, while Sara went to the press with damning allegations about the state of her husband’s mind. She also accused him of torture.

A few months later, Sara got custody of her daughter when she signed a retraction of her previous statements about Hubbard, and the marriage was legally ended. But then Hubbard began a long campaign to erase any mention of her and to pretend that he’d never married her and even that Alexis wasn’t his daughter.

In 1968, Hubbard gave an interview to the UK television program, World in Action. By then, he’d had four children with his third wife, Mary Sue Whipp. The interview included this exchange:

Hubbard: How many times have I been married? I’ve been married twice. And I’m very happily married just now. I have a lovely wife, and I have four children. My first wife is dead.
Interviewer: What happened to your second wife?
Hubbard: I never had a second wife.

It was a nonsensical answer that made obvious how badly Hubbard wanted to erase from his life his bigamous marriage to Sara Northrup, and his fathering of her child, Alexis. By the time Paulette’s book came out in the spring of 1971, Alexis Hollister was in college. (She had taken the last name of the man Sara had married after Hubbard, Miles Hollister.) While she was researching the book, Paulette had contacted Sara Hollister in Hawaii. They had exchanged some letters. After the book came out, Alexis also reached out to Paulette. She said she wanted to visit Paulette in New York. Paulette was wary, suspecting that it might be a hoax. But she gave Alexis directions for how to find her at 16 E. 80th Street, and the young woman came down from Smith College in Massachusetts.

As Paulette waited for her to show up, she thought about all the forms of identification she was going to ask for. This woman was going to have to do a lot to convince Paulette that she
really was the daughter of L. Ron Hubbard.

And then there was a knock at the door. Paulette opened it, and all of her doubts melted away. It was L. Ron Hubbard’s daughter all right. There was no mistaking it. Alexis was 22, she had the characteristic red hair, and she even had some of his facial features. Paulette was convinced. Alexis explained her reason for wanting to see Paulette, and it made her wince. Alexis wanted to know how Paulette had been convinced that her father had committed bigamy. Because if it were true, Alexis said, it made her a bastard.

Paulette’s heart sank. In the early 1970s, the notion of “illegitimacy” was still a serious social stigma. Paulette didn’t know what to say. “Don’t worry. I’d rather know the truth. I can take it,” Alexis told her.

Paulette showed her the documents which proved that Hubbard had still been married to his first wife, Polly Grubb, when he married Sara Northrup in 1946. Even though the divorce with Polly was final by the next year, 1947, and Alexis wasn’t born until 1950, the fact that her mother’s marriage had been bigamous when it started was enough to convince Alexis that her birth wasn’t legitimate. She thanked Paulette.

Then, on March 20, Sara sent Paulette a lengthy letter from Maui. She said that in the fall – in the months after Paulette’s book came out – a couple of men had come to visit her. “They were very pale – wore cheap black suits, white shirts, dark ties,” Sara wrote. They claimed to be “agents,” but wouldn’t tell her what agency they worked for. They asked her a lot of questions, and then warned her that reporters – or people posing as reporters – would be coming around to ask about Hubbard. They told her not to say anything. When Sara said she wouldn’t answer any of their questions unless they properly identified themselves, the men left, saying they were going to check with “headquarters.” They never returned.

Sara wrote that Alexis had also been approached by Hubbard’s agents, and they had delivered her a note at college that said Sara had been a prostitute, that she’d worked during the war as a Nazi spy, and that Alexis was an illegitimate child. The men who read it to her told her the note was written by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

But Alexis didn’t buy it. She knew they weren’t FBI agents. She understood who had written the note. “She was both angry and shocked that Ron could do such a thing,” Sara wrote to Paulette.

In June 1951, Sara had signed a retraction of her earlier claims about Hubbard in order to get custody of Alexis and to finalize the divorce. But her 1972 letter to Paulette showed that in
fact, she hadn’t changed her mind at all. And if Sara went public with such thoughts, it could be the nightmare of 1951 all over again for Hubbard.

 
Alexis today lives on a horse farm, and she’s married and has three grown children. As Paulette discovered back in 1971, Alexis does resemble her father.

 
Alexis has turned down interview requests in the past. Does her putting photos online indicate that she’s ready to change her mind on that? We’ll try to find out.

 
——————–

 
HowdyCon 2017: Denver, June 23-25. Go here to start making your plans.

 
——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 4,655 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 2,252 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 1,292 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy in 1,004 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 471days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 4,589 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 1,759 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,079 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,054 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 410 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin in 4,712 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 819 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis for 1,221 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,094 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike in 1,180 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 1,424 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 12,533 days.

