August 5 in Scientology history

(The 'Cine Castle' at Int Base, home to the studios of Golden Era Productions) We have an intriguing item today that appears to be rather modest, but in investigating it, it opened up a new window on a place we never lose interest in: Scientology's Int Base. The item we're talking about was an ad that was placed on a closed Facebook group for a union of Los Angeles set painters. You know, the folks who give TV or movie backdrops the right look for whatever historical era or mood you're going for. These are very talented people who know how to make a surface come alive with some paint and some know-how.

Tags: 1970, 1987, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016, Amy Scobee, Apollo, BBC, Christi Mullins, Claire Headley, CMO Int, Commodore's Messenger Organization, David Miscavige, Diana Hubbard, Facebook, Golden Era, Golden Era Productions, Hollywood, Int Base, John Sweeney, Los Angeles, Marc Headley, Massacre Canyon, Mike Rinder, Quicky, Roanne Horwich, Ron Miscavige, Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me, Scientology executive, Sea Org, Tampa Bay Times, The Hole

The show where I answer your questions. Please leave any comments or feedback in the comments section here below. I see everything and want to hear from you. SHOP FOR CRITICAL MERCHANDISE http://shop.spreadshirt.com/chrisshelton

Tags: Audio, Critic, Quicky, Scientology: A to Xenu

At the end of a process in Scientology, it isn't enough for a PC (Pre-Clear; basically anyone receiving auditing) to say "Thanks, I feel a little better," and walk away. Likewise, "I feel like I'm done," or "You know…I think I've gone as far I can go with this," doesn't signal the end of a session. "I'm already in PT (present time)," or "Nah, I really don't believe in past lives," will not be accepted as an "end phenomenon"—EP for short—in the Church of Scientology. Unlike other therapies, L. Ron Hubbard thought it necessary to append specific EPs to every auditing process, rundown, course, or level of his Bridge to Total Freedom. Rarely, have other practices in the field of mental health made such conceits. Nor guaranteed unqualified cures or promised patients they wouldn't relapse. LRH never had such reservations. Why couldn't he have left well enough alone? Why did he feel he had to make such fantastic claims? Why did he have to append specific EPs to the end of everything? Did he really believe his processes produced these phenomenal "gains" on everyone, uniformly, without exception? Was the man so sure of his genius that he couldn't conceive his processes wouldn't work unvaryingly, one hundred percent of the time? Or did he devise these EPs as simply another carrot to lure people up the Bridge?

Tags: 1970, Bridge to Total Freedom, Case Supervisor, Clear, Critic, David Miscavige, DC8, Dianetics, E-meter, End Phenomena, Ethics, L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology organization, Terra Cognita, Word Clearing

(Blackstone Medical Services CEO Vick Tipnes) Another lawsuit against an employer accused of forcing Scientology on an employee was filed this week, this time involving a Florida man who alleges that the CEO of a Tampa medical company harassed him and ultimately fired him because he wouldn't subject himself to Scientology courses. We've seen this kind of thing numerous times in recent years, including a dentist in Oregon, a chiropractor in Florida, and a plastics company in Pasadena. This time, the employer is a man named Vick Tipnes who maintains a somewhat eye-opening page about himself at his company's website. Tipnes writes that he was born in London but moved to Florida as a child, and then worked as a car salesman as he looked for business opportunities.

Tags: 2012, 2014, 2015, Blackstone Medical Services, Bunting v. Blackstone Medical Services, David Bunting, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Florida, Florida Commission on Human Relations, Grant Cardone, Hillsborough County, Jiten Master, LinkedIn, London, Medical, Noah Storch, Oregon, Pasadena, Religious harassment, Tampa, Vick Tipnes

Nancy Cartwright just did a video in which she attacked Going Clear. After watching the video, I've concluded that Cartwright is just another Scientology celebrity pawn who has been played to do the bidding of the Office of Special Affairs. OSA may not have given Nancy the news: Going Clear earned seven Emmy nominations and won three Emmy's. Going Clear also made the Oscar short list for Best Documentary. Alex Gibney won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for his 2007 work Taxi to the Dark Side. In Nancy's video she uses the same tired old PR line and tells people to find out for themselves what Scientology is by reading a book. Okay. I have met this requirement and more. I have found out for myself what Scientology really is and does and I think it is a malicious and dishonest criminal Cult. And I am hardly alone in my informed opinion.

