Tony Ortega's Blog, page 351
January 24, 2021
‘QAnon is a psyop’: David Icke wants his reptilian turf back, thank you very much
Some links to Q-related items today…
Struggling to understand what the QAnon movement is? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
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THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 24, 2021 at 9:45
AUDIO: Tommy Davis, as Scientology spokesman, secretly recorded discussing ‘disconnection’
We noticed recently that one of the most important stories we published at the Village Voice is missing a series of audio recordings that go with it. They come from a secretly-recorded tape that captures then-Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis intimidating a church member with the threat of ‘disconnection,’ Scientology’s toxic control mechanism that Davis had publicly pretended didn’t exist in a famous CNN segment.
We also realized that we still had the original recordings from that story, and so we decided we would republish that 2011 story here at the Underground Bunker, with the recordings restored. We hope you’ll see why we consider this such important evidence about how Scientology actually operates. As for Davis, we are constantly asked about him. Please see this story about what he’s been up to since he left his job as Scientology’s mouthpiece. And even more about his work as spokesman now for billionaire Tom Barrack.
Tommy Davis, Scientology Spokesman, Secretly Recorded Discussing ‘Disconnection’
Originally published in the Village Voice, August 30, 2011
The Village Voice has obtained an audiotape secretly recorded in December 2009 at a meeting between Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis and a man named Shane Clark. The purpose of the meeting: Clark was facing the prospect of being declared a “suppressive person” by the Church of Scientology, carrying with it the prospect of Clark being “disconnected” by his entire family, who are all Scientologists.
Just a year earlier, in May, 2008, Davis had appeared on CNN and claimed that the policy of “disconnection” does not exist. But in the audiotape he speaks openly about it, saying at one point, “It is what works. It is what safeguards the church.”
Since that meeting, Clark, 30, has indeed been “declared” by the church, and his family — his parents, his brother and his sister — have all disconnected from him, cutting him out of their lives entirely.
Clark’s crime? He was employed by a man named Marc Headley, a former Scientologist who defected in 2005 and subsequently became an outspoken critic of the organization.
In the recording, Davis makes it plain that unless Clark quits his job and disassociates himself from Headley, he will be declared a suppressive person, or “SP.” According to church doctrine, Scientologists in good standing are not to communicate with people who have been declared SPs. To indicate the seriousness of the situation, at the beginning of the meeting, Davis announces that he is going to tape it. “I was going to record this, our conversation. I didn’t know if you were aware of it. For both of our benefit,” Davis can be heard to say.
What Davis was not aware of, however, was that Clark was also taping the meeting.
Clark’s recording of the meeting was made available to the Voice some time ago by Headley, Clark’s friend and now former employer. Since then, we have authenticated it, transcribed it, and turned a large portion of it into short movies so that our readers can view the words as Tommy Davis speaks them.
Last week, the Voice made numerous phone calls, left voice mail messages, and e-mailed Tommy Davis and the Scientology media desk seeking comment on this recording. We received no reply.
Tommy Davis was once a fairly ubiquitous face for Scientology, appearing on a CNN special series about Scientology last year, and also on widely seen programs in the UK and Australia. The son of Scientologist actress Anne Archer, Davis rose to become Scientology’s chief spokesman following the defection of his predecessor, Mike Rinder, in 2007. In 2008, he appeared on CNN’s morning show and was interviewed by anchor John Roberts. In the segment, Roberts asks Davis about the policy of disconnection, which critics of Scientology complain about:
“They claim that the church separates family members and there is this practice of ‘disconnection,’ where if you’re a member of the Church of Scientology…and someone in your family, or a friend, or your spouse is skeptical or critical of the Church of Scientology you are supposed to disconnect yourself from that person,” Roberts says.
Davis replies: “Well, first of all, this is a perfect example of how the Internet turns things and twists things. There’s no such thing as disconnection as you’re characterizing it…There isn’t any such policy in the church that’s dictating who people should or should not be in communication with. It just doesn’t happen.”
Davis was just repeating what church officials have said publicly for years, that L. Ron Hubbard’s 1960s-era policy of disconnection was abandoned long ago. Davis was refuted, however, by director Paul Haggis, who had seen the spokesman’s appearance on CNN: “We all know this policy exists,” Haggis wrote to Davis in a 2009 letter announcing that he was leaving Scientology. “I didn’t even have to look any further than my own home. You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her own parents … although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all contact with them.”
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Davis, who was so prominent from 2007 to 2010, seems to have all but vanished in the last year. He has made no recent television appearences. Daniel Miller, a writer for The Hollywood Reporter, says that he communicated by e-mail with Davis between April and June of this year for a story. But otherwise, Davis has not been heard from. Former Scientologists speculate that he is at “Int,” the organization’s secretive desert headquarters, serving some kind of punishment by church leader David Miscavige.
In December 2009, however, he was still an important, public member of Scientology’s highest executive ranks when he met with Shane Clark at a building in Los Angeles. Davis arrived at the meeting with Jessica Feshbach, who is his wife and media relations colleague.
Feshbach is best known for her role as the Scientology handler for Katie Holmes, who was introduced to the church by her husband, Tom Cruise. Feshbach is often seen with Holmes, and they are said to be very close friends.
Shane Clark arrived to the meeting with his girlfriend, Ranna, who was a Scientologist. Clark was 29 at the time and no longer considered himself a practicing Scientologist after having worked for the church, but everyone else in his family were enthusiastic members. His parents had split up years before, but his father was still an active member, as was his sister, both of whom Clark saw often. His mother and brother are hardcore Sea Org members, who are required to sign billion-year contracts and promise to come back, lifetime after lifetime, to serve Scientology with abject devotion. Each were so dedicated, Clark had not seen his brother in nine years, and his mother only one time in that same nine year period, two years earlier.
And now, Clark knew he might be in some trouble with the church. For some time, he had been working for Marc Headley, a man who escaped from Scientology in 2005 and subsequently wrote a book about his experiences, Blown for Good. As we have written earlier, Headley’s access to damaging information, in particular regarding church leader David Miscavige, made him a major concern to the organization. Headley had denounced the church in Germany, where the government has considered banning Scientology, and his media production business had become a kind of haven for other former members who needed to find employment outside the church. Headley and his wife, Claire, had also filed lawsuits against Scientology, claiming that they were owed money for being forced to work at sub-minimum wage for so many years while they were Sea Org members. (Sea Org members typically take home 40 to 50 dollars for a week that could reach 100 hours or more of work.) Those lawsuits were dismissed last year.
As you’ll hear in the recordings, Clark explains that although his employer, Headley, is an outspoken critic of the church, Clark himself has not criticized the church publicly, even though he has some issues with its policies. In fact, to this day, Clark tells the Voice that he “bears no ill will to Scientologists” and told me he believes “most Scientologists are good people trying to help.” But in the meeting, it was quite clear what the stakes were: if Clark didn’t leave his job working for Headley, he would be declared a suppressive person, with the implication that his active Scientology family would disconnect from him.
“My being employed with Marc, my being associated with Marc was putting me in a position, in their mind, that they would protect other people by declaring me,” Clark told the Voice last week in a telephone interview. “Oh, that was absolutely understood. My being declared meant that my family would have to disconnect from me. That was the point of the meeting.”