 
——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on February 6, 2017 at 06:00

E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes 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 book, 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 about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten 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 | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield

 We don’t keep a very watchful eye on Elon Musk and what he’s up to, so forgive us that we missed an interesting little news item about him last year which, once we were made aware of it, sort of knocked us for a loop.

Musk is the PayPal and Tesla Motors and SpaceX inventor, one [...]]]>

 
We don’t keep a very watchful eye on Elon Musk and what he’s up to, so forgive us that we missed an interesting little news item about him last year which, once we were made aware of it, sort of knocked us for a loop.

Musk is the PayPal and Tesla Motors and SpaceX inventor, one of the richest people in the world, and he has legions of fans who follow his every move. So it was only natural that a Bloomberg reporter would take the opportunity at a press conference last summer to ask the avid reader what he was digging into recently. Musk gave an interesting answer, saying that he was enjoying an obscure 1929 book named Twelve Against the Gods.

The book was written by a South African journalist named William Bolitho (1891-1930), and it consists of twelve short biographies of people who had battled the gods to greatness, as it were. Long out of print, copies of the book could be found for about $6 at sites like eBay. But once Musk revealed that he was reading it, prices shot up and it quickly became hard to find a copy. Checking yesterday, we couldn’t find a copy at eBay for less than $250.

It made for a fun story that a number of different news organizations covered last summer, marveling that Musk had plucked from obscurity a book that almost no one had heard of.

No one, that is, except for Scientologists.

As soon as we saw the title, we remembered that Jon Atack has mentioned Twelve Against the Gods a couple of times here at the Underground Bunker. So we emailed Jon this week to ask him his thoughts on Elon Musk making a fad out of the book he told us was L. Ron Hubbard’s favorite.

Jon Atack: In February 1983, in written replies to Rocky Mountain News journalist Sue Lindsay, Hubbard said that his favorite non-fiction book was Twelve Against Gods by William Bolitho, adding, “the introduction is particularly good.”

The Bunker: February 1983? By that time Hubbard had been in total seclusion for three years, his whereabouts unknown even to nearly all Scientologists. How did he engage in a newspaper interview if he was in hiding?

Jon: He didn’t. For my book A Piece of Blue Sky I got to know Scientology’s former spokesman Robert Vaughn Young, who actually wrote Hubbard’s answers to the Rocky Mountain News (to prove that Hubbard was still alive). Vaughn told me he made up those answers by relying on a lecture that Hubbard had given on December 5, 1952 as part of the Philadelphia Doctorate Course.

The Bunker: Here’s what Hubbard said in that lecture:

Bolitho, good old Bolitho, with his Twelve Against the Gods. It’s a wonderful thing to read — gorgeous! And the introduction of Twelve Against the Gods is one of the best pieces of work I know of, even related to a lot of things, and particularly to this subject.

 
Jon: Bolitho’s book was published in 1929, and consists of 12 short biographies. Its central point is that “adventure is the vitaminizing element in histories both individual and social.” Bolitho lauded the adventurer above all others. His twelve chosen adventurers were Alexander, Casanova, Columbus, Mahomet (the Prophet Muhammad), Lola Montez, Cagliostro (and Seraphina), Charles XII of Sweden, Napoleon, Catiline, Napoleon III, Isadora Duncan and, for topical reasons, Woodrow Wilson. Judging by the tone of the book, had Bolitho written a new edition in the 1940s, Hitler would very probably have replaced Wilson. The following quotations are all taken from the “particularly good” introduction, and clearly state Bolitho’s basic thesis…

The adventurer is within us, and he contests for our favor with the social man we are obliged to be … we are obliged, in order to live at all, to make a cage of laws for ourselves and to stand on the perch. We are born as wasteful and unremorseful as tigers; we are obliged to be thrifty, or starve or freeze. We are born to wander, and cursed to stay and dig … all the poets are on one side and all the laws on the other; for laws are made by, and usually for, old men…

The moment one of these truants breaks loose, he has to fight the whole weight of things as they are; the laws and that indefinite smothering aura that surrounds the laws that we call morals; the family, that is the microcosm and whip-lash of society; and the dead weight of all the possessors, across whose interwoven rights the road to freedom lies. If he fails he is a mere criminal…

… the adventurer is an individualist and an egotist, a truant from obligations. His road is solitary; there is no room for company on it.

What he does, he does for himself. His motive may be simple greed.

The Bunker: That does sound like something Hubbard would find inspirational. Valuing the man who has lived as much as a dozen other men, etc.