Tags: 2007, Aaron Smith-Levin, Alex Gibney, Alexander Jentzsch, Apollo, Basics, Celebrity, Celebrity Centre, Child labor, Congress, Cult, Dianetics, Disconnection, Documentary, Fair Game, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, IRS, John Travolta, Karen de la Carriere, Kirstie Alley, L. Ron Hubbard, Marcab, Nancy Cartwright, Office of Special Affairs, OT, OT VIII, Quicky, Rehabilitation Project Force, Scientology celebrity, Scientology executive, Sea Org, Survival Rundown, Tax, Tom Cruise, Xenu

The Church of Scientology has landed in Harlem, and it's opening its doors to the community. The religion has set up a mega center on 125th Street between First and Second avenues. The complex is made up of two buildings, a community center and a church located two doors down. Sandwiched in between the buildings stands a branch of the New York Public Library.

Tags: E-meter, Harlem, Keisha Latty, Sunday service, The Way to Happiness

And just for good measure, RB forwarded the promotion this strip is based on:

Tags: Quicky, Regraded Being

In a shocking YouTube video, Scientologist and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan calls for black people to rise up and kill white police officers as retribution for the black people who have been killed by police officers: Scientology has done no good for Farrakhan. Scientology's self-proclaimed "Tech" has not given Farrakhan any solutions beyond calling for the murder of cops. Scientology claims to be about creating "a world without war, crime, or insanity" and yet Farrakhan calls for murdering police officers.

Tags: 2012, Alex Jones, Chairman of the Board, Church of Scientology International, David Miscavige, Dianetics, Legal, Louis Farrakhan, Murder, Nation of Islam, Police, Quicky, Religious Technology Center, Suppressive Person, Tom Cruise, YouTube

It's been some time since any news about Debbie Cook has surfaced. Then last weekend Tony Ortega posted that she has just published a book on Amazon about recovering from Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue. Although I haven't spoken to Debbie in years, I have thought about her and Wayne many times and after reading some of the comments on Tony's blog, I felt some background information might be of interest to fill in a few blanks and perhaps dispel some misconceptions. There hasn't really been a reason for me to write about this before. Marty covered the activities of her case and the subsequent settlement on his blog at the time and I concurred with what he said.

Tags: 2007, 2011, Amazon, Blow Drill, Bob Keenan, Clearwater, Commodore's Messenger Organization, David Miscavige, Debbie Cook, Denmark, Disconnection, Elliot Abelson, Facebook, Flag Service Organization, Guillaume Lesevre, Hacienda, Hacienda Gardens, Janet Reitman, Kathy True, Knowledge Report, Marc Headley, Marc Yager, Marty Rathbun, New Year's Eve, North Carolina, OT, Quicky, Ray Jeffrey, Rehabilitation Project Force, Religious Technology Center, Russia, San Antonio, Sea Org, Sec Check, Taiwan, Tampa Bay Times, Texas, The Hole, Tony Ortega, Touch Assist, USA Today, Wayne Baumgarten, Yahoo News

Tags: Nick Lister, Quicky, Tampa

Sky said Wednesday that it will air Scientology documentary Going Clear in September. The pan-European pay TV giant has been holding off on setting an air date as it was reviewing its plans amid concerns that the airing could cause legal issues in Northern Ireland. Sky originally planned to air the doc in April, but put those plans on ice because Northern Ireland is not subject to Britain's 2013 Defamation Act, which observers said could expose Sky to libel claims there. The doc, which has already been screening in British theaters, will air on the company's Sky Atlantic network across the U.K., including Northern Ireland, and Ireland next month, the pay TV giant said Wednesday.

Tags: 2013, Alex Gibney, Europe, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Ireland, Lawrence Wright, Northern Ireland, Rupert Murdoch, Scientology Documentary, Sky Atlantic, UK

Tags: Narconon, Quicky

Hey, we're still recovering from last night's wild time in London. Thankfully, Aaron Smith-Levin has sent over a couple of new videos interview Nick Lister in their series, "Growing Up Scientology." We'll let Aaron introduce them... In this first clip Nick talks about his time at Scientology's biggest drug rehab facility, Narconon Arrowhead, located two hours east of Oklahoma City. When it's convenient, Scientology claims it has no relationship to or responsibility for the Narcnonon organization. At Scientology events, it's another story — leader David Miscavige openly talks about Narconon as a branch of the church that's intended to expand Scientology's influence. As Tony has documented many times, Narconon doesn't actually deliver drug counseling, but instead puts its patients through Scientology drills — the same drills you get in the church itself. The rehab program is a sequence of three steps 1) Scientology's "purification rundown" 2) Scientology's communications drills called "Training Routines" and 3) basic Scientology auditing processes called "Objective Processing."

Tags: Aaron Smith-Levin, Ashtrays, BBC, Clearwater, Conway Hall, David Miscavige, Hartley Patterson, Humfrey Hunter, John Sweeney, Jon Atack, London, Martin Padfield, Narconon, Narconon Arrowhead, Narconon staff, Niacin, Nick Lister, Objective Process, Objective Processing, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Quicky, Sara Goldberg, Sea Org, Silvertail Books, Tampa, Training Routines

1. August 16, 2012: Church of Scientology attorney Jeffrey K. Riffer of Elkins, Kalt, Weintraub, Reuben, Gartside LLP, sent a legal threat letter to Graydon Carter, Editor, Vanity Fair Magazine. The threat was an attempt to kill a story about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Vanity Fair ignored the threat. Written by Maureen Orth, What Katie Didn't Know appeared in the October 2012 edition of Vanity Fair. 2. January 21, 2013: Church of Scientology attorney Jeffrey K. Riffer of Elkins, Kalt, Weintraub, Reuben, Gartside LLP, sent a legal threat letter to David C. Vigilante, Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. as counsel for CNN. The threat was an attempt to kill Anderson Cooper's 360 piece on the culture of physical violence inside the Church of Scientology, particularly as described in Lawrence Wright's book Going Clear. CNN ignored the threat. Inside the Church of Scientology aired on January 23, 2013.

Tags: 2012, 2013, Anderson Cooper, CNN, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Jeffrey Riffer, Katie Holmes, Lawrence Wright, Legal, Maureen Orth, Threats, Tom Cruise, Vanity Fair

Mareka Brousseau was born a third generation Scientologist. She discusses her childhood and the harsh conditions in Sea Org nurseries. Mareka signed a Sea Org contract when she was nine years old. Mareka's mother and stepfather are Haydn and Lucy James. Her husband John Brousseau did a couple of amazingly revealing interviews with Tony Ortega. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runnins...

Tags: Facebook, Google, John Brousseau, Lucy James, Mareka Brousseau, Quicky, Sea Org, Tony Ortega, Twitter

We've talked to Mareka Brousseau numerous times for stories at the Village Voice and the Underground Bunker. And she was a key character in John Sweeney's 2010 BBC special, The Secrets of Scientology. And now Jeffrey Augustine has given us a treat and interviewed Mareka at length for the Surviving Scientology podcast. It's really eye-opening to hear about Scientology's attitudes toward children from someone who actually grew up in the church. Mareka's account is bleak. She talks to Jeff about growing up with Sea Org parents who are too busy 'clearing the planet' to have much to do with their kids.

Tags: 2010, 2015, Abortion, BBC, Cadet Org, Jeffrey Augustine, John Brousseau, John Sweeney, Judge Richard Rico, Judge Ronald Sohigian, Laura DeCrescenzo, Mareka Brousseau, Sea Org, The Secrets of Scientology, Village Voice

Some of you may have noticed this item in the Sunday Funnies at the Underground Bunker. I found it a bit disturbing, but not for the usual Valley money grubbing reasons. This is the poster promoting the event:

Tags: 2000, 2006, 2008, Disconnection, Freewinds, James Barbour, New York, Quicky, Sunday Funnies, Underground Bunker, Wikipedia

Scientology culture is recognizable by its collective, synthetic 'cheerful' or 'enthusiastic' emotional tone. Scientologists learn to put on a happy face. If they are seen without one, a fellow Scientologist considers it his duty to 'handle' it. And that primarily means making the person mentally deal with the life situation causing the lower emotion so that he can easily mentally cope with putting on a happy face in spite of it. In a Scientology group one is expected to act happy. To display any emotion less than that results in Scientologists almost instinctively interceding with a person's psyche to remedy the perceived problem. A Scientologist learns eventually to convincingly act happy all the time, even when he or she is feeling deep sorrow, a sense of devastating loss, or is suffering pangs of conscience. Scientologists will bridle at the notion they are taught to play act through life. But, the technology they are applying day in and day out is plain: 'Force yourself to smile and you'll soon stop frowning. Force yourself to laugh and you'll soon find something to laugh about. Wax enthusiastic and you'll very soon feel so. A being causes his own feelings.' - L. Ron Hubbard 25 August 1982

Tags: 1982, Amazon, Brooklyn, Memoirs of a Scientology Warrior, Quicky

Sheeple The email below perfectly illustrates the "party lines" that are being pushed within the corporate church to the sheeple. All focus is on the magnificence of Dear Leader — even the "Ideal Orgs" and "GAG II" take a backseat to recounting the glories of Miscavige.

Tags: 1960, 1993, AMA, Anatomy of the Human Mind Congress, Angie Blankenship, AOLA, ASHO, Basics, Chairman of the Board, Class VI, Clear, Clearwater, CLO EU, Coachman, Copenhagen, Cornerstone, David Miscavige, Denmark, Disconnection, England, Europe, Field Staff Member, Flag Service Organization, Golden Age of Knowledge, Hollywood, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jennifer Linson, Keep Scientology Working, L. Ron Hubbard, L. Ron Hubbard Way, Life Improvement Center, Madrid, Mental breakdown, Miami, Mike Smith, Oak Cove, OT, OT 7, OT Ambassador, OT VII, Portland, Purif, Quicky, Razzline, Religious Technology Center, Saint Hill, Saint Hill Special Briefing Course, San Jose, Sea Org, Sec Check, Squirrel, Starbucks, Tom Cruise, Walter Kotric, Whole Track, WISE

A little recon of mine, done on spare time. Looks like this is the end of that mission.

Tags: Malvern, Mission, Toronto, Video

(Previously unpublished photo of Shelly Miscavige circa 1990 courtesy of Claudio and Renata Lugli) Our celebrity sources in the Church of Scientology tell us that church leader David Miscavige is planning a bold stunt later this month at the 44th annual Celebrity Centre gala in Hollywood, California. On July 8 we revealed that Leah Remini was breaking away from Scientology in part because she dared to ask, persistently, about the disappearance of Miscavige's wife, Shelly, who hasn't been seen by the general membership of the church in six years. Since then, the mainstream media has given momentum to a question that has been asked for years in Internet forums: "Where's Shelly?"

Tags: 1927, 1973, 1982, 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, Bodhi Elfman, California, Celebrity Centre, Church of Scientology International, Church of Spiritual Technology, David Miscavige, Golden Age of Tech, Heber Jentzsch, Hemet, Hollywood, John Travolta, Karen de la Carriere, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Leah Remini, Los Angeles, Marty Rathbun, Mike Rinder, Nancy Cartwright, Quicky, Renata Lugli, Shelly Miscavige, The Hole

The image you see here means a lot to us at the underground bunker, where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. And on this lazy Sunday morning, we hope you'll indulge us as we attempt to explain what it represents. Andreas Heldal-Lund, meet Chill EB. Chill, meet the devil.

Tags: 1940, 1950, 1968, 1977, 2000, 2001, African-American, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, Andreas Heldal-Lund, Anonymous, BBC, California, Chick Corea, Chill EB, Copenhagen, Critic, David Love, David Miscavige, DC, Dianetics, eBay, Facebook, Geoffrey Lewis, Golden Era Productions, Heber Jentzsch, International Association of Scientologists, Jeff Jacobsen, Karin Spaink, Mark Bunker, Montreal, Movie, Nancy Cartwright, Neil Gaiman, Netherlands, New York, New York City, Norman Berry, Norway, Operation Clambake, OT, OT VII, Peter Alexander, Quicky, Sea Org, Sunday Funnies, Sweden, The Master, Tom Cruise, Tory Christman, Twitter, Washington, YouTube, Zenon Panoussis

But we think it's time Xenu got more credit for all that he's done. Think about it, for about 19 years, after L. Ron Hubbard dreamed the sucker up in a pill-popping and boozy haze while sailing the Atlantic and Mediterranean in the mid-1960s, until the Los Angeles Times finally made Xenu's story public during the Larry Wollersheim trial in 1986, only high-level Scientologists even knew that the alien leader existed. UPDATE: Ah, the beauty of a blog -- instant updating! Maybe for many of us the L.A. Times was our first glimpse of our mighty galactic hero, but I've just been reminded that one of the giants of Scientology reporting, Richard Leiby, beat the Times by five years!

Tags: 1960, 1981, 1986, 2009, ABC, CIA, Clearwater Sun, CNN, David Miscavige, Dianetics, E-meter, Facebook, Hugh Urban, Jesus Christ, John Roberts, John Travolta, KESQ, Lawrence Wollersheim, Los Angeles Times, Mediterranean, Nathan Baca, New York, Operating Thetan, OT, OT III, OT VIII, Palm Springs, Richard Leiby, South Park, Teegeeack, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Xenu

From Ron's Journal '68, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard outlines why human rights are so important for Scientology. "Human rights for me, but not for thee."

Tags: Quicky, Ron's Journal

Want to work in one of Scientology's fresh new "Ideal Org" churches? Then get ready to put on your 20-piece uniform, mandatory for all cult staff. Planetary humanity is not going to be perfected by slobs, after all. These uniforms are manufactured by some sort of magical logistics pipeline called a "conveyor belt" for the "Ideal Org," a purportedly superior new type of church, according to International Scientology News. The uniform is intended to unite staff on "six continents" and help them look the part of "emissaries of a new civilization."

Tags: Ideal Org, Richard Tyler, Swing coat

One Day One Destiny - Tom Cruise (FR English subs) from Sic Transit on Vimeo.A tip of the hat to Wise Beard Man, Mark Bunker, for bringing this French television documentary to our attention. "One Day One Destiny" is a fascinating look at Tom Cruise and his history in Scientology.Remember that video of a crazed-looking Cruise explaining how only Scientologists can help at a car accident? Well, here's some eye-opening context for that video, and plenty of other background on the star that few others have put together so well.Scientology watchers will appreciate the terrific interviews with Marc Headley, Karen Pressley, Bruce Hines and other former Scientologists who watched Cruise become Scientology leader David Miscavige's special project.Enjoy!

Tags: Bruce Hines, David Miscavige, Destin, Karen Pressley, Marc Headley, Mark Bunker, Quicky, Tom Cruise, Vimeo, Wise Beard Man

A man who holds no truck with established religion is unsurprisingly unlikely to have much good to say about Scientology, which purports to use scientific tools such as its controversial "E-meter". "It's purely made-up. It just taps into some 'gullibiligy'. They find some film star or somebody like Tom Cruise or whatever his name is who's thick as two short planks and he becomes a sort of advertisement."

Tags: Richard Dawkins

Exposing some of the unsavory claims that Tom Cruise, John Travolta and other celebrities would rather you didn't know about Scientology

Tags: Arnaldo Lerma, Building Management Services, Celebrity Centre, Cult Awareness Network, Fair Game, Graham Berry, Jack Parsons, Michelle Stith, OT, Richard Leiby, Robert Vaughn Young, Sea Org, Steven Fishman, Timothy Miller, Tom Cruise, Tory Christman, Uwe Geertz, Vistaril, Xenu

In a series of three stories and an editorial that began Monday, the New York Post reported that Lopez was the key City Council player in securing $630,000 in city funds for the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, a center on Fulton St. that offers September 11 first responders treatments based on large amounts of Vitamin B-3, sauna baths and exercise, in lieu of traditional medical therapies. The treatment is based on theories developed by L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology's late founder. Scientology's most famous exponent, Tom Cruise, was on hand with Lopez for the center's groundbreaking. The Post reported that the treatment is widely dismissed by medical professionals and noted that the adverse public reaction led the firefighters' union to pull its support for the project.

Tags: Detox, John Carmichael, Margarita Lopez, Tom Cruise

The lawsuit is the second time Stone's work as a pharmacist has thrust him into the spotlight during a political campaign. The first instance came about four years ago when Stone admitted committing four improper business practices. In exchange for that admission, 16 other accusations lodged against him by the state Board of Pharmacy were dismissed. In December 1999, Stone said he agreed to settle the case because he wanted to put the unpleasant experience behind him. He said all the serious allegations against him were dismissed and his attorney showed state officials that he had complied with the law.

Tags: Jeff Stone, Riverside County, Temecula

A doctor was suspended for a year for improperly prescribing Valium to unlicensed Church of Scientology workers caring for a church member who had suffered a mental breakdown. Dr. David I. Minkoff, 53, of Clearwater, Fla., also a Scientologist, will lose his medical license for a year and will be required to practice under probation for two more years, the Board of Medicine ruled Friday. He was fined $10,000.

Tags: David Minkoff, Joan Wood, Lisa McPherson

It's been a difficult couple of years for Scientology, which is trying to polish its fringe image as it awaits word from Revenue Canada about its application for charitable status. But positive PR may be coming to a theatre near you. Screen star John Travolta, Scientology's most famous promoter, has embarked on a film adaptation of Battlefield Earth, the doomsday sci-fi thriller penned by the church's messianic founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Tags: Al Buttnor, Author Services Inc, Battlefield Earth, John Travolta, Montreal, Narconon, Xenu

The Church of Scientology has settled a copyright dispute with an Internet provider that many in the computer industry worried would restrict freedom of expression in cyberspace.

Tags: Netcom, Religious Technology Center

SAN JOSE, CALIF. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ The Church of Scientology has settled a copyright dispute with an Internet provider that many in the computer industry worried would restrict freedom of expression in cyberspace. The church and Netcom On-Line Communication Services, one of the nation's largest Internet access providers, agreed not to discuss details of the out-of-court settlement reached Friday in San Jose. They did say, however, that the online service has posted a warning to its subscribers telling them not to use Netcom to "unlawfully distribute the intellectual property of others."

Tags: 1995, Copyright, Dennis Erlich, Glendale, Hollywood, Netcom, Quicky, Religious Technology Center, San Jose, Tom Klemesrud

Many Internet legal analysts are disappointed by an out-of-court settlement between Netcom and the Church of Scientology because now they"ll have to wait for another case to come to light before a court sets a firm precedent on Internet access providers' liability for online copyright infringement.

Tags: Dennis Erlich, Helena Kobrin, Judge Whyte, Netcom

A lawsuit that many in the on-line community feared would set a precedent restricting freedom of expression on the Internet has been settled out of court. Netcom On-Line Communications Services Inc. announced Saturday it had settled the intellectual property dispute initiated by Religious Technology Center (RTC), a wing of the Church of Scientology. RTC had sought to prohibit Netcom subscribers from posting sacred writings expressing the church's belief that man's spiritual problems stem from an intergalactic holocaust 75 million years ago. The church claimed some of the writings were protected under U.S. copyright laws. Both parties agreed not to disclose specific details of the settlement.

Tags: 1993, 1995, Lawyer, Netcom, Quicky, Religious Technology Center