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2021
1 year ago
2021-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
Over at The Daily Beast today we have another big story, and one that we originally started working on three years ago.
Back then, Leah Remini told us she was being stalked by private investigators while she was filming the movie Second Act with her friend Jennifer Lopez. We even managed to ID the private eye trailing Leah, a retired NYPD police detective named Yanti 'Mike' Greene, and we confronted him with a phone call.
For that 2018 story here at the Bunker we didn't name Greene, but now, three years later, Greene's own text messages from that time were put into a court file in an unrelated (and very bizarre) lawsuit involving his surveillance of another woman.
Tags: 1950, 1971, 1984, 1997, 2017, 2018, Adelaide, Aleister Crowley, Avatar, Bomb threat, Brooklyn, Christian Right, Company, Daily Beast, Dan Ribacoff, DC, Deadline, Egypt, Florida, Gold Coast, Gottfried Helnwein, Houston, Instagram, International Investigative Group, Jennifer Lopez, John McMaster, Kha Khan, L. Ron Hubbard, Lance Ribacoff, Leah Remini, Lisa Ribacoff, Long Island, Manhattan, Mary Sue Hubbard, Mike Greene, New York City, NYPD, Orlando, Potential Trouble Source, Private investigator, Ray Ramos, Republican, Rolling Stone, Saul Roth, Starbucks, Suicide, Tax, Telex, Vanity Fair
2021-06-17, Tony Ortega, Daily Beast
Retired NYPD detective Yanti "Mike" Greene had spent three days weaving through Manhattan traffic in pursuit of two Cadillac Escalades and their precious cargo—actress Leah Remini and her friend Jennifer Lopez—when, on the fourth night at 2:01 a.m., he received a text from another ex-cop turned private eye, Saul Roth.
It was December 2017 and Roth, then 58 and a former Nassau County police detective, asked Greene what the job was, and whether he'd be paid his rate of $50 an hour.
"Main question lol," Roth texted.
Tags: 1980, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, A&E, California, Catholic, Critic, Dan Ribacoff, David Miscavige, David Smith, Fair Game, Google, International Investigative Group, Jennifer Lopez, King of Queens, Lance Ribacoff, Leah Remini, Long Island, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Mike Greene, New York, New York City, New York Post, NYPD, Private investigator, Quicky, Ray Ramos, Ron Miscavige, Saul Roth, Scientology and the Aftermath, Texas, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, Wisconsin
2020
2 years ago
2020-06-17, Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times
Actor Danny Masterson has been charged with three counts of rape involving incidents between 2001 and 2003, Los Angeles prosecutors said Wednesday.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a statement that Masterson is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman between October and December 2003.
Few other details about the cases were released.
Tags: 2001, 2003, 2017, Danny Masterson, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Quicky, Sexual assault
2020-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
Anyone who comes to this blog is going to be interested in this development.
It is now all over the media.
There is a lot of coverage, including AP above, which guarantees that this will be picked up far and wide.
Tags: Danny Masterson, Facebook, Jackie Lacey, Jeffrey Augustine, Quicky, Rape, Tony Ortega, Twitter
2020-06-17, Andrew Dalton, Associated Press, Global News
That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson was charged with the rapes of three women in the early 2000s, Los Angeles prosecutors said Wednesday, the culmination of a three-year investigation that resulted in a rare arrest of a famous Hollywood figure in the #MeToo era.
The three counts of rape by force or fear against Masterson were filed Tuesday, and an arrest warrant isssued. Masterson, 44, was arrested late Wednesday morning, jail records showed. He was released a few hours later after posting bond and is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 18.
Masterson's attorney Tom Mesereau said his client is innocent, and "we're confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify."
Tags: 1960, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2017, Ashton Kutcher, Bijou Phillips, California, Chicago, Danny Masterson, Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood, Jackie Lacey, Jerry Rubin, Jim Carrey, LAPD, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Michael Jackson, Mila Kunis, Netflix, New York, Quicky, Sexual assault, Tom Mesereau
2020-06-17, Gene Maddaus, Variety
Actor Danny Masterson has been charged with raping three women between 2001 and 2003, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office announced on Wednesday.
Masterson, 44, was charged with three counts of rape, and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted. He was arrested by the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division on Wednesday morning, and was released in the afternoon on $3.3 million bail.
An arraignment has been set for Sept. 18.
Tags: 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2016, 2017, 2019, Chrissie Carnell, Danny Masterson, Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood, LAPD, Los Angeles, Netflix, Quicky, Robbery, Tom Mesereau
2020-06-17, Associated Press, CBC News
That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson has been charged with the rapes of three women in the early 2000s, Los Angeles prosecutors said Wednesday.
The three counts of rape by force or fear come after a three-year investigation of the 44-year-old Masterson. The charges were filed Tuesday and an arrest warrant was issued, prosecutors said.
The District Attorney's Office said in a statement that it had declined to file sexual assault charges against Masterson in two other cases because of insufficient evidence and because of the statute of limitations.
2020-06-17, Maria Puente, USA Today
Danny Masterson, the actor ousted from Netflix's "The Ranch" amid sexual assault allegations, has been charged with forcibly raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003, the district attorney in Los Angeles County announced Wednesday.
Masterson, 44, was charged with three counts of rape by force or fear. His arraignment is scheduled for September 18.
Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller of the Sex Crimes Division, who is prosecuting the case, said all of the alleged crimes occurred at Masterson's home Hollywood Hills.
2020-06-17, Marlow Stern, Daily Beast
I regret to inform you the celebs are at it again.
On Sunday, in lieu of posting Instagram-friendly protest content, discussing White Fragility in a Zoom book club, or recording a mortifyingly tone-deaf PSA renouncing racism, the comedian Chelsea Handler shared a video clip to her 3.9 million Instagram followers. The clip featured Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, during a 1990 appearance on The Phil Donahue Show.
In the clip, Farrakhan attempts to educate the rowdy, majority-white daytime TV audience on the subject of white supremacy.
Tags: 1984, 1985, 1990, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, Abortion, Africa, Anti-Semitism, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Candace Owens, Chelsea Handler, Chicago, David Miscavige, Dianetics, Donald Trump, Facebook, Glenn Beck, Hollywood, Isaac Hayes, Jewish, LGBTQ, Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam, New York City, Quicky, Southern Poverty Law Center, Twitter, White supremacist
2020-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
I recently spoke with my old friend Dr. Susie Meister on her Brain Candy podcast. Susie has interviewed me before and it's always enjoyable and she asks the best questions. She may not look like the stereotypical Religious Studies PhD, but she is one smart cookie. She is perhaps more well-known for her MTV reality show appearances back before she became a religious scholar, and in this case we talked a lot about "reality" TV and making The Aftermath.
Interestingly, and entirely coincidentally, Susie's husband, Adam, was a Sound Engineer on The Aftermath. He is as nice and as smart as she is.
You can listen to the podcast here— it's just over half an hour. Hope you enjoy it.
2020-06-17, Jeffrey Augustine, Scientology Money Project
As is being reported by numerous media outlets, Los Angeles District Attorney today charged Scientologist and actor Danny Masterson with three counts of rape. From The Hollywood Reporter's coverage:
The That '70s Show star was charged with three counts of rape by force or fear. The case was filed for warrant Tuesday, according to the district attorney's office. Masterson was arrested Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., according to jail records. His bond was set at $3.3 million. He bonded out at 2:44 p.m. according to jail records.
The criminal charges against Danny Masterson are a vindication of Leah Remini's show Scientology and the Aftermath. Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, and everyone at Scientology and the Aftermath courageously stood up for Masterson's victims and aired their story despite the many threats from the Church of Scientology and Masterson's lawyers. Readers can watch this episode on A&E: Waiting for Justice.Tony Ortega has been covering the Masterson rape allegations, now criminal charges, for years. Tony's report today on the case focuses in on how the Church of Scientology is inextricably intertwined in the Masterson rape charges.The Los Angeles County Sheriff's booking document on Danny Masterson shows his $3.3 million bail.Aaron Smith-Levin discusses how Scientology official Julian Swartz has acted to protect rapists and pedophiles within the Church of Scientology:
2020-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
After nearly a four-year-long investigation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced today that it has charged Scientology celebrity and That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson for raping three women between the years 2001 and 2003, and is seeking a penalty of 45 years to life in prison.
Masterson, 44, surrendered himself in Los Angeles this morning in order to be booked and released. We are seeking responses to the charges from Masterson's defense attorney, Tom Mesereau.
In March 2017, we broke the news that three women had come forward with allegations of being raped by Masterson in a period over 2001 to 2003. All three of the women had been Scientologists at the time, but are not Scientologists today.
Tags: 1950, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, A&E, Aleister Crowley, Bobette Riales, California, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Charlie Beck, Chrissie Carnell, Christian Right, Clear, Danny Masterson, Environmental Protection Agency, Esther Reyes, Jackie Lacey, Karin Pouw, L. Ron Hubbard, LAPD, Laura Prepon, Leah Remini, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Marty Singer, Michael Jackson, Michael Peña, Quicky, Reinhold Mueller, Scientology and the Aftermath, Scientology celebrity, Tom Mesereau
2020-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
Meet Martin Sherman.
He's a gallery owner in West Los Angeles where you can get a picture frame custom made.
He's also an OT 8 Scientologist whose involvement goes back decades.
Martin and his shop were recently featured at Scientology TV in a slickly-produced episode about the work he does at his gallery, and you can find the show about him at Scientology's website.
2020-06-17, Lauren Fruen, Daily Mail
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced the actor has been charged with forcibly raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003.
Masterson, 44, stands accused of raping a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, according to the complaint.
He also accused of raping a a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and sometime between October and December of that year of raping a woman, 23, who officials say he had invited to his Hollywood Hills home.
2019
3 years ago2019-06-17, Jeffrey Augustine, Scientology Money Project
@LeahRemini From the John Roecker Film Archives. A Scientology Training film from the '80's on how to get people to join the cult! Funny in a terrifying way. https://t.co/hi3JG5wpyI
— John Roecker (@RoeckerSvengali) June 15, 2019
This grainy Scientology video was posted by our good friend and neighbor the film director John Roecker. The film is very stiff and stilted. Still, it's worth watching to see how Scientology is just a sales organization. There is discussion about watching out for "refund cases," insane people, and a lot of other things. Bad acting is guaranteed.
2019-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
There is a lot of shrinkage in scientology these days, and now Maiden Voyage is added to the list. (Yes I know the graph is meaningless, it's how scientology always presents their "expansion" so it seemed appropriate...)
For decades there have been 5 main events and a Seminar for every Maiden Voyage:
"Opening Night" — a summary of the "accomplishments" of the "OT Ambassadors"
2019-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
Erin Hodges Plumb has done it again. We've documented her daring excursions in the past, and this time she let us know that she'd once again gotten access to Scientology's "Int Base" in Riverside County, California. This time for a charity event.
The San Jacinto Lions Club was the most recent group to hold a charity fundraising event at Scientology's golf course at the compound, which is called the Golden Era Golf Course, after Scientology's filmmaking division, Golden Era Productions.
"The event was charging teams $30 to run an obstacle course on the golf course and then they got prizes for finishing the obstacles. So I bought a ticket for a team for $30 on Eventbrite and they refunded it to me," she tells us. "But then there was a post saying that the public could go and cheer on the teams, so my sister Joey and I were able to just walk right on the golf course."
Tags: Aftermath Foundation, California, Charles Bagley, Erin Hodges Plumb, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Golden Era Golf Course, Golden Era Productions, Int Base, Jay Spina, Jeffrey Spina, Kim Spina, Medicare, Mike Rinder, New York, Quicky, Riverside County, San Jacinto, Times Herald-Record, Toronto
2019-06-17, Dianne Lipson, Underground Bunker
Closing statements in the Nxivm trial began this morning, and Dianne Lipson was in court. She has the morning session, when prosecutors began their summing up…
Moira Penza is giving the closing statement for the prosecution. She described Nicole, blindfolded on the cold table, not knowing who was there. She described Daniela in the room with just a paper and a pad to write on. Penza said to the jury, "You saw the defendant for what he was: a con man, a predator, and a crime boss."
As a crime boss, he turned others into criminals to work for him. We heard testimony, Penza said, from the inner circle about how Daniela went from hacking to being imprisoned.
2018
4 years ago2018-06-17, Chris Shelton, Critical Thinker at Large
The weekly show where I answer viewer questions left for me in the comment sections of my Q&A videos or sent to me at AskChrisShelton@gmail.com. This week, the questions I answer are:
(1) If I understand correctly, the Sea Org is a paramilitary organization loosely modeled after the U.S. Navy as Hubbard knew it during World War II. Most military forces have policies on haircuts and facial hair. The U.S. Navy, in particular, has a long on-again-off-again relationship with beards; over the years, they have been repeatedly allowed and then banned again (the ban presently in force was instituted in 1984). Also, unlike the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, the Navy doesn't allow moustaches. Anyway, my question: what, if any, is the Sea Org policy on haircuts and facial hair?
(2) Are you concerned with Jada Pinket's Red Table Talk. It appears to be a new way to sell Scientology without saying the word. Check out her discussion on raising kids as adults.
Tags: 1984, 1998, Aaron Smith-Levin, Critic, L. Ron Hubbard, Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, Quicky, Sea Org, Space Jazz, Xenu
2018-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
I know there are some withdrawal symptoms accompanying the end of the Sunday Serial. To help, here is another of Terra's signature essays.
Groups, Collaboration, and the Bank
In Keeping Scientology Working, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, "The common denominator of a group is the reactive mind. Thetans without banks have different responses. They only have their banks in common. They only agree on bank principles. Person to person the bank is identical."
2018-06-17, Ron Miscavige, YouTube
"Ron Miscavige Life After Scientology" will explore Ron's time with the Church of Scientology and expose information that the Church does not want you to know.
Please support my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/itmuststop
Visit my website: https://www.therealronmiscavige.com/
2018-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
Rod Keller has a pretty alarming update for us on Scientology's sneaky "interfaith" efforts scoring some pretty serious paydirt...
On June 28 Scientology is co-sponsoring an event in Brussels with ACRE, the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe. Faith and Freedom Summit 2018 is the most important political event for Scientology in years. Speakers and participants include ambassadors, United Nations officials, diplomats, professors, and human rights activists. The list of speakers is packed with Scientologists and their allies.
The Solvay Library was constructed in 1902 to host an Institute of Sociology. Scientists such as Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Niels Bohr participated in the 1927 Solvay Conference during which Einstein was quoted as saying about Heisenberg's theories of quantum mechanics, "God does not play dice," to which Bohr replied, "Einstein, stop telling God what to do." Today the library is open for tours and may be rented for private events.
Tags: 1927, 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, Aaron Rhodes, Ahmed Shaheed, Alec Nevala-Lee, Bashy Quraishy, Belgium, Brussels, Chicago, Chicago Fire, Christian Stolte, Council of Europe, Cult, DC, Dianetics, E-meter, Eric Roux, Europe, European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom, FECRIS, Forum for Religious Freedom Europe, France, Greg Mitchell, HowdyCon, Human Rights Without Frontiers, Hungary, Ideal Org, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Isaac Asimov, Ivan Arjona-Pelado, Jan Figel, John W. Campbell, Juan Ferreiro-Galguera, Kansas, Kyrgyzstan, Lobbyist, Marco Ventura, Muslim, Office of Special Affairs, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Patricia Duval, Poland, Quicky, Rod Keller, Russia, Sam Brownback, Spain, UN Human Rights Council, United Nations, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, US State Department, Washington, Willy Fautré
2018-06-17, Jeffrey Augustine, Scientology Money Project
I've received more than a few e-mails telling me that the Scientology Money Project only displays one page and then stops.
I was able to recreate this exact problem on Microsoft Edge but no other browsers. After research and troubleshooting, I turned off one plug-in that seems to be the bad actor.
This appears to have resolved the problem on my side. Please send feedback to scienowriter@gmail.com
2017
5 years ago2017-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
In the latest video that Mark "Marty" Rathbun posted to his website as part of his general attack on Lawrence Wright and his 2013 book Going Clear, Rathbun calls Wright's book a "phony narrative," and accuses Wright of deceiving readers about the way that director Paul Haggis came to investigate and leave the Church of Scientology. Rathbun claims that he deserves credit for putting Haggis on that path, which is left out of the book.
Paul Haggis tells us that Rathbun is right about that, and Rathbun does deserve credit — but that it was Paul's own decision to keep that from Wright.
Last night, we described to Haggis what Rathbun had said in his latest video ("Going Clear, Part 15"), about Wright omitting Rathbun's role, and a claim about Haggis asking Rathbun to hold back something about his daughters.
Tags: 1989, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2013, Bill Clinton, Chris Shelton, Clay Irwin, Clearwater, Cleveland Street, Copenhagen, David Miscavige, DC, Dead Agent, Disconnection, Fair Game, Flag Land Base, Florida, Germany, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Graham Berry, Hamburg, Hernandez v. Commissioner, Interpol, IRS, Jason Beghe, Jason Scott, John Travolta, Karen de la Carriere, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Lawrence Wright, Los Angeles, Lucky Anchor, Marty Rathbun, Michael Pattinson, Mike Rinder, Monique Rathbun, Music, New York, Office of Special Affairs, Paris, Paul Haggis, Primary Colors, Private investigator, Proposition 8, Pulitzer Prize, Quicky, Robert Cipriano, Sea Org, St. Petersburg Times, Tax exempt, Texas, TIME, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Ursula Caberta, US Supreme Court, Washington
2017-06-17, Chris Shelton, YouTube
This week I discuss destructive cults, Scientology and cult recovery with Dr. Natalie Feinblatt, an LA-based psychotherapist and cult recovery specialist.
Natalie's website: http://drnataliefeinblatt.weebly.com/
CRITICAL MERCHANDISE IS AVAILABLE NOW!
2017-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
Why have so many of LRH's Scientology policies been twisted to the point where they do more harm than good? Did the man consciously intend that these policies be used for evil purposes? Did he write them expressly to harm mankind? To exploit others? Was this all some elaborate scheme to make himself rich?
Did he intentionally include material in these policies that would inflict hurt and damage? Did he really plan it all out this way?
Examples abound of polices that were horribly twisted and misapplied over the years: conditions; disconnection from "suppressive persons;" Keeping Scientology Working; ethics presence; etc. I could spend this whole article simply compiling a list.
2016
6 years ago2016-06-17, artoo45, YouTube
Haunting Howdy is a suitably spooky melody to honor the late, great Captain Howdy, and to celebrate the first annual HowdyCon. Grab a turkey leg and raise a toast Cleveland!
Written and performed by our own Moxie McGee aka The Hole Does Not Exist.
©2016 Moxie Bay Music
2016-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
The county council in Frederick County, Maryland, is fighting the Church of Scientology in court to keep the church from putting one of its quack drug rehab centers in a former fish camp known as Trout Run.
Readers know we've been following this dispute for some time, and that it's a bit technical. But it's another great example of how Scientology tries to run roughshod over local government officials and local courts, and so we've been keeping an eye on the case, step by step. And now, we think there's an interesting new wrinkle you'd want to hear about.
First, the quick rundown to remind you what this fight is all about: Three years ago, Scientology, through its real estate arm Social Betterment Properties International, paid $4.85 million for a parcel of land that included the lodge for a fish camp. The property, known as Trout Run, had once stood in for Camp David in some scenes for The West Wing. Scientology had learned that although the current zoning didn't allow a rehab center, if SBPI could get the parcel put on the county's register of historic places, it would qualify for a zoning exception that would allow renovation of the place for a 20-bed Narconon center.
Tags: 2013, 2015, Captain Howdy, Cleveland, David Miscavige, Frederick County, Historic Preservation Commission, HowdyCon, John Mathias, Judge William Nicklas, Kai Hagen, Katherine Kuranda, Mary Marinelli, Maryland, Michael Proffitt, Narconon, Quicky, Social Betterment Properties International, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, Trout Run
2016-06-17, Sara Zendehnam, Fox News
Decades later and still no word on who killed the two friends, but the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office cold case task force won't rest until they figure it out.
With the help of social media videos the team creates and posts, they recently got new leads. Investigators want to talk to anyone involved with Tahoe's Church of Scientology in the 1970s and 1980s.
"We know they had friends associated with the church," said Stevenson.
2016-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
Tags: Quicky, Regraded Being
2015
7 years ago2015-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
(Nibs and his grandson, Jamie DeWolf)
Last week, we told you we'd found yet more interesting and previously unseen documents about L. Ron Hubbard and his family in records that have been released lately by the FDA. Researcher R.M. Seibert has been doggedly pursuing the records with the help of the MuckRock website, prying out of the FDA an investigation it did in the 1960s as part of its litigation against the Church of Scientology.
Last time, we told you that as part of its investigation of Hubbard, in 1963 the FDA had tracked down and interviewed Hubbard's first wife, Polly, as well as their two children, L. Ron Hubbard Jr — also known as "Nibs" — and Katy.
Tags: 1950, 1952, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1991, 1993, Bob Thomas, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian, DC, Denmark, E-meter, Food and Drug Administration, Founding Church, Gerald Wolfe, Guardian's Office, IRS, Jamie DeWolf, L. Ron Hubbard, Los Angeles, Mandy Stadtmiller, Mark Ebner, Mary Sue Hubbard, Muckrock, Nathan Dodell, New York, Paulette Cooper, Quicky, R.M. Seibert, Researcher, Robert Kaufman, Ron DeWolf, Scientology organization, Snow White Program, Tax exempt, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, Trial, Washington, WFMU
2015-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
Here are some more outrageous claims about Super Power, including from the mega whale himself.
The most outrageous statement is in the third paragraph. And the scientologists wonder why people think they are "anti-doctors" and the church loudly proclaims this to be a lie. Meanwhile they promote this sort of nuttiness
Scientologists generally ARE "anti-doctor" (unless they are a wealthy doctor who can donate to the cause...)
2015-06-17, Tampa Bay Times
CLEARWATER — Officer Dennis Shane Cason was off-duty, bar-hopping, and drinking Bud Light on Dec. 9. Although he felt a "buzz going," he got behind the wheel of his Ford pickup and crashed into a tree on Hercules Avenue just before 4 a.m.
Several witnesses reported that he smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, and an unsteady gait, but his blood-alcohol level was never measured and responding officers did not charge him with DUI, deciding instead to cite Cason for careless driving, according to internal affairs records released Wednesday by the Clearwater Police Department.
Cason was also suspended for eight days and will be removed from the SWAT team for two years.
2014
8 years ago2014-06-17, Jeffrey Augustine, Scientology Money Project
Church of Scientology OT's refuse to publicly discuss the OT levels for many reasons.
One major reason of which the public is unaware is the $100,000 fine OT's agree to pay if they make public any parts of the OT Levels.
You read that correctly: OT's sign a contract with Flag Services Organization (FSO) which binds them to pay $100,000 for each and every time they disclose any information about the OT Levels.
2014-06-17, Ryan Parry, Daily Mail
Kerri Kasem, Casey's 41-year-old, daughter from his first marriage, is accusing her stepmother Jean, 60, of cheating on her father in the last years of his life.
2014-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
The Underground Bunker has been leaked a rare 1952 L. Ron Hubbard recording that surfaced online only briefly five years ago. When it did, some longtime Scientology researchers were astonished, saying they thought it was mere legend.
Despite the secrets it unlocks about the formation of Scientology's beginnings, you won't see a mention of this recording in any of the most important books on Scientology — not in Lawrence Wright's Going Clear, not in Russell Miller's Bare-Faced Messiah, or even in Jon Atack's A Piece of Blue Sky. Even Arnie Lerma's vast online archive contains only a very short portion of the full transcript of what you are about to hear.
So why is it coming up now?
Tags: 1952, 1960, 2005, 2009, A History of Man, A Piece of Blue Sky, Arnaldo Lerma, Bare-Faced Messiah, Bruce Hines, Cuba, Dianetics, E-meter, Giovanni Ribisi, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, J. Swift, Jon Atack, Kansas, Laura Prepon, Lawrence Wright, Mary Sue Hubbard, Mental Health, Operating Thetan, Phoenix, Quicky, Russell Miller, Sara Northrup, South Park, Venus, Xenu
2014-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
More OTC Minutes because they contain some unvarnished information about the state of affairs in the church.
We will soon hear the hype from Maiden Voyage with the usual magnificent "straight up and vertical" expansion lies news. The clubbed seals will applaud enthusiastically and offer standing ovations prompted by the shills in the front row that would shame a jack-in-the-box on steroids. They will talk about how "incredible" things are and how "this was the greatest event ever" and "we are so fortunate to have COB leading us to a cleared planet" blah blah blah. It's what they WANT to hear. Do you think David and Bonita Wilson, sitting there in the front, want to hear anything other than the "comfortable lies" that the half a million dollars they forked over to the Valley Org is going "make clearing a reality" just like it has now done in Portland and Sydney and Taiwan....
But here is the REALITY. And Sue and Nick are so KoolAid drunk they think this is GOOD news. Proof if ever they needed it that they "are clearing the planet for real."
Tags: 1962, AOLA, Bonita Wilson, CCHR, Chairman of the Board, CIA, Class IV, Class V, Clear, David Miscavige, Don Davis, Edy Lundeen, Extension Course, Field Staff Member, Flag World Tour, Fran Andrews, Golden Age of Tech, Hollywood, International Association of Scientologists, International Management, Jeff Mintz, Kevin Bernes, L. Ron Hubbard Way, Los Angeles, Maiden Voyage, Mission, Nick Lekas, OCA, OT, OT Ambassador, OT Committee, OT V, OT VII, OTC, PAC Base, Portland, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Raw Public, Ray Dolby Ballroom, Saint Hill Special Briefing Course, Super Power, Survival Rundown, Sydney, Taiwan, Tampa
2014-06-17, Dana Hertneky, News 9
The investigation widens into the Scientology based rehab center Narconon Arrowhead.
Narconon's flagship rehab center on Lake Eufaula has been under investigation ever since three people died at the facility during a nine month time period in 2011 and 2012. Sources tell News 9 the Oklahoma Multi-County Grand Jury will now also be investigating the facility.
The multi-county grand jury will meet next week. What they are investigating is typically kept secret. However, a former Narconon executive tells News 9 he has been subpoenaed to testify.
2014-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
I wonder if it is a coincidence that a number of people recently sent me OT Committee pix from this site?
Kathy True is right on the ball, as usual. Tracking down the perps like a hounddawg on the trail of a wounded critter.
Maybe this will lead her to the leak of her photo of Moxon?
2013
9 years ago
2013-06-17, Corynne McSherry, Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Church of Scientology International ("CSI") has often been accused of pulling out all the stops to suppress speech critical of the organization. Surprisingly, however, they have not yet made it into the EFF Takedown Hall of Shame.
Until now.
2013-06-17, Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Church of Scientology International (CSI) demanded that GoDaddy take down a website, cheerupwillsmith.com, that uses parody and satire to tweak CSI, its alleged relationship to actor Will Smith, and its reportedly aggressive control over the activities of its members. The site included a letter, purportedly from Scientology leader David Miscavige, requiring CSI members to see After Earth, a new movie starring Will Smith that hasn't done well at the box office, at least three times in order to cheer Will up. The site also demanded that members make videos supporting Smith.
2013-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
As we predicted, a version of Channel 4's documentary, "Scientologists at War," has appeared on the Internet. We don't know who's responsible for it, but we're embedding it here so our readers not in the UK can get a look at it.
We also asked some ex-Scientologists in the UK to give us their impressions of the show after they got to see it when it first aired.
And we want to thank our readers who gave us live updates of the program earlier today. Now for the rest, give it a look and tell us what you think!
Tags: 2004, Channel 4, David Miscavige, Documentary, Hamburg, Hartley Patterson, Haydn James, Heber Jentzsch, Hollywood, Independent, Independent Scientology, Ingleside, International Association of Scientologists, IRS, Israel, Jesus, John McGhee, Karen de la Carriere, Martin Padfield, Mimi Rogers, Musical Chairs, Pete Griffiths, Quicky, Rehabilitation Project Force, Saint Hill, Saint Hill Manor, Sam Domingo, Samantha Domingo, Scientologists at War, Sea Org, Squirrel, Squirrel Busters, Steve Hall, Texas, The Hole, The Sun, Tom Cruise, UK, Ursula Caberta, Village Voice, Xenu
2013-06-17, Mark Bunker, YouTube
Marty Rathbun explains how Scientology leader David Miscavige micro-managed the film adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard's sci-fi book and then threw John Travolta under the bus when it was deemed one of the biggest disasters in Hollywood history.
2013-06-17, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
Meet director Joseph Martin and producer Danielle Clark, the young duo behind tonight's 1-hour documentary on the UK's Channel 4, "Scientologists at War."
The program is part of Channel 4's "First Cut" series, which features the work of up-and-coming talent in documentary film making.
We ran into Martin and Clark at the home of Marty Rathbun while we were writing about Paul Marrick and Greg Arnold, two former Scientology private eyes.
2013-06-17, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
Here is a new message sent out to demonstrate the "straight up and verticaliness" of AOSHUK.
These numbers are cumulative from October to June — 8 months. Each OT Level counts as 1 — so if someone complete OT 1-111 that is 3 "OT's" even though its the same person. I doubt this stat counts theory and auditing as two separate "levels" but it may. But give them the benefit of the doubt and count one for each "OT Level" completed.
Realize, they are PROUD of these figures!
2012
10 years ago
2012-06-17, Associated Press, New York Times
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California jury has awarded $28 million in damages to a woman who said the Jehovah's Witnesses allowed an adult member of a Fremont, Calif., church to molest her when she was a child.
Alameda County jurors awarded $7 million in compensatory damages on Wednesday and an additional $21 million in punitive damages on Thursday to the plaintiff, Candace Conti, said Rick Simons, her lawyer.
"This is the largest jury verdict for a single victim in a religious child abuse case in the country," Mr. Simons said.
Tags: 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, Abuse, Alameda County, California, Candace Conti, Child abuse, Christian, Jehovah's Witnesses, New York, Oakland, Quicky
2012-06-17, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
L. Ron Hubbard was clearly not keen on the subject of psychiatry.
But, it wasn't always that way. In the late forties and early fifties Hubbard put a lot of effort into selling the psychiatric profession on the virtues of Dianetics. In response, he was not only rebuffed but targeted by a well- financed campaign directed by the "very best" psychiatrists to expose Hubbard and Dianetics as alleged frauds. That campaign gained momentum for a couple of decades as it was joined along the way by numerous Federal and State agencies.
Increasingly, Hubbard fought escalating fire with escalating fire. He gradually came off his original, soft conclusion from his first book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, that psychiatrists and psychologists did not achieve results mainly because they did not possess a workable mental technology. In the early fifties he often poked fun at the unworkability of psychiatry, psychology and psycho-analysis (their practioners collectively referred to as 'psychs' in Scientology) in his lectures. Then he began to deride mental health professionals as working not to help humankind but instead to control it. His position, while stated with increasing vehemence that betrayed a personal hurt at being attacked instead of recognized by the mental health establishment, was not without support. A four-part BBC documentary, Century of Self (available for free at freedocumentaries.com), though evidencing no connection with Scientology or Hubbard, very competently sums up the valid criticisms Hubbard had been levying for decades prior to its making and airing. It documents the primary use of mental health methodologies for controlling populaces rather than in improving or curing them.
2012-06-17, Tony Ortega, Runnin' Scared, Village Voice
Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday any differently than every other day of coursework, detoxes, fundraising, and generally clearing the planet.
So here at the Voice, we've come up with a Scientology Sunday tradition of our own, and we call it Sunday Funnies! Our sources regularly send us Scientology's wacky and tacky fundraising mailers, and each week we choose a few of them to gaze upon, hoping that it inspires you to wax eloquent in our comments section. So here we go...
In previous Sunday Funnies entries, we noted that Scientology has claimed credit for an Ideal State (California) and Ideal Continent (Western US), and here's another Ideal victory -- the UK is going Full OT!!! What a Jubilee bonus, as the people at this event just gave and gave, apparently.
Tags: Applied Scholastics, Birthday Event, Birthday Game, Bridge Publications, California, Catholic, Central Files, Clearwater, Dave Fagen, David Miscavige, DC, Debbie Cook, Denver, Dianetics, Facebook, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jefferson Hawkins, Jesus, Leaving Scientology, London, Neil Gaiman, New Civilization Builder, New Year's Eve, Orange County, OT, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Sacramento, San Diego, Sea Org, Sheila Gaiman, South Africa, Sunday Funnies, Sunday service, Tokyo, UK, Xenu
2011
11 years ago2011-06-17, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
I am backlogging on essays of great interest and import to Independent Scientologists. One reason is the news flashes of the now daily over-the-top, inane behavior of the Cult of Miscavige (note: I am no longer granting his dead organization the privilege of using and thereby destroying the name "Scientology").
Because of the plethora of video material of interest to the public at large that we are amassing, I will start posting it on my You Tube channel without (in most cases) distracting the blog from more important matters. You can access my channel and subscribe to it (to receive alerts when new matter is posted) at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sthtexlensman
2011-06-17, Paul Bibby Courts, Sydney Morning Herald
IT was a rare and at times dramatic public appearance by one of the most senior members of a global religious organisation that shrouds itself in secrecy.
Surrounded by supporters, senior Scientologist Janice Meyer arrived at the Downing Centre Local Court yesterday, accused of pressuring an 11-year-old girl to lie about sex abuse within the church.
2011-06-17, Jodie Minus, The Australian
More than 30 supporters of high-ranking Scientologist Janice Meyer formed a shield around her to protect her from the media as she left a Sydney courtroom yesterday after being accused of covering up child sexual abuse allegations.
Ms Meyer, 57, is facing one count of perverting the course of justice in relation to allegations from 1985 that she told an 11-year-old victim of indecent assault not to report the abuse to police. She was head of the Australian arm of the Scientologists Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a group that advocates against psychiatry, at the time.
2011-06-17, Tony Ortega, Runnin' Scared, Village Voice
It's been another big week of Scientology news here at the Voice. On Monday, we put up what we think was the 'Net's first review of Janet Reitman's masterful new book, Inside Scientology. Then we followed that up with a nugget from the book about how Scientology dictator David Miscavige encourages staff to salute his favorite beagles.
But it was our third story of the week, revealing that Marty Rathbun had made public a secret Scientology list of parishioners who had volunteered to be spies for the church, that really kicked up a commenter kerfuffle. After the jump, we'll reveal our favorites from both the pro- and anti-Scientology side of things.
First, from the pro- side of things, we enjoyed this skeptical jab at our story on Rathbun's revelation of spying church members by someone who called himself "Mike":
2010
12 years ago
2010-06-17, Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
The late L. Ron Hubbard's religion-for-profit, Scientology, now stands accused of coercing employees in their SeaOrg organization into slaying their unborn children through abortions. I have always found it vastly amusing that this transparent scam calling itself a religion has been so popular among the glitterati in Hollywood, but these revelations illustrate how painfully destructive Hubbard's money making scheme has been for so many people over the years.
2009
13 years ago
2009-06-17, Macclesfield Express
Mr Springthorpe, who lived in a Macclesfield mansion with wife and fellow believer Yvonne, was a key member of the Manchester branch and was one of the major contributors to its proposed new £3.5m church building in Old Trafford.
2009-06-17, Ryan Singel, Wired
That reception is to be expected given the internet and Scientology are still fighting what might be the net's longest running flame war, dating back to the early days of alt.religion.scientology news group. That bitter fight led to lawsuits, raids by the feds and criminal prosecutions of church critics. The criticism of the church has been the same for more than 15 years - that it's a cult which charges believers thousands of dollars for trainings and uses strong-arm tactics to keep members and critics in line. The church's line hasn't changed either - we are misunderstood and we will use the law to silence critics.
2008
14 years ago
2008-06-17, Kim Masters, Slate Magazine
Because of insufficient photo research by Slate's editors, we failed to discover another archival image of von Stauffenberg, which appears to be the one UA used in its publicity campaign. As a result of this mistake, the question the piece raised-whether the photo had been doctored in an effort to make Claus von Stauffenberg look more like Tom Cruise-was unwarranted.
Tags: Tom Cruise, Valkyrie
2007
15 years ago
2007-06-17, Marc Horne, The Scotsman
STAND by for the Fringe's first sect scandal. The world's biggest arts jamboree is facing a boycott over a scathing parody of the Church of Scientology.
A musical about the controversial religious sect will premiere in Edinburgh during the event in August. Drama group Collapsible Theatre is staging Xenu Is Loose! - a satirical science-fiction production poking fun at the doctrines of the organisation, which has a host of celebrity adherents, including Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
But the spoof drama has provoked an angry response from Scientologists, which has urged people to stay away, and is considering what action to take against the play.
2005
17 years ago
2005-06-17, Thomas C. Tobin, St. Petersburg Times
On June 4, Wilcox delivered a speech about the state of the school system to a luncheon sponsored by Florida Citizens for Social Reform, a nonprofit group formed by local Scientologists.
The event was at the Fort Harrison Hotel, the centerpiece of Scientology's worldwide spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. In his speech, Wilcox strongly urged members of the controversial group, as well as those from other churches, to volunteer in public schools.
2004
18 years ago2004-06-17, Robert Farley, St. Petersburg Times
The bus driver, an employee of the church's Flag Service Organization in Clearwater, told church officials the injured man ran at the moving bus and punched a window before slipping under it, according to church spokesman Ben Shaw.
The bus was heading east on Cleveland Street near Washington Avenue at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday when, police said, Milton Powell, 69, of 1365 Windsor Drive stepped into the roadway and was struck. Powell was then run over by the bus' rear wheels, police spokesman Wayne Shelor said.
2004-06-17, Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle
California's top educator said Wednesday that he has ordered the state Department of Education to investigate an antidrug program used by schools around the state whose teachings have been linked with the Church of Scientology.
State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said the investigation could lead to an order barring schools from using the program, called Narconon Drug Prevention and Education.
2000
22 years ago2000-06-17, Larry B. Stammer, Los Angeles Times
Florida prosecutors have dropped felony charges against the Church of Scientology in connection with the widely publicized death of a church member in Clearwater, Fla.
State prosecutor Bernie McCabe said his office could not prove its case in the 1995 death of church member Lisa McPherson, 36.
1992
30 years ago
1992-06-17, AP, Tulsa World
An unlicensed drug and alcohol treatment center can continue treating patients under an order by the state Supreme Court.
The court on Monday temporarily set aside a permanent injunction to close the Narconon Chilocco New Life Center near Newkirk in north-central Oklahoma.
The high court also granted Narconon Chilocco's request to seal some of the contents contained in its appeal application, according to the order signed by Chief Justice Marian Opala.
The stay will remain in effect until the Supreme Court makes a decision on an appeal contesting the permanent injunction issued last month by a Kay County judge.
1992-06-17, Michael McNutt, News OK
A permanent injunction to close an unlicensed drug and alcohol treatment center has been temporarily set aside by the Oklahoma State Supreme Court.
The action allows Narconon Chilocco New Life Center, north of Newkirk, to continue to treat patients.
The court's stay will remain in effect until it acts on an appeal filed by Narconon International, Narconon Chilocco's parent organization, and the Tonkawa tribe, or pending any further order.
The high court also granted Narconon Chilocco's request to seal some of the contents contained in its appeal application, according to an order signed by Chief Justice Marian Opala. The other justices concurred.
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Tags: 1990, Arizona, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, Gary Smith, Judge Neal Beekman, Justice Marian Opala, Kay County, Narconon, Narconon Chilocco, Narconon International, Newkirk, Oklahoma, Oklahoma County District Court, Oklahoma Department of Health, Oklahoma Supreme Court, Tonkawa
1992-06-17, AP, Tulsa World
An unlicensed drug and alcohol treatment center can continue treating patients under an order by the state Supreme Court.
The court Monday temporarily set aside a permanent injunction to close the Narconon Chilocco New Life Center near Newkirk in north-central Oklahoma.
The high court also granted Narconon Chilocco's request to seal some of the contents contained in its appeal application, according to the order signed by Chief Justice Marian Opala.
FrontCite 06/15/2022 08:43a
See also:
FrontCite Mediawiki
xenu-directory.net: Scientology in the news
Scientology in the UK Media
See also:
FrontCite Mediawiki
xenu-directory.net: Scientology in the news
Scientology in the UK Media