Jon: However, as Bolitho said, “these are men betrayed by contradiction inside themselves.” With his casual reference to Twelve Against the Gods, Hubbard gave his own betraying contradiction: It is a glaring admission of his deep-seated aspirations. The quoted passages give concise expression to the underlying pattern of Hubbard’s whole life, and to his self-image. Hubbard considered himself an adventurer, a man above morality, who steadfastly followed his goal. It is possible that Hubbard read Bolitho’s book when it was published (he was 18 at the time), and took it as his model. There is powerful evidence to support this thesis. In 1939, at the age of 27, just after his failure to find a publisher for Excalibur, Hubbard wrote to his first wife…

Living is a pretty grim joke, but a joke just the same. The entire function of man is to survive. Not “for what” but just to survive. The outermost limit of endeavor is creative work. Anything less is too close to simple survival until death happens along. So I am engaged in striving to maintain equilibrium sufficient to at last realize survival in a way to astound the gods. Personal immortality is only to be gained through the printed word, barred note or painted canvas or hard grabite [sic]. Foolishly perhaps, but determined none the less, I have high hopes of smashing my name into history so violently that it will take a legendary form even if all the books are destroyed. That goal is the real goal as far as I am concerned. Things which stand too consistently in its way make me nervous. It’s a pretty big job. In a hundred years Roosevelt will have been forgotten – which gives some idea of the magnitude of my attempt. And all this boils and froths inside my head and I’m miserable when I am blocked. Let the next man concentrate upon “peace” and “contentment.” When life was struck into me something else accompanied it. And when I leave things in the lap of the gods who seem to be interested in my destiny, boy, things happen!

My fight right now is to get into a spot where I can tide across the gap until the next blaze. Excalibur [“The Book”] may be fought, accepted or forgotten. I don’t care. I seem to be the only one that has attained actual personal contact with it. Others take it mentally and seem to be at a loss to apply it. When I wrote it I gave myself an education which outranks that of anyone else. I don’t know but it might seem that it takes terrific brain work to get the thing assembled and useable in the head. I do know that I could formulate a political platform, for instance, which would encompass the support of the unemployed, the industrialist and the clerk and day laborer all at one and the same time. And enthusiastic support it would be. Things are due for a bust in the next half dozen years. Wait and see…

I seem to have a sort of personal awareness which only begins to come alive when I begin to believe in a destiny. And then a strange force stirs in me and I seem to be completely aloof and wholly invincible. It is the problem of “Who am I?”

Psychiatrists, reaching the high of a dusty desk, tell us that Alexander and Genghis Khan and Napoleon were madmen. I know they were maligning some very intelligent gentlemen. So anybody who dares say that maybe he’s going to cut things up considerably is immediately branded as a [sic] egomaniac or something equally ridiculous so that little men can still save their hides in the face of possible fury. It’s one thing to go nutty and state, “I’m Napoleon, nobody dares touch me,” and quite another to say, “If I watch my step and don’t let anything stop me, I can make Napoleon look like a punk.” That’s the difference … It’s a big joke, this living. God was feeling sardonic the day He created the Universe. So its [sic] rather up to at least one man every few centuries to pop up and come just as close to making Him swallow his laughter as possible.

Anyway, these are the things about which I revolve. I can’t blame it on environment or experience, strangely enough. When I was eight I remember figuring out how long it would take me to achieve these ends, still saying to myself, “Who am I?” And I said it at sixteen and I’m saying it at twenty-six even though the old cards persist in getting stacked against me and people are often like tugs trying to shunt me into a dismally peaceful berth. A few months of cold logic on the subject I struck upon in February have shown me that I didn’t have it all under control. Hence I must needs slow down on my concept, though it broadened in another way which compensates and it has some popularity angles now which it lacked before. I guess I’m thirty percent showman after all because I instinctively dive towards popular huzzahs. And so, quite magnanimously for me, I gave man back his human soul and created a new explanation for creative urge [sic] which the lads will love. Nonetheless, the things are as true as can be.

The Bunker: Hubbard was pretty desperate to live a life that rivaled Bolitho’s dozen.

Jon: Hubbard lusted after fame, wealth and power, and was clearly willing to abandon moral restrictions to accomplish his ends. By his own admission, Hubbard was a showman. He was a natural entertainer, able to captivate some people with his charm. It often took prolonged, close contact for those so charmed to see that he was arrogant, extravagant, eccentric and a liar on a grand scale. Even then many continued to believe in his genius.