In this first segment, introductions have already been made, and Davis has announced that he’s taping the meeting. Now, note how Davis immediately brings up Clark’s family as he begins to describe the situation that Clark is in. And then Davis makes a pretty surprising analogy, as you will see.
Davis has now established that, from the church’s perspective, Headley is akin to a neo-Nazi, and Clark is a kind of collaborator. (Davis will come back to this theme a few more times.)
In the next portion of the recording, Davis quotes at length from an L. Ron Hubbard policy in regards to declaring someone a suppressive person. In particular — and a part of the policy that Davis will repeat several times during the meeting — is the notion that even if a person is not himself criticizing or harming the church, but is associating with someone who is, that in itself is grounds for being declared a suppressive person.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Then, in this next segment we’ve put into a movie, Davis explains why such a policy is needed, to protect the people who devote so much time and effort to the church. While making that point, Davis provides his justification for why Sea Org members live such austere (some would say abusive) lives.
As you’ll see in the next segment, which occurs a few moments later, Clark does something remarkable — he sticks up for himself. At several points during the meeting, in fact, Clark defends his actions and even questions Scientology’s policies in remarkable moments of backbone. Remember, Clark is in a fairly intimidating position — if the church declares him, he knows that his family is made up of people who take Scientology policy seriously enough that he may never see them again.
(There at the end, Ranna assumes that Davis is in the Office of Special Affairs — Scientology’s intelligence and covert operations wing, which also oversees the organization’s public relations. But as chief spokesman, Davis is under a different branch of Scientology’s alphabet soup structure.)
In this next segment, you’ll see that Davis explains that he’s not interested in debates about the church or its policies — and then he provides a rapid-fire description of how massively Scientology is expanding (a constant refrain from Scientology officials which has repeatedly been debunked).
Davis then suggests that critics like Headley are only motivated by greed.
Davis’s final statement there has a few eyebrow-raising elements to it. First, he tries to sound somewhat noble, saying that it would be “criminal” for Scientology to take money from people who could not benefit from its services, and does not do that. But we are reminded of the notorious case of Raul Lopez, where a brain-damaged man who hardly had the capacity to decide things for himself was bled dry by Scientology, which got its hooks into the $1.7 million he had received after injuries sustained in a car accident.
And again, we’re starting to hear Davis repeatedly ask about what Clark’s “values” are. Clark, in other words, has to decide whether he really cares about his own family — because it is he, not the church, who is forcing the potential disconnection.
In the next portion of the recording, there is some discussion of the Marc Headley case, and his accusations about violence at Int base, which Shane says he saw with his own eyes when he worked there himself.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Davis steps in, however, saying that it isn’t appropriate to discuss what happened at the base in front of Clark’s girlfriend, who has not been there.
Instead, Davis wants to bring the focus back on Clark and his family, and now, in this next segment, you’ll see that he and Feshbach begin to build a case that if Clark hasn’t seen his family more, it’s his own fault.
In the next section of the recording, after Shane says that quitting his job is not really an option, Feshbach speaks up and says that it’s not just the job that is a problem, but Clark’s association with Headley.
“We’re talking about the bigger picture of the connection. If it really is that you need another job, I’ll help you find another job,” Feshbach says. “We do that all the time. Do you see what I mean?”
She goes on to say that the church has a duty to inform members of anything that could have a negative effect on the church. But Clark doesn’t like the idea that he’s being branded an enemy.
In the next segment, you will see that Clark boldly brings up the policy of disconnection itself and suggests that the church get rid of it, saying that nothing else causes the church more problems.
Davis then answers, you will hear, in skillful doublespeak: “Well, from the viewpoint of the people who are involved in being responsible for the breaking up of those families, I could see how you could have that viewpoint.”
There at the end, Davis suggests that there are policies by which a Suppressive Person can get back in the good graces of the church (the “A to E steps”), again putting the blame for disconnection on the SP and not on the church itself.
There’s some noise on the recording as Shane shifts in his seat, and then we go right into the next segment as Davis continues to explain that the blame for disconnection is on the wayward former member, not Scientology. In fact, Davis says, the idea that people are separated from their family by outside forces — and not their own fault — is “a bit of a lie.”
During that segment, Davis speaks most directly about disconnection, justifying it as a legacy of L. Ron Hubbard and group survival:
“Anyway, I think I’ve sort of said my piece. I’ve read you the key policies, I’ve read you the one in terms of organizational suppressive acts…LRH puts it in historical precedence as it relates to groups, period, not just to Scientology. There’s a reason groups do this, it’s integral to their survival. Groups who don’t do it get destroyed. And it’s just been proven over and over and over again in Scientology’s 58-year history…to whatever degree SP’s scream about how horrible it is, bottom line, it is what works, it is what safeguards the church. And by virtue of the fact that people who are connected to suppressives do rollercoaster, cannot make gains, and are called potential sources of trouble, or sources of trouble for a reason, based on historical precedence, it isn’t a policy that’s going to change tomorrow, next week, next month, or ever.”
The next segment immediately follows the last. Davis is starting to sound a little more forceful now. Clark’s repeated objections about the nature of disconnection policy seem to be getting to him…
That last part by Davis bears repeating: “You’re either the most stubborn, obstinate SOB I’ve ever met, or you have a two-digit IQ. I don’t know how else to spell it out for you, man. I really, really don’t. OK? You know, go pull out some law books, call an attorney: litigation is unpleasant. It really is. It just really is. And if you can’t, and I’m not even making a threat. I’m not.”
Not a legal threat? Well, if Tommy says so.
In the full recording, he then goes into a long description of the background of the Headley lawsuits. But then he waves them aside: “Let’s take the whole lawsuit out of it, completely,” he says. He then boasts that he’s actually trying to put people together, not disconnect them.
“Believe me, I have put far more families back into communication than Marc,” Davis says.
Ultimately, Davis says, It’s Clark who is in violation of policy, and the next move is his choice. And as you’ll see in this next segment, Tommy will take the Nazi metaphor in a surprising new direction.
It’s now clear that they are at an impasse. “I’ve said what I think, and you guys obviously think I’m nuts,” Shane says on the recording. His girlfriend, Ranna, now simply walks out.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Davis then seems to try to impress Clark again with how well the church is doing. He puts on a short video extolling the virtues of a new Scientology resort in Florida where church members will be able to rocket up “the bridge” to spiritual advancement.
But Shane reminds him that he’s not really a practicing Scientologist anymore.
“I don’t believe what most Scientologists believe,” he says.
“That’s your call,” Davis replies.
“I would prefer not to get declared. That would be an issue probably with my sister, and probably my dad. At the same time I do need the job,” Shane says.
And then, the final segment that we’ve put into a movie…
On the recording, we then hear Shane zip up a bag and then leave for his car. As he drives away, he calls Ranna and they talk about the meeting.
“In their eyes, it’s ‘my way or the highway.’ No compromise. I have to stop working for Marc, or that’s it,” Shane says.
Shane didn’t quit his job. Several months after the meeting, Clark learned that he had been declared a suppressive person by the church. His family immediately cut all ties to him.
“My dad was talking to me all the way until the point I was declared,” he told me last week. “I had been debating with him the stories about COB — David Miscavige — beating people up. He would have none of it.” (“COB” — Chairman of the Board — is one of ways Scientologists refer to Miscavige. “DM” is another.)
“We debated this for months before I got declared. Then I got declared and all of a sudden he wouldn’t talk to me,” Shane adds.
As we learned from the recording, he was already almost entirely cut off from his mother and brother, who are Sea Org members and too busy to do anything but work incredibly long hours for low pay (Headley, when he was at Int, says he worked more than 100 hours a week for a weekly salary of about $40.)
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“They would argue that my mom and brother weren’t talking to me because they were too busy saving the planet, and I wasn’t on the same page with them. Which I understand. They wouldn’t be lying if they made that argument,” Clark says. “My mom is convinced that her mission is more important than her family.” He assumes she’s at the headquarters near Hemet, California, but he can’t be sure. He says he has no idea where his brother might be.
Clark is now declared, but the reason for it no longer exists: Headley is no longer his boss. Headley sold the company recently, but he points out that Shane’s new boss is also an SP. So he may not really be in a better situation.
I asked Clark how life is nearly two years after Tommy Davis told him he was the equivalent of a bartender serving drinks to concentration camp guards.
“I’m still in the same job. Living in a decent place. I have a new girlfriend. So things are good, actually. I have nothing the church can take away from me. There’s nothing more that they do,” he says.
But he adds that he would, at some point, like to see his family again.
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“A psychiatrist tells you that people aren’t really insane, because insane people could snap out of it if they wanted to, and this, therefore, is their reason for punishing people who are insane. See, their logic just goes haywire halfway through. They almost have an answer and then they miss it. Almost touch it, miss it. Once in a blue moon some psychotic will — well, this is not even a technique — but some psychotic will suddenly get sane on this statement made to him: ‘You don’t have to be insane, you know.’ You know, he all of a sudden gets sane. It’s quite amusing. Much more often, psychotics turn sane on this one: ‘Come up to present time, please.’ They do and they say, ‘Hello!’ They’re not insane anymore; just pull them out of an engram.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 24, 1957
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“LOY AND CANDY: These two were doing all right until they came to Flag at which time their parents anti-Scn attitude keyed in and they became as cases ‘Troublesome Sources.’ They have been sent back at Flag expense to handle their parents and report to AOLA and complete their retrain at which time their Class VIII will be restored.” — The Commodore, January 24, 1970
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
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“Dianetics doesn’t handle everything but it does handle a lot. It is absolutely amazing technology. The newer processes and the E meter make it even more amazing! As an auditor you will start to see how the tools work , very quickly experience past life events and start to see that engrams are very real and do create negative effects. I do wish LRH had included some of the newer processes in the book such as R3RA.”
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2001: Mike Krotz reported that the body which washed up on a St. Petersburg beach belonged to a former Scientologist. “I have it on very good authority that this was the son of two area Scientologists. He was kicked out of the house some years ago, as he would not follow the teachings adhered to by his parents. They ‘disconnected’ from his ‘thetan infested meat body,’ and refused to have anything to do with him.” From the St. Petersburg Times: “The body was found about 5:20 p.m. on Redington Shores beach near 18200 Gulf Blvd. and authorities are trying to determine who it was. The body may have been in the water more than a week. It was a white man with no identification.”
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“If you believe that the Church of Scientology is a criminal organization, that makes David Miscavige the most successful crime boss in the world.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Next conf to set prelim, March 24.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to March 2.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. Jan 29: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
Concluded litigation:
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs.
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
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’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Game over? Scientology claims it’s already won arbitration motion against Valerie Haney
[TWO years ago] Thirty-three years later, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is still surfing the galaxy
[THREE years ago] The Battle of Portland: How Scientology turned a nightmare court verdict into a major victory
Another Leah, inspired by her namesake, comes forward with a harrowing Scientology escape
[FIVE years ago] On the 30th anniversary of L. Ron Hubbard’s galaxial soul ejection, an obit by an old friend
[SIX years ago] First time in full: 1997 interview of Barbara Klowden, L. Ron Hubbard’s PR agent and lover
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology wins damages from French court, but it’s not the victory they were hoping for
[EIGHT years ago] Lawrence Wright: “Scientology Is Heading for a Reckoning”
[NINE years ago] Scientology: L. Ron Hubbard Still Surfing the Galaxy
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,191 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,695 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,215 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,235 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,126 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,433 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,301 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,075 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,879 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,195 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,761 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,680 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,848 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,429 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,690 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,728 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,441 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,966 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 321 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,496 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,047 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,196 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,516 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,371 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,490 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,846 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,149 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,255 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,657 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,529 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,112 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,607 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,861 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,970 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 24, 2021 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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
January 23, 2021
While Biden signs fake orders, patriots figure Trump is right now in a C-17 somewhere
Some links to Q-related items today…
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});He didn’t last long pic.twitter.com/z4pzzFid8I
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) January 23, 2021
The struggle is real, people. Hold the line!
Struggling to understand what the QAnon movement is? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
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THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 22, 2021 at 9:55
Tom Cruise doesn’t want you to visit his camera-heavy condo in Scientology’s mecca
It’s fun to hear from Clay Irwin again, who sent us some snapshots.
You remember Clay. He’s the Michigander who decided to open a Florida bar and somehow didn’t realize his Clearwater watering hole the Lucky Anchor was smack in the middle of Scientology’s spooky mecca of spiritual perfection, the Flag Land Base.
And not long after he opened it, he was talking to some construction workers who had come into the Anchor to slake their thirst. Turned out they were working on Tom Cruise’s new condo, the one we had first broken news about back in 2016 when we managed to get our hands on its schematics.
According to those plans, Tom had purchased the top two floors of a former bank building that was being rehabbed and turned into “The Skyview” by a wealthy Mexico City Scientologist, Moises Agami. Clay was invited by the workers to come and take a look at the place while it was still pretty stripped. It was fun to see Clay walking around Tom’s future pad with his little dog, Bruno, who promptly christened the place on camera.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Anyway, Clay later sold the bar but we love checking in with him. He has a way of running into Scientology celebrities there in its spiritual home, and he keeps us up on how Tom’s project is going.
This time, he wanted us to see that the place, which now looks finished, is crawling with cameras.
“He made it Clay proof,” Irwin joked. “The tower of Tom has 40 cameras watching everything.”
He noted that there had already been a set of cameras when a new set was added recently.
“I was watching them installing cameras next to cameras the other day. I was like, there must have been a breach.”
We pointed out to Clay that Scientology’s attorneys, in a recent court filing, admitted that David Miscavige has moved to Florida, and Scientology’s own publication showed the church leader showing up at a Flag graduation. Other social media reports put him at the Fort Harrison Hotel on New Year’s Eve.
Clay said he couldn’t help wonder, has Dave moved into the Skyview with his buddy Tom?
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});We’d be surprised if that was the case. While Tom’s sisters and friends have purchased other units in the building, including one bought by Tom’s favorite director buddy, Christopher McQuarrie, Miscavige doesn’t seem like the condo tower type.
John Brousseau, who was once Dave’s brother-in-law, tells us he’s pretty certain that if David Miscavige is living in Clearwater, it’s at the Flag Building, which was opened in 2013.
Brousseau says that on the seventh floor, Miscavige has a full suite where he can keep out of sight. And it’s just a walk across the air bridge over Fort Harrison Boulevard for a quick meal at the Fort Harrison Hotel.
Here are a couple of renderings of what Dave’s office and suite was supposed to look like at the Flag Building, images we first published at the Village Voice in 2012.
And the best thing for Dave is that Tom’s place is just a quick 4 minute walk, according to Google. Here, check it out:
——————–
“Man is continually representing to you that he owns a body, and he doesn’t. He steals one. And Freud was looking for guilt. Do you want to find some guilt? Let’s look that one in the eye for a moment. The very thing he owns with he stole and he knows he stole. And somebody comes along and grabs him and throws him into the clink or something for having run off with a couple of teaspoons from the local manor or something, and he goes into a complete fit. Why does he go into a fit? He thinks he’s going to be tried for his basic crime in this life which is the theft of one Homo Sapiens, which is kidnapping.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 23, 1953
——————–
“JANIS GILLHAM is assigned a condition of LIABILITY for goofing up an LRH Conference recording resulting in that one side of the tape did not record. I am assigning myself a condition of NON-EXISTENCE for not testing recorder before the recording started.” — Msm Anne Tidman, January 23, 1971
——————–
“Just started reading and looking at videos on app downloaded. I’m 64 years old — person my age, is there any help for a person in my late years to begin this journey? Many years looked and traveled seeking truth only find out wanting. My desire is not just to improve myself but humanity as a whole. All of these religions and other ideas on spirituality of searching for over 50 years still leave me as something missing. I do know God created us to be as he intended but mankind has missed the mark. My heart breaks seeing the world in shambles and lack. Not just money, but peace, love, kindness and help mankind be whom we were actually designed as we are supposed to be. This will and is my last call for help as all other systems have failed. There is truth, but truth must be allowed to be put in action. May God help us all.”
2000: The Tampa Tribune reported this week that Bob Minton will be charged with battery for an incident during a protest at the Fort Harrison Hotel in October. “An outspoken critic of the Church of Scientology was formally charged with misdemeanor battery late Friday. New Hampshire millionaire Robert S. Minton Jr. faces a maximum penalty of one year in the county jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted of striking Scientologist Richard W. Howd Jr. during a protest Oct. 31 outside the church’s spiritual headquarters in downtown Clearwater. State Attorney Bernie McCabe had the option of not prosecuting the case, and Minton had been waiting since his arrest the night of the incident for a determination. Neither could be reached for comment late Friday. In the battery incident, Minton was carrying a protest sign up and down the sidewalk outside the Fort Harrison Hotel on Halloween night while Howd filmed him at close range with a video camera. Minton testified that he struck Howd with his placard when Howd would not back away as Minton left the area.”
——————–
“Typical Space Ozzie & Harriet ‘Remember the good ole days before all the perversion and permissiveness that lead to the downward spiral?’ reactionary bullshit. Except for the Space Opera, Scientologists have the same mindset as your average teabagger, fundie christian, conspiracy nut, gun lovin’ closet Nazi wingnut. I suggest we round them all up and send them to the FEMA camp called Branson MO.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Next conf to set prelim, March 24.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to March 2.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. Jan 29: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
Concluded litigation:
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs.
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
——————–
SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
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’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] Where in the world is Scientology leader David Miscavige?
[TWO years ago] Never forget: Scientology calls exes liars, but spells out its own abuses in documents
[THREE years ago] Scientology celeb Kerri Kasem marches for religious freedom in Hungary
[FOUR years ago] Scientology wastes no time making a move on the new president, but where does Trump stand?
[FIVE years ago] Whale watching, 2016 edition: Who’s keeping Scientology afloat?
[SIX years ago] VIDEO LEAK: Another segment from Marty Rathbun’s deposition — his ‘Liability Formula’
[SEVEN years ago] Ray Jeffrey on Scientology in the courtroom: ‘Constantly getting tripped up on the facts’
[EIGHT years ago] SCIENTOLOGY SUED FOR FRAUD OVER REFUND SCHEME, MORE PLAINTIFFS TO COME
[NINE years ago] Scientology Network TV Ads: More Precious Reactions!
——————–
Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,190 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,694 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,214 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,234 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,125 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,432 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,300 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,074 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,878 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,194 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,760 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,679 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,847 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,428 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,689 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,727 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,440 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,965 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 320 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,495 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,046 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,195 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,515 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,370 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,489 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,845 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,148 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,254 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,656 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,528 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,111 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,606 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,860 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,969 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 23, 2021 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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
January 22, 2021
It’s a Capricorn One presidency as QAnon patriots figure Biden is on a movie set
Some links to Q-related items today…
QAnon channels and chats on Telegram are overjoyed as Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene files articles of impeachment against President Biden.
"She's one of us," declares a big channel with 130k subscribers.
Followers agree in the chat.
"We need more patriots like her!"
"You go girl" pic.twitter.com/KrjgJqrGZE
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) January 21, 2021
Jordan Sather is doing some top-tier mental gymnastics to justify why he believes QAnon is still going to 'the plan' despite President Joe Biden taking office. pic.twitter.com/1O8Ctzw3ll
— Daniel James (@dulhunty) January 22, 2021
Struggling to understand what the QAnon movement is? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
————-
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 22, 2021 at 9:20
As Kevin Trudeau’s prison stint nears end, his pitch sounds more like Scientology than ever
In March 2014, TV pitchman and “Natural Cures” grifter Kevin Trudeau was sentenced to ten years in prison for contempt of court.
You probably remember his many late-night infomercials pitching quack health cures like “coral calcium” as he claimed to have the “natural” secrets to healing anything, including cancer.
His bogus come-ons were incredibly lucrative, of course, and people continue to buy into his fantasies even after he’s been proved time and again to be a swindler who peddles nothing but empty promises.
A really good 2015 profile of Trudeau in Business Insider showed that he was doing time in an Alabama facility that was more like summer camp than a penitentiary. A government database shows that he’s been moved to a Chicago halfway house which supervises prisoners on house arrest. And he’s scheduled to be released entirely next year, in 2022.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Trudeau can hardly wait to get back in the saddle, and his Global Information Network (GIN) is anticipating his release by starting to book personal sessions with him after he gets out. Yes, if you book early, you can secure in-person counseling with a man who never lets government fines and prison sentences from selling himself as the best life coach you could ever want.
Thanks to a reader, it’s been brought to our attention how much his GIN program is looking more and more like Scientology. In fact, we think you’re really going to be struck by the vocabulary Trudeau uses as he offers a new “level” of counseling he’s calling “Director VIII.”
Trudeau’s own involvement in Scientology is a little mysterious. He recommends in his books that readers try out Dianetics and Scientology. And as the Business Insider profile indicates, Trudeau’s second wife, Kristine Dorow, said that their prenup “obligated her to reach a certain level in Scientology, which Trudeau has dabbled in over the years.” Some former Scientologists have also claimed to have seen Trudeau at facilities in Los Angeles. But his actual involvement in Scientology is not well known.
Looking at his current offerings, there seems little doubt that Trudeau picked up a lot of Scientology concepts and jargon. Here’s a sample of what he’s selling as he prepares to come out of prison…
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});This is my official announcement that I will be personally teaching and delivering live and IN PERSON the Level 8 Success Mastery Course (SMC) Training for The Global Information Network (GIN)!
AND I am giving it to everyone FREE as my gift to Global Information Network Members!
You read that right. The ENTIRE Success Mastery Course (SMC) Level 8 Training will be FREE for qualified GIN Members!
The SMC Level 8 will be over 200 hours of personal instruction, teachings, and processes delivered directly by me in person.
Over 200 hours of highly advanced, never before released “Total Success” Training!
Regular “motivational speakers” or “success experts”, would charge well over $100,000 for a 200 hour “success course”.
They charge right now $15,000 – $35,000 per week for “success training”.
However, NO ONE has ever taught the material in Level 8 SMC Training….
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});The Level 8 SMC Training will be starting in the summer of 2022.
This is over 200 hours of personal training with me. All the details will be coming soon from The Global Information Network.
You must be a Member of the Global Information Network (GIN) and have completed Levels 1-7 of the Success Mastery Course.
You must be signed up for the Level 7 Success Mastery Course no later than December 31, 2021 in order to receive the Level 8 SMC Training for FREE.
You do not have to have completed the Level 7 training by December 31, 2021, you only have to be signed up for the training by that date. But you must complete the Level 7 SMC Training before you can take the Level 8 SMC Training….
This training will be like nothing you have ever experienced. This will take all the Success Mastery Course Levels 1-7 and The Science of Personal Mastery Course Lessons 1-64 and reveal all the hidden secrets that are embedded in those Courses.
When you go through Level 8 training, all the seeds that have been planted within you as you went through those courses will sprout and unleash their power. You may feel like a volcano has been released within you, with power and energy flowing throughout your body like lava.
You may feel like a blindfold has come off and finally you can “see” energy and “Truth”.
You might feel like the chains that have been binding you and holding you down have been broken and now you are totally FREE and liberated.
The Level 8 SMC Training will be more powerful than Levels 1-7 of the SMC combined.
The Level 8 SMC Training can be called “The Awakening”, “Super Power”, “The Revelation” and “The Breakthrough”.
It could also be called “TOTAL SUCCESS”, “Truth Revealed” or “Liberation Experienced”.
Many will call it “Unlimited Wealth”, “Abundant Prosperity”, or “The Perpetual HAPPINESS Course”.
This Training will bring you to a new level of “Being”, giving you higher abilities to manifest your desires faster and easier than ever before.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});It will in a way vaporize within you much of the negative energy that is keeping you from true deep happiness and joy that surpasses all human understanding. It will “clean up your karma” thus changing your life direction in major ways.
When you complete Level 8 Training:
-You will experience inner peace that cannot be described
-You will finally have true “meaning” in your life
-You will feel “in alignment” and have total CERTAINTY
-Secrets and “TRUTH” will be revealed
-Power within you will be unleashed
-Your awareness will open thus allowing you to see and understand things like you have never imagined before
-You will have mental and emotional CLARITY
-You will be totally and completely liberated from fear
-You will feel like you can “conjure” up and manifest any desire you have
This training will release you from much of your deep seeded and buried insecurities, pain, and any negative feelings of unworthiness or not being “good enough”.
This training will clear many of the blocks that have been holding you back from achieving your dreams and attaining the inner states of peace, fulfilment and joy that you ultimately desire and crave.
This training will give you the biggest breakthrough you have ever experienced in your life.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});When you complete the training, you will feel like your whole life has been a dream, and that you finally came out of a “trance”. You will feel completely “Awakened”, “Alive” and “Aware”. You will have KNOWINGNESS, POWER, and CERTAINTY.
You will be “Conscious”.
You will experience “states” that you have only read about, and additional “states” that you could never have imagined.
You will receive a “transference” of energy that will wake you up and expand your consciousness beyond anything you have known. You will reach a state of “dominion”, “control”, and “authority” that will make you feel “super human” and powerful beyond belief. You will have flowing within you, abilities far above that of “normal” people.
You will become a magnet for success and a manifesting machine being able to conjure into your life whatever you desire.
You truly will learn how to put a “command” into the ether and have your wish become a reality.
This is what you have been waiting for. This is what I have been waiting to deliver to you.
Now is the time! Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity….
The Level 8 Training will also “handle” most of the blocks dealing with the Matter, Energy, Space and Time of the physical world where you deal with people, places, things, events and circumstances. You will learn how to be a complete “Master” of your environment, all the people you deal with and all the situations you face in life. You will learn how to be at total “cause” over your environment instead of being “at effect”…
Make the decision today to experience a life changing event that will teach you how to Be, Do and Have whatever you desire…
I can assure you one thing. When you complete the Level 8 Training, YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!
Much love, light and consciousness.
Your friend in prosperity,
Kevin Trudeau
The truly sad thing, of course, is that there are people who will be chomping at the bit to give this huckster money so they can learn his “secrets” the minute he gets out of prison after having proved to be a liar and a con man. But such is the state of mankind.
We just think you will be struck by how many concepts and code words Trudeau has taken from Scientology for this scheme, and rather than highlight them ourselves we’ll let you pick them out for us.
——————–
“Authorship of the universe is something which has been in question for many years. People have been arguing about this for a long time. Even in ancient times the Christian argument with the conservative, status quo religion of Rome involved the creation of the universe. Who created the universe? In the early days of Greece, you found the various factions fighting over this fact of the actual creator of the universe. People have a tendency to run it backwards and try to find an earlier creator or a master creator, or this and that. What are they looking for? They’re looking for you! You’re hunted! To that degree, you’re hunted. Fascinating.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 22, 1957
——————–
“SMERSH: We have heard directly from the head of Smersh ‘Ban the Bomb Carstairs’ whose contempt for anyone else’s intelligence leads him to state he knows nothing about any attacks on Scientology. Ding, ding, ding, here comes the wagon! Plans for Ship Operation. I haven’t got any. Have you? Nice warm sun.” — The Commodore, January 22, 1970
——————–
“Idiots. Apparently the vaccine manufacturers didn’t know (or perhaps they do), that glycol was used on injections on the R6 Bank engram 75 million years ago. Now the idiots are wondering if polyethylene glycol is causing the gruesome Covid 19 vaccine adverse reactions.”
——————–
1999: Bob Minton announced that Factnet had discovered a Scientology operative working undercover. “They had unfettered access to information about me and my whereabouts, Stacy’s inner circle of friends, FACTNet records, Dan Leipold’s office, Graham Berry’s office and other juicy bits of info. Not only that, this plant had worked for the Cult Awareness Network for years and was an intimate friend of Cynthia Kisser, Craig Branch and a number of others active in the counter-cult movement. Her name is Laura Terepin. We hired some PI’s with impeccable credentials to check up on a few points about Laura. Laura lied about living alone in Madison WI. She never mentioned that one of her 3 house mates was a co$ Chicago staff member. Laura cell phones were billed to a Hollywood, CA private investigator who seemingly had at least 13 other phones billed to him that were linked to co$ operatives. Laura’s boyfriend works for the same PI who handled the phones. And the clincher is that daily calls to OSA in LA showed up on Laura’s phone records.”
——————–
“Scientology doesn’t have to murder people. It just drives them crazy and they end up murdering others or they kill themselves. Scientology may have murdered someone in the past, but there’s no conclusive proof — and critics talking like it’s a fact just makes them look kinda obsessed and a little bit nuts to outsiders.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Next conf to set prelim, March 24.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to March 2.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. Jan 29: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
Concluded litigation:
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs.
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
——————–
SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
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’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] Cedric Bixler-Zavala blames Scientology for poisoned dog he had to put down yesterday
[TWO years ago] Tonight, Leah Remini takes us into the incredible story of Scientology’s Clearwater takeover
[THREE years ago] Scientology relies heavily on Russian immigrants — and ‘disconnection’ doesn’t spare them
[FOUR years ago] National civil rights museum knows it’s harboring Scientology front group, shrugs it off
[FIVE years ago] Here’s your chance to meet the Sea Org at Scientology’s open house next week
[SIX years ago] Las Vegas attorney files 27th suit against Scientology rehab, Michigan attorney files 2nd
[SEVEN years ago] Monique Rathbun seeks sanctions, Scientology tries to kill Miscavige deposition in court today
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology Scrambling to Deal with Bad Publicity
——————–
Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,189 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,693 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,213 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,233 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,124 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,431 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,299 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,073 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,877 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,193 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,759 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,678 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,846 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,427 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,688 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,726 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,439 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,964 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 319 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,494 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,045 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,194 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,514 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,369 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,488 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,844 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,147 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,253 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,655 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,527 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,110 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,605 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,859 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,968 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 22, 2021 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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
January 21, 2021
The day after, QAnon patriots deal with the betrayal of a Biden presidency
Some links to Q-related items today…
Was QAnon all just a LARP? A cultural experience? And now it has only “historical value”?
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});After a user on Gab told him Q is fake and has no value, Jim Watkins, owner of 8chan/8kun where Q posts, snaps back by saying QAnon has "historical value and the culture of our country has changed because of it".
There's no-one with more interest in keeping QAnon alive than him. pic.twitter.com/Haf3QONqKG
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) January 21, 2021
And now QAnon metastasizes? Or what?
Some patriots just cannot bear the thought of their country going communist.
Hold the line, patriots. No regrets.
Incredible tattoo brother pic.twitter.com/voidMS7vIG
— Italien Feeld 🕳 (@julianfeeld) August 12, 2020
More stuff…
&nsp;
Struggling to understand what the QAnon movement is? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
————-
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 21, 2021 at 9:20
With not guilty plea, Danny Masterson assigned a trial judge his prosecutor knows well
We were listening yesterday as Danny Masterson’s criminal defense attorney Tom Mesereau entered a not guilty plea for the That ’70s Show actor at his arraignment on three counts of forcible rape, which carry a potential penalty of 45 years to life in prison. Masterson himself was not in court.
He was originally charged on June 16, but several different delays had pushed his arraignment to yesterday. Once again Mesereau objected to cameras being in the courtroom, saying that media reports of the case were tainting a potential jury pool, and that it was the media which was largely responsible for the case being charged to begin with.
Prosecutor Reinhold Mueller denied that, saying that the media had nothing to do with it. The court overruled Mesereau’s objection and agreed to have cameras present, but didn’t permit a live video stream of the matter. (We were still getting a live audio feed at that point thanks to the court’s new public access system.)
After entering the plea, the case was kicked upstairs to the courtroom of Judge Charlaine Olmedo, who becomes the trial judge for Masterson’s case. An initial date of March 24 was set for discussing when to calendar a preliminary hearing, a major step before trial itself.
Olmedo is a former deputy district attorney who in 2018 presided over a complex sexual assault case prosecuted by Mueller, resulting in the conviction of former drug rehab owner Christopher Bathum on 31 criminal counts and a 52-year prison sentence. It was a case that generated a lot of local media interest, and included allegations that Bathum had drugged and raped seven different women.
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Mueller can’t be disappointed that he’s landed in Olmedo’s court again. And Mesereau didn’t object.
The two sides will now begin working toward the preliminary hearing, when testimony is presented by Mueller in order to convince Olmedo that there’s enough evidence to warrant a trial. It will be our first opportunity to witness Masterson’s accusers testifying about what they went through and it should be harrowing based on what we already know about their experiences.
As we’ve said before, the DA’s office is under no obligation to offer Masterson a plea agreement, but if one comes our understanding is that an offer would only be proposed between arraignment and the preliminary hearing.
Mesereau has objected that because the alleged rapes of three women occurred between 2001 and 2003, the incidents are beyond the statute of limitations. But Mueller successfully argued in a previous hearing that because he is seeking a potential life sentence under California’s strict “One Strike” sexual assault law, he can bring the case at any time.
We are still waiting to learn details about what travel restrictions Masterson may be under after being arraigned. Previously, he had to turn in his firearms collection after the victims were put under a protective order by the court.
Meanwhile, a hearing had also been scheduled yesterday in the civil lawsuit brought by four of Masterson’s accusers. They had asked for an emergency hearing and hoped to put a stay on the case in order to protect the criminal prosecution.
On December 30, Judge Steven Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to force four of the five plaintiffs, the ones who were Scientologists, to take their complaints to Scientology’s internal brand of “religious arbitration.” And he also found that Masterson himself could participate in that proceeding.
His accusers argued that it would be a violation of their rights to be subjected to questioning in such a setting, since they’re under the protective order in the criminal case and because they enjoy further protection under “Marsy’s Law” as victims of sexual assault.
But Judge Steven Kleifield declined to hear their motion yesterday on an emergency basis, and ruled that they will have to wait until May to bring up their request for a stay. Kleifield saw no immediate danger in what the women are facing.
Both Scientology and Masterson’s attorneys argued in their oppositions to the emergency motion that at this point it’s not really up to Kleifield whether or not to stay the case, since he’s turned the case over to Scientology.
They both argued in separate briefs that if the plaintiffs were going to ask for a stay, they should have done it before Kleifield made his ruling on Scientology’s arbitration motions. And they both argued that what the plaintiffs were really doing was looking for another way to cancel Kleifield’s arbitration ruling.
Sure, Scientology and Masterson’s attorneys are doing their best to make Chrissie Carnell Bixler and the other women look unreasonable for objecting to Kleifield setting them up to be put into a room with their alleged rapist in a jackleg court martial put on by the vindictive organization that tried to prevent them from going to the police with their rape allegations to begin with.
How dare these women.
We understand that the case could be put on hold in another way. If the plaintiffs file a petition for a writ of mandate with the California appellate court they could ask for a stay and put the case on hold. And we expect that they might do that soon. (The legal team will probably do it sooner this time than they did for Valerie Haney, whose petition was denied because they waited too long to submit it.)
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
SOME OF OUR PAST REPORTING ON THE MASTERSON CASE
March 3, 2017: LAPD probing Scientology and Danny Masterson for multiple rapes, cover-up
March 8, 2017: Danny Masterson: Victim C gets support from a veteran actress
March 11, 2017: Scientology made Danny Masterson’s Victim B search past lives to explain being raped
May 9, 2017: Masterson hires Michael Jackson criminal defense attorney Tom Mesereau in rape probe
Nov 2, 2017: Read the threatening letter Danny Masterson’s attorney Marty Singer sent a victim’s husband
Nov 26, 2017: EXCLUSIVE: Scientology interrogated Danny Masterson and accuser, didn’t notify LAPD
Feb 14, 2018: PROSECUTORS PREPARE CHARGES CARRYING LIFE SENTENCE FOR DANNY MASTERSON
Apr 27, 2018: Strange days for a woman accusing Danny Masterson of rape — and for her rocker husband
July 8, 2018: Masterson witness fears for safety as investigation drags on and on
Nov 30, 2018: LEAH REMINI: Los Angeles DA Jackie Lacey, do your job already
Aug 14, 2019: RAPE ACCUSERS SUE DANNY MASTERSON, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY, AND ITS LEADER
Jan 22, 2020: Cedric Bixler-Zavala blames Scientology for poisoned dog he had to put down yesterday
Feb 10, 2020: Another dog poisoned: Bobette Riales says harassment worse since suing Scientology
Feb 26, 2020: SEVENTH victim comes forward to LAPD accusing Scientology actor Danny Masterson
Feb 29, 2020: Amended complaint filed against Danny Masterson with new stalking allegations
March 14, 2020: Danny Masterson’s victims speak out in sworn documents in lawsuit against Scientology
Masterson: Drop me from Scientology lawsuit if the ‘Jane Does’ won’t name themselves
June 17, 2020: SCIENTOLOGY CELEB DANNY MASTERSON CHARGED ON MULTIPLE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
June 19, 2020: Records show that Danny Masterson is a woeful Scientologist — would he turn on the church?
June 23: 2020: The key thing about Danny Masterson’s ‘DJ Donkey Punch’ nick is why he stopped using it
Sept 30, 2020: Could Danny Masterson’s odd legal fight over his Hollywood house endanger his freedom?
Oct 11, 2020: Danny Masterson asks to halt civil lawsuit while criminal case is ongoing, as expected
Oct 12, 2020: Bijou Phillips on her husband Danny Masterson: A macho ‘Strong Island’ guy
Oct 16, 2020: Danny Masterson ‘accidentally’ outs Jane Doe accuser after judge told him not to
Nov 16, 2020: Judge in Danny Masterson lawsuit doubts Scientology ‘arbitration,’ sets hearing
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Nov 19, 2020: Danny Masterson takes another expensive and futile swipe at his criminal charges
Dec 1, 2020: If the feds are sniffing around, they might look at Danny Masterson’s besties
Dec 4, 2020: WHOA! Scientology to Judge Kleifield: Wrecking human lives IS our ‘commerce’
Dec 18, 2020: Jane Doe #1’s own attorneys flubbed and ID’d her and her IP address in court documents
Dec 24, 2020: Letter shows Scientology gave Jane Doe #1 permission to sue Danny Masterson in 2004
Dec 31, 2020: MASTERSON ACCUSERS DENIED RIGHT TO TRIAL, FORCED TO ‘RELIGIOUS ARBITRATION’
Jan 2, 2021: Worst part in the Scientology ‘arbitration’ ruling? Danny Masterson can participate.
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“We have only 476 special terms, most of which mean what they mean in English. That’s right, that’s the whole vocabulary, 474 of these items. I wish elementary physics could say as much. And with only knowledge of 24 of these items and how to handle these items, you can make the blind see. You could also bring the dead back to life. Well, you think I’m kidding. That’s no trick. It’s whether or not they want to be alive that’s the point. I remember one black man that was busy dying and so on, and I looked him over and I, all I had to say was the magic words, you know? He’d been drowned and he hadn’t been drowned very long. It was very easy you know? And I said so-and-so and so-and-so and I found out he was connected with enough woe in life that it was no wonder that he had busily drowned. I just asked his friend who was standing there, ‘This man lead a happy life?’ ‘Oh boss,’ he says, ‘Oh no, no he have an awful time, awful time.’ I said, OK, cart him away.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 21, 1961
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“Our M.O. Dr. Steve Jarvis has just had a 2 page spread article on Scientology in ‘GP,’ the Medical Doctors’ journal in the UK. It is a splendid article, pointing up Scn’s role in psychosomatic medicine. The magazine asked for an article, three MDs in Scn submitted them. Dr. Jarvis’s article won. Copies will be mailed to all parliaments. Coronet magazine in the US printed an article by me, preceding it with a SMERSH write up. However, the article calmly made nothing of the attack and reader opinion is that it will do us a lot of good. Say, I’m busy as all hell on half a hundred hats. What’s going on with the rest of you cats?” — The Commodore, January 21, 1969
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“Getting to that major goal, Clear, still stands as key for anyone who really calls themselves a Scientologist. So it still is for me, and I would need to focus on that, exclusively, if I still have a shot at it this lifetime (body age, 65 yrs!). If I don’t make it, I feel I still have enough awareness imbued, from the dedicated study and application of the Scn philosophy/ AXIOMS/The Factors, and lower level auditing, that, the ‘next’ chapter should, at least, be a little less confusing. My past lives (recalled,) have given me the certainty of returning for another round of games, in a future time and space.”
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1998: Us magazine carried an article on Scientologist Jenna Elfman this week. “It’s another late afternoon on Fox Stage 21, home of the hit show Dharma and Greg. Elfman is remarkably unsurprised at her own success. She’s genuinely warm, but you know instantly not to mess with her. It’s the quiet confidence of someone who sits in a charmed circle, or in her case, a square — and at the four corners are her husband, her parents who come to every taping of the show, her acting teacher & mentor, Milton Katselas, and the Church of Scientology, of which Elfman has been a member since 1991. It’s clear that Scientology is important to Elfman, and she’s perhaps it’s best representative. While Tom Cruise, John Travolta and indeed, Kirstie Alley, field questions about their religion with weary defensiveness. Elfman chats away happily about it. ‘I think the people that misunderstand the church have a button on flowing support,’ says Elfman, puffing on a cigarette, her last vice. ‘I’m not hostile or critical of anything until I have picked it up myself. I don’t let people talk shit to me about other people. Read a book if you want to know what it is, and if you’re not going to read the book, keep your mouth shut.’ Elfman fields concerns about Scientology with the ease of a world-class goalie. Its cost? ‘You get counseling. You pay for it. If you want to see a therapist, you pay for it.’ It’s appearance as a cult? ‘Hubbard was just a man; he never claimed to be godlike.’ The perception that people can’t leave the church of their own free will? ‘I’ve never tried to leave the church, so I don’t know’.”
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“You’re nothing around here unless you’ve been corrected or admonished by The Proprietor at least once.”
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson’s demurrer denied Oct 19, arraignment delayed to Jan 20.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to March 2.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration; Jan 29, Masterson’s request to stay discovery pending the criminal case
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
Concluded litigation:
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs.
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
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’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology lets Diana Hubbard out of the compound again — what’s the occasion?
[TWO years ago] Scientology sells miracles, and we can’t get enough of them
[THREE years ago] Scientology front group targets unwitting indigenous people to spread its propaganda
[FOUR years ago] Scientology is still a fraud in France, but it gets some revenge against anti-cult group there
[FIVE years ago] When L. Ron Hubbard tried to convince the BBB that Scientology was raking it in
[SIX years ago] How Scientology responds to adversity: A classic example from its golden era
[SEVEN years ago] Where is Scientology keeping Barbara Cordova Oliver?
[EIGHT years ago] Isabella Cruise and Eddie Frencher Reunite After He Leaves Scientology’s “Sea Org”
[NINE years ago] Scientology Viscosity: Commenters of the Week!
[TWENTY TWO years ago] Picket Fencing (The Jeff Jacobsen story)
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,188 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,692 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,212 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,232 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,123 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,430 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,298 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,072 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,876 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,192 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,758 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,677 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,845 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,426 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,687 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,725 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,438 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,963 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 318 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,493 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,044 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,193 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,513 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,368 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,487 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,843 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,146 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,252 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,654 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,526 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,109 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,604 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,858 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,967 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 21, 2021 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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
January 20, 2021
Inauguration Day: QAnon patriots hold the line as the unthinkable unfolds in front of them
Some links to Q-related items today…
Patriot emotions were all over the place this morning as the momentous events began…
Meanwhile, the critics will sound their sour notes.
Struggling to understand what the QAnon movement is? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
————-
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 20, 2021 at 9:35
Danny Masterson arraigned on rape charges, enters a not guilty plea
UPDATE: We were listening in this morning as Tom Mesereau entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client Danny Masterson as the That ’70s Show actor was arraigned at Los Angeles Superior Court. The case was then assigned to Judge Charlaine Olmedo to schedule a preliminary hearing in upcoming months.
As of this morning’s posting time, two hearings regarding Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson are both scheduled to happen at the same time at Los Angeles Superior Court — one in the criminal court building, and another in civil court — and for the first time, we can listen in remotely.
Because of the Covid pandemic we’ve had a challenging time covering the rape case against Masterson and the civil lawsuit filed by his accusers. Our man on the scene, Jeffrey Augustine, has been prevented from attending some matters as the court asks people to stay home with the virus still so prevalent.
Last year, we requested remote access to an important hearing in the civil lawsuit and the court agreed — and charged us $96 for the privilege. We paid it, but then they changed their minds and refused us access to subsequent hearings. We were told repeatedly by court officials that they were working on new technology to make access more easy for reporters and others interested in what was going on.
(By contrast, we were given a link to listen in remotely for no cost last year to Steve Cannane’s libel trial going on in Sydney, Australia. It was clear as a bell and hassle-free.)
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Last week, LA Superior Court announced that they finally had things worked out and now anyone is supposed to be able to listen in to any proceeding going on at its courthouses. But it’s not without red tape, and we are bracing ourselves that it does not roll out smoothly.
Especially with two hearings going on at the same time.
At the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center at 8:30 am Los Angeles Time, Masterson is once again scheduled to be arraigned on three counts of forcible rape which has him facing 45 years to life in prison. He was actually charged on June 16, but various delays have pushed his arraignment back numerous times. He is not expected to be in the courtroom, but he’ll be represented by his defense attorneys Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum. They are expected to enter a plea of not guilty for Masterson, but we’re prepared for a number of different things that may come up — Mesereau may find yet another reason for a delay, Masterson’s freedoms may be curtailed as part of his plea, and other considerations may come up. We’ll do our best to keep up on it.
At the same time, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Masterson’s rape accusers have asked for an emergency hearing in the harassment lawsuit they filed against Masterson, the Church of Scientology, and its leader David Miscavige (see yesterday’s story on their motion). They want the lawsuit put on hold as the criminal case moves forward, arguing that the decision on the civil side to force them into “religious arbitration,” and with Masterson himself potentially participating, could violate their rights and compromise the criminal case. Scientology’s attorneys don’t want the lawsuit paused, and so we may see them get into some interesting antics in front of Judge Steven Kleifield.
We’ll do our best to get signed into both hearings and report what’s going on, and we have some other observers also signed up to listen in. It may be a frenetic day.
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“Let’s go back to this problem and see if there isn’t a little bit more to be known then about an individual who will not exteriorize. We’ve got the DEI cycle — desire, enforce, inhibit. At first he desired to mobilize MEST, and then MEST began to enforce its mobilization upon him, and then he started to inhibit it. We will find this for instance between a man and a woman who are ill-matched sexually. We will find a woman who is tremendously demanding sexually, may at first attract some fellow who is fairly normal, and there will be a period there when he is perfectly willing to satisfy her. This passes rapidly into a period of where he begins to believe it is being enforced upon him, and this will pass rapidly into his refusal. And so you’ve got desire, enforce, inhibit. And he will not only inhibit his sexual outflow toward her, he will simply start inhibiting it toward all women. He does it by classes, non-specific. And so we find him then becoming sexually impotent in ratio to the amount of sexual performance which has been demanded of him. Rather sad thing, isn’t it?” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 20, 1954
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“Div IV did not put any rat guards on our lines and now a rat has been seen aboard. What does it matter to make up super duper rat guards if you don’t use them!!” — Capt. Mary Sue Hubbard, January 20, 1970
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“Finally I am here! It’s a great feeling, being verified and acknowledged as Clear. God knows how long and how many sleepless nights I’ve suffered from the uncertainty and invalidations of it. Words cannot describe the millions of things going through my mind right now. I’m just grateful that I’m where I am right now. The future is brighter than ever!”
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1997: Jeff Jacobsen reported having lunch with two Scientologists this week, who tried to persuade him to take down the Lisa McPherson web page and to stop the upcoming picket in Clearwater to protest her death. “To sum up, it seemed that they basically wanted a few things from me; 1) don’t mention the OT stuff next time I’m interviewed, 2) tone down my web page, 3) dump the Lisa McPherson page, and 4) stop organizing pickets of the church. #4 was the most interesting to me. They tried to imply that my calls to picket are dangerous because unstable people might join the picket and shoot someone or do something harmful. Their proof of this theory was a big stack of a.r.s. posts from names I don’t recall saying things like ‘bring a gun to your local picket and shoot up the place’, and ‘henri’s’ post stating ‘bomb your local Church of Scientology.’ I protested that there could be nuts on both sides and that us picketers are in just as much danger from crazy people as the Scientologists. I also reminded them that my demonstration page has always promoted a peaceful, non-violent picket, and I even quote Gandhi and Vaclav Havel. But they didn’t seem moved by these arguments.”
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“Clear Cognition: You mocked up your reactive mind. OT8 Cognition: You mocked up the Space Opera, your past lives and your BT infestation. The trigger for the OT8 cognition is the line ‘the Pilot says: I’m mocking this up.’ The desired End Phenomena is ‘Now that I know what I am not, I am ready to find out what I am’.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson’s demurrer denied Oct 19, arraignment delayed to Jan 20.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to March 2.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration; Jan 29, Masterson’s request to stay discovery pending the criminal case
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
Concluded litigation:
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs.
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
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’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology staffers react to Xenu, and hit up the ‘Reckless Ben’ team to work for eternity
[TWO years ago] Scientology uses celebrities and police as props — military veterans, it’s your turn!
[THREE years ago] Garcias decry Scientology kangaroo ‘arbitration’ and ask judge to reinstate fraud lawsuit
[FOUR years ago] What Scientology can tell us about a 20th of January like no other
[FIVE years ago] The Church of Scientology of Latter-Day Dolts: Video evidence of the fall
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s first ‘Clear’: L. Ron Hubbard intended to return as his daughter Diana’s son
[SEVEN years ago] Tales from Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre: A new film, and a new death
[EIGHT years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Says It Bought a SUPER BOWL Ad!
[NINE years ago] Scientology on the High Seas: The Littlest Sailors!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,187 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,691 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,211 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,231 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,122 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,429 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,297 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,071 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,875 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,191 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,757 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,676 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,844 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,425 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,686 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,724 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,437 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,962 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 317 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,492 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,043 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,192 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,512 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,367 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,486 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,842 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,145 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,251 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,653 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,525 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,108 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,603 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,857 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,966 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 20, 2021 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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
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