Hubbard could be dismissed as a fabulist, a compulsive storyteller, whose exaggerations were harmless. But he was far worse than this. His avarice, coupled with deliberate deceit, became outright fraud. Hubbard plainly made fraudulent claims about himself and his supposed research. He also made fraudulent claims about the money gathered ostensibly to further the publicized aims of Scientology. This was not harmless puffery: It was conscious deceit designed to make him ever more famous, influential and wealthy. The poverty and suffering of those believers who sustained his opulent life-style must also be taken into account.

Although Hubbard single-mindedly pursued his ambition, he may well have believed throughout that he was doing good. Nonetheless, he laid his “road to truth” on a foundation of lies. Hubbard’s long hours and obvious absorption in his work support the view that he believed in the efficacy of his “Technology.” Bolitho’s idea that “the magician must believe in himself, if it is only as long as he is spouting,” falls short of the mark. Martin Gardner, well-known adversary of parapsychology in general and Ron Hubbard in particular, made a germane observation: “Cranks by definition believe their theories, and charlatans do not, but this does not prevent a person from being both crank and charlatan.” Hubbard’s fraudulent claims make a charlatan of him.

The Bunker: Well, OK, Jon. Thanks for that pretty grim explanation of why L. Ron Hubbard found common cause with Bill Bolitho. But what does it say about Musk?

We couldn’t find a story that explained how Musk had stumbled across Twelve Against the Gods. And as far as we know, the South African-born inventor isn’t mixed up with Scientology. Maybe the common country of origin was enough to bring Bolitho to his attention.

As for what Musk sees in the book, we’ll point out that Elon Musk is an adventurer in a way that Hubbard only pretended to be. Hubbard talked a big game — he was a world-class tall-tale teller, there is no doubt — but he was mostly all talk and many of his claims about his adventures turned out to be exaggerations. Musk, on the other hand, really is disrupting the automobile and space industries and heck, we want some of those solar power shingles he was showing off the other day.

If Musk sees himself in the company of Alexander and Napoleon, well, he may actually have a point. He wants to start cities on Mars, and if that’s not battling against the gods, we don’t know what is. But Hubbard in the same list of names? Pshaw! As if.

 
——————–

Bonus items from our tipsters

Yesterday, we were discussing Scientology’s museum to L. Ron Hubbard and the Sea Org that is part of its Super Power Building in Clearwater, Florida. One of our tipsters found that a Scientologist from Spain recently toured that museum and put up a few photos that help illustrate what we were reading about yesterday.

 
——————–

 
HowdyCon 2017: Denver, June 23-25. Go here to start making your plans.

 
——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on February 1, 2017 at 07:00

E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes 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 book, 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 about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten 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 | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield

 Thanks again to reader Rasha, we have a first look at another entertaining Scientology publication today, in this case Source magazine, the publication of the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida.

Source does its best to entice wealthy Scientologists to “Flag,” where they can progress up Scientology’s “Bridge to Total Freedom,” to some of its [...]]]>

 
Thanks again to reader Rasha, we have a first look at another entertaining Scientology publication today, in this case Source magazine, the publication of the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida.

Source does its best to entice wealthy Scientologists to “Flag,” where they can progress up Scientology’s “Bridge to Total Freedom,” to some of its most expensive upper-level offerings.

That includes, of course, Scientology’s crown jewel, its “Flag Building” that was opened in 2013 and is more colloquially known as the “Super Power Building.” It takes up a full city block, and Scientology raised something like $200 million to construct it, which took about 20 years. Mike Rinder found documents that spell out what Scientology is charging members to set foot in the place, and he estimated that a typical Super Power experience is going to run a Scientologist about $32,000.

For us, there was one particular treat about the Super Power Building in this edition of Source — it’s our best look yet at the shrine to L. Ron Hubbard that we had first noticed when we published leaked renderings for the building back in early 2012. Those plans called for a museum to Hubbard focusing on his years running Scientology from sea (1967-1975) as the Commodore of his own small private navy.

The centerpiece of it would be his office on the yacht Apollo recreated to exacting detail…

 
Here’s how Source magazine, issue number 244, describes how the actual shrine itself came out. We thought you’d get a kick out of it.

IMAGINE YOURSELF WALKING through the palatial and perfect Flag Building. You’ve come to this place of learning, wisdom and spiritual freedom to go on services, but also to explore the deep legacy of our religion as only can be experienced in this singular location.

Marveling at the soaring architecture of sweeping staircases and exquisite arches clad in Italian travertine, you discover the Sea Org Museum just off the Grand Atrium. If you feel you have just passed through boundless space and time rendered in thoughtful design, you are now entering a rare and privileged look back into the foundations of Scientology via the implements, instruments and writings of LRH himself.

Dedicated to Flag’s seaborne heritage, the Sea Org Museum is a repository of living history — a testament to the fact that it was aboard the Apollo that LRH originally established the Flag Service Organization. Ultimately, as the religion grew and demand exceeded the ship’s capacity, LRH moved Flag ashore in 1975 and established the Flag Land Base. But this is as close as you can possibly get to being where it all started.

Notably, as you enter, some of the first items you encounter are instruments of navigation that are on display. How fitting, considering that what Ron gave the world were the tools and guidance needed to chart a course through the travails and traps of life to successfully progress to the state of complete liberation.

As you continue further into the museum, your senses heighten as you fully realize what you are experiencing is a treasure trove of the largest collection of artifacts ever assembled from the Flagship of the flotilla. Here is where you can view firsthand everything from LRH’s handwritten issues and manuscripts including copies of HCO Policy Letters, HCO Bulletins and Flag Orders, to the actual uniform he wore during the Apollo‘s christening.

The artifacts are many — some 60 in all — and together, they emanate Ron’s presence in a way that is palpable. Here is the Apollo‘s original radar, the ship’s phone, the Commodore’s wind velocity meter and weather station. Further along, the buffed-to-a-brassy-sparkle ship’s bell. A center island showcases additional artifacts including information on Sea Org Mission Technology, weather prediction, The Four Unprofitable Courses and a fittingly nautical display of ship’s knots.

A list of visitor favorites would also have to include beautifully rendered handcrafted models of the ships Athena, Diana, Apollo and Freewinds.

Then there is the transporting moment you encounter a detailed re-creation of the ship’s promenade deck, complete with a life-size image of Ron and a crew member making the rounds, giving the impression you are there with the Commodore himself.

Additionally, six museum panels cover various eras aboard the ship while two flat screens display multiple videos featuring LRH excerpts normally reserved only for Sea Org members. Throughout, the exquisite displays are presented in a setting that echoes a ship below decks, with curved beams and polished wood finishes enhancing the feeling of discovery.

But perhaps the most moving and memorable feature here is the Office of the Commodore, LRH’s command central and research room. The site of countless technical and administrative breakthroughs, the timeless tableau stands exactly as it did when LRH walked the bridge of the Apollo. Indeed, it is the absolute centerpiece of the museum. From his original Mark V E-meter with its hand-carved case, to the mantel with its model of the Cutty Sark, the office is perfect and authentic to the last detail — as will be your experience here in this museum, a voyage through time, space and Scientology that will remain with you for eternity.

One additional note, about that “recreation of the ship’s promenade deck,” which includes the life-size image of Hubbard and a replica lifeboat. Here’s how it looked in the computer rendering we published in 2012…

 
Look closely and you’ll notice that there’s a small girl following behind the Commodore…

 
Another photo of the scene which showed up in another Scientology publication gives us a better view of her…

 
And a closer look at that image revealed that the little girl appeared to have a black eye…

 
The girl herself, Julie Blundell, showed up at the WWP forum to confirm that she was one of the “Commodore’s Messengers,” young girls who lived on the ship and whose job it was to shadow Hubbard and run to and fro delivering his communications. She explained that she was between 8 and 11 years old in the photo, and that an accident with a wayward pulley had given her the shiner.

Julie was later erased when the photo was used in the “RON” encyclopedia…

 
And if you look carefully at the image of the actual museum that is shown in this issue of Source, you can see that when they built the replica of the Apollo’s deck, they went with the image in which Julie had been photoshopped out.

Because, after all, why would you want to remind wealthy Scientologists paying so much money that the place operates in part on the indentured servitude of children working long hours for little or no pay?

 
——————–

Leah Remini sits down with Joe Rogan

In case you missed it yesterday, here’s video of Leah Remini’s entertaining talk with Joe Rogan on his popular podcast. Even if you’re familiar with her book and her A&E series, Scientology and the Aftermath, we think you’ll learn a few things from this recording.

For example, unless it was in her book and we just don’t remember it, we think this was the first time we’ve heard Leah say that during her 3-month interrogation at the Flag Land Base following the Cruise-Holmes wedding debacle, one of the things they asked her about was whether she had any “sexual intentions towards Tom Cruise.” Well, that sounds like Scientology. Anyway, it’s a lively interview and Leah is more and more sure of herself and her mission, as you’ll see.

 
And yesterday we had another fun time with Jillian Barberie and John Phillips of KABC radio in Los Angeles. The Scientology starts up at about the 22:30 mark…

 
——————–

 
HowdyCon 2017: Denver, June 23-25. Go here to start making your plans.

 
——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on January 31, 2017 at 07:00

E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes 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 book, 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 about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten 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 | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield