November 18 in Scientology history

From a podium facing the jury, plaintiffs' attorney Karen Dunn began her closing arguments in the landmark civil trial against neo-Nazis and other white supremacists by referencing defendant Richard Spencer. "Spencer said you should find for the plaintiffs because we are 'on the side of the angels.' That is not true," Dunn said. "We are asking for you to find for us because if you consider the law and the evidence ... you will find for the plaintiffs." Then, for an hour and a half, she methodically broke down for the jury the nature of what she alleged was a conspiracy to commit racially motivated violence, including how it was planned and executed on Aug. 11 and 12, 2017, ultimately leading to the murder of antiracist activist Heather Heyer and a weekend in Charlottesville that would shake the nation.

Tags: 2017, Adolf Hitler, Alt-Right, Charlottesville, Heather Heyer, Neo-Nazi, Richard Spencer, Tokyo, Trial, Unite the Right, Virginia, White supremacist

The Running Track at Gold before it was bulldozed I have written a few pieces here about the Running Program — now titled "Cause Resurgence Rundown" in order to sell it to people as an "OT miracle rundown." It literally consists of running around in a circle to the point of exhaustion and then running some more. That is ALL it is. The Running Program

Tags: 1876, 1900, Audio, California, Cause Resurgence Rundown, Clear, Coronavirus, David Mayo, David Miscavige, Facebook, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Golden Era, Golden Era Productions, Mission, OT, Quicky, Red Cross, Riverside, Running Program, Sea Org, Super Power, Truth About Drugs, Twitter, United Nations

Christi Gordon came across this 1975 document and forwarded to me. It contains some interesting material worthy of comment. Hubbard announces he has been informed that there will be no deal with the IRS and thus there will be a 4 or 5 year fight. OF course, he has a solution that will save the day (history doesn't look kindly on many of his predictions and solutions). And this is an especially bizarre one.

Tags: 1974, 1975, Apollo, Caribbean, Christi Gordon, Facebook, IRS, Quicky, Scientology Handbook, Twitter, Volunteer Ministers

Some time ago, we were fortunate to get access to new documents about Scientology released by the FBI to dogged Freedom of Information Act journalist Emma Best and the Muckrock website. We expect Best's team is going to make the trove of FBI documents and other Scientology records available as soon as today, and we will add a link to those releases as soon as it is available. The documents cover a vast amount of territory, from complaints about Scientology in the 1960s to detailed records of the FBI's 1977 raid on Church of Scientology locations in Los Angeles and DC, as well as the ensuing legal battles that occurred, including Scientology's use of operatives to try and dig up dirt on one of the judges overseeing the trial of Mary Sue Hubbard, wife of Scientology's founder.

Tags: 1953, 1960, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2017, AOLA, Austria, Big Blue, Cedars of Lebanon, Celebrity Centre, Chris Owen, Clear, David Miscavige, DC, Emma Best, FBI, Fifield Manor, Fred Goldberg, Freedom of Information Act, George H.W. Bush, Guardian's Office, Hollywood, Hospital, IRS, IRS Commissioner, Leah Remini, Los Angeles, Mace-Kingsley Ranch, Marty Rathbun, Mary Sue Hubbard, Michael Meisner, Muckrock, Nathan Rich, New Mexico, OT, Quicky, Red Box, Richard Behar, Sands Hall, Scientology and the Aftermath, Sea Org, Tax exempt, Time magazine, US Department of Justice, Valley Ideal Org, Washington

Bikram Choudhury became a self-made multimillionaire with "Bikram Yoga," which was founded on 26 carefully-sequenced positions and performed in sweltering studios. Bikram claimed that, though he had learned his "hot yoga" craft under the tutelage of India's Bishnu Charan Ghosh, his methods were uniquely his own, and that they'd helped him become a three-time national yoga champion in his native country. He said he'd subsequently brought his program to America on July 4, 1972, when a Honolulu session with President Richard Nixon earned him a green card. From there, he fashioned an empire that boasted numerous celebrities as clients, and earned Bikram—famous for instructing students while wearing nothing but a tiny black Speedo—national renown and wealth, replete with a fleet of luxury Bentleys and Rolls Royces. It also netted him an army of acolytes who'd follow his every command—and, it turns out, would even tolerate the sexual assault and rape he perpetrated against them. Until, that is, they wouldn't. Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator (premiering Nov. 20 on Netflix) is a damning expose of Bikram and his movement, which director Eva Orner's documentary reveals was nothing short of a cult led by a charismatic leader eager to exploit his environment's carefully crafted power dynamics to devious ends. Through a strategic combination of psychological manipulation and professional intimidation, Bikram made sure that he was viewed by all as a veritable god capable of providing the keys to health, happiness and transcendence. Moreover, he let it be known that the only way to thrive in his field—and in his coveted presence—was to acquiesce to his whims, be it suffering endurance-test exhaustion and dehydration in his blazing-hot classes, the verbal abuse he dished out in uninhibited bursts, or the ugly advances he made to select women during late-night massage sessions in his home and hotel suites.

Tags: 1972, 2013, 2016, 2018, Academic, Bikram Choudhury, Cult, Green card, Harassment, Honolulu, Jackie Lacey, Los Angeles, Mexico, Netflix, Quicky, Rape, Richard Nixon, Sexual assault, Spain, Yoga

The new video from ex-JW advocate Lloyd Evans sounds like a fun one. Here's his description: What better way to convince outsiders that you are absolutely not a cult that crushes free expression and strongly discourages questioning the leadership than to release a video telling followers that they are just as bad as the devil if they ever make themselves guilty of "murmuring!" Another example that makes you wonder why anyone listens to what these clowns like Governing Body member Stephen Lett are saying.

Tags: Governing Body, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lloyd Evans, Quicky, Stephen Lett

The weekly show where I answer viewer questions left in the comment sections of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at AskChrisShelton@gmail.com. This week, the questions I answer are: (1) Could you please talk a little bit about the hypocrisy of Scientology and their take on human rights, especially in light of the Kashoggi murder? A recent conversation with my Scientologist relative made it clear to me that there was no care whether Kashoggi, a journalist for the Washington Post, was slain and dismembered after walking into the Saudi consulate in Turkey a few weeks ago. The basic nonchalant reaction to my bringing up the topic seemed to be that it was basically Kashoggi's own fault for having put himself in that situation, both from having been an outspoken critic of his government and having been naïve enough to walk in to the consulate in the first place. This seems like a slippery slope to me in light of the current administration's hostility towards the press. I realize Scientologists don't hold journalists in high esteem and think news is "entheta" to be avoided. Is this not hypocrisy when they in the same breath claim to hold human rights near and dear to their hearts with Scientology front groups like the Citizen's Commission for Human Rights and their Youth for Human Rights initiative at the United Nations? How do Scientologists even sleep at night? Where do they get their news if they don't value journalists' lives? Do they just chalk it up to "gotta clear the planet of insanity, that's the one way forward"? Is there no outrage? (2) As you know the course room supervisor is called "sup" which is a really silly name. It sounds like soup! Anyways, I remember how this individual seemed cold, unemotional and unloving, almost like a soulless robot. I asked myself, am I going to become that? If getting trained morphs me into a soulless ice cold person, I don't want to pursue this path. How's been your experience?

Tags: 2005, Big Blue, Celebrity Centre, Critic, Las Vegas, Quicky, Rehabilitation Project Force, Sea Org, Turkey, United Nations, Washington Post, Youth for Human Rights International

Although A&E announced that its series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath begins its third season on November 27, it actually begins tonight at 8 pm Eastern with a "special episode" the network apparently doesn't count as the series itself. Yes, once again A&E's confusing way of counting some episodes and not others continues into a new season, but whatever, all that really matters is that the show has its focus back on Scientology after a two-hour detour into the Jehovah's Witnesses last week. In tonight's special, Leah Remini and Mike Rinder sit down with members of their own families to talk about how leaving Scientology has taken a toll on all of them. Leah has her mother Vicki Marshall back — Vicki made a terrific appearance in an episode last season when she and Leah revealed the contents of Scientology's super-secret "OT 8" upper teachings. We found it absolutely stunning.

Tags: A&E, Christie Collbran, Freewinds, Jehovah's Witnesses, Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, Operating Thetan, OT 8, Scientology and the Aftermath, Sea Org, Vicki Marshall

Emails unearthed by a British academic and OpenDemocracy.net suggest that former Trump White House advisor Stephen Bannon and Cambridge Analytica, the data firm that employed him, advised the "Leave.EU" campaign and raised money for it. The emails date back to October of 2015, when Bannon was the vice president of Cambridge Analytica, a firm funded by American billionaire Robert Mercer, a top donor to Donald Trump's US presidential campaign. OpenDemocracy and Emma Briant, a professor at the University of Essex, have submitted the emails as evidence to British officials investigating the role that propaganda played in campaigns to convince British citizens to vote to leave the European Union. British politicians have noted the similarities between the "Leave" campaign's social media strategy and the Trump presidential campaign, and suggest that Bannon's links to the two are part of a global strategy to upset liberal democracies.

Tags: 2015, 2016, Alexander Nix, Alt-Right, Arron Banks, Breitbart, Brexit, Cambridge Analytica, Donald Trump, Essex, European Union, Robert Mercer, Steve Bannon, UK, White House (Trump)

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Tags: American Power and Gas, Argentina, Copyright, Court of Ethics, Quicky, Tom Cummins, Trial

There is another special episode of The Aftermath airing tonight at a special time — 8pm EST. This one is very personal — it is about OUR families and the impact scientology has had on them. https://www.mikerindersblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/LEAH-AFTERMATH-SPECIAL-SUN.mp4

Tags: A&E, Alex Gibney, Jigsaw Productions, Quicky

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

One of the most vexing questions for me when I was in Scientology was whether past lives were real or imagined. Before I ever went in session for the first time, past lives had been solely a component of fantasy novels. In fact, until I routed onto the OT Levels, I avoided going "beyond this lifetime" whenever I could. I was always reluctant to declare I'd lived before this life, and for as long as I could, I limited myself to looking at incidents I knew had happened since that birth date on my driver's license. Images earlier than birth were as real as the ones I'd mock up while reading the likes of Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. And just like those worlds I painted while flipping the pages of those novels, I could manipulate scenes at will while in session. I could just as easily take the point of view of the hero as the one receiving the sharp end of the spear through his chest. I could change and manipulate wardrobes, scenery, characters and viewpoints—pretty much anything—without any one version being more or less real than the others. "Is there an earlier/similar incident?"

Tags: Dentist, Isaac Asimov, Jesus, L. Ron Hubbard, Mission into Time, OT, Past Life, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Terra Cognita

Tags: Ideal Org, Perth, Quicky

Tags: Halloween, Ideal Org, Perth, Quicky

Sinar Parman, a longtime Sea Org worker who was chef to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and later to its current leader, David Miscavige, was found dead at his Yucaipa, California home on November 11. He was 63. Parman cooked not only for Scientology's leaders but also for its celebrities, including catering the 1990 wedding of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. But we remember him best as a crucial source for the history of Scientology's "Int Base" and the later years of L. Ron Hubbard's life. We considered him one of the best sources for Scientology history, and his sudden, unexpected death is being dearly felt at the Underground Bunker. "I first got to know Sinar when he was Hubbard's chef at La Quinta. We became good friends, he was an easy guy to like. Because he was Indonesian we had an immediate kinship being from the same part of the world," says Mike Rinder, the Australian who was once Scientology's top international spokesman and is known today for co-starring on A&E's series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.

Tags: 1954, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2012, A&E, Australia, Blow Drill, Brazil, Business Insider, California, Chinese, Claire Headley, Clearwater, Colorado, David Miscavige, Europe, Gary Morehead, Green card, Hollywood, Indonesia, Int Base, Jackie Wolff, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, La Quinta, Las Vegas, Leah Remini, Lisa McPherson, Los Angeles, Mike Rinder, New York, Nicole Kidman, Palm Springs, Quicky, San Jacinto, Scientology and the Aftermath, Sea Org, Sinar Parman, Tampa Bay Times, Telluride, Tom Cruise, Tom Tobin

We noticed Tim DeWall made an interesting comment at his Facebook page about a new set of people coming out of Scientology and reaching out to him and his wife, Sylvia. You may remember the story we did about the DeWalls, and the audiotape that recorded the moment Sylvia was learning that a young ethics officer at the Flag Land Base planned to have her declared a "suppressive person," forcing her to cut off all of her relationships with other church members. We told Tim we'd be interested to hear from any of the new people who have contacted them. So Tim introduced us to Kelly Jordan. Kelly lives in Sarasota after leaving her job at Scientology's Clearwater mission eight years ago. What follows is the Facebook messenger conversation we had, edited only a little for clarity. I was on staff at the Clearwater mission for 14 years and it was pretty horrible. I left in 2008. I live in Sarasota now, I have a very good life. Mostly I just feel really stupid for sticking around so long. During my time in Scientology there was quite a bit of what I would consider to be emotional abuse, not to mention financial instability in the extreme.

Tags: 1986, 2008, 2011, 9/11, Ann Manierre, ARC Straightwire, Austin, Clearwater, Conditions, Cornerstone, Ethics Officer, Facebook, Fair Game, Flag Land Base, Florida, Fort Harrison, International Association of Scientologists, Kelly Jordan, Lisa McPherson, National Enquirer, Paulette Cooper, Phil McGraw, Pope, Potential Trouble Source, Private investigator, Quicky, Sea Org, Sec Check, Shelley Duvall, Student Hat, Super Power, Super Power Building, Suppressive Person, Sylvia DeWall, Texas, Tim DeWall, USA Today, Village Voice, Vivian Kubrick

Tags: Quicky, Regraded Being

Joe McDonald was angry. A paramedic tried to calm him down, but he looked at the damage done to his boat's motor and he stared menacingly at the woman who had been so oblivious that she'd driven her red Jeep right into it. It was a little before 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 18, 1995, and the scene at the intersection of Fort Harrison Avenue and Belleview Boulevard on the south side of Clearwater, Florida was getting chaotic. Things had started when an older woman in a sedan had collided with a man on his motorcycle. It was a minor collision, and as the traffic came to a standstill, the man was trying to pull the fender on his motorbike back into position. Joe McDonald had just been sitting there in his pickup, waiting for the intersection to clear up again, when he'd felt the impact on the boat that he was towing behind him on a trailer. The woman in the red Jeep had run smack into his propeller, damaging the Jeep's grille.

Tags: 1918, 1975, 1995, Alain Kartuzinski, AMC Publishing, Baker Act, Bennetta Slaughter, Bonnie Portolano, Brenda Hubert, Christian, Clearwater, Denver, Dunedin, Florida, Flynn Lovett, Fort Harrison, Janet Reitman, Jeannie Decuypere, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joe Price, Katie Chamberlain, Lisa McPherson, Los Angeles, Mark Fabyanic, Mary DeMoss, Morton Plant Hospital, New York, Orlando, OT, OT 8, Quicky, Winter Wonderland

Scientology Sea Org Captain David Miscavige in his Scientology War Room The Church of Scientology has many cynical ways of making money. Following the terrorist attacks in Paris, Scientology is now attempting to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in France by selling a particular piece of its literature at obscene profit margins. Further, Scientology plans to send its notorious Volunteer Ministers into France in an attempt to recruit traumatized and vulnerable people into joining Scientology and handing over large sums of money to pay for super-expensive Scientology services. This is disaster capitalism at its worst. Moreover, this pattern has been repeated over and over by the Church of Scientology following natural disasters, mass shootings, and other terror attacks. Scientology preys upon the vulnerable when horrific things occur.

Tags: 2001, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 9/11, Belgium, Catholic, Christian, Colombia, Cult, David Miscavige, E-meter, France, Haiti, Hurricane Katrina, Indonesia, Japan, Jehovah's Witnesses, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Mike Rinder, Paris, Quicky, Red Cross, Sea Org, Super Bowl, The Way to Happiness, Tony Ortega, Touch Assist, Underground Bunker, Virginia Tech, Volunteer Ministers

Congratulations vigilant readers of this blog. Today I received the following letter by email. I responded as follows.

Tags: Continental Liaison Office, Intellectual property rights, Michigan, New York, Quicky

An appropriate follow-up to yesterday's amazing good news from AOLA. I haven't had the time or space to include this for a while, so it's a bit out of date, but it's always nice to keep the good news flowing. It also sets the stage for an important post coming tomorrow — a definitive analysis of scientology expansions since the 1950's.

Tags: 1950, AOLA, Clear, Office of Special Affairs, OT VII, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Super Power

"We plan to adaptively reuse the existing building on the site, which means there will be minimal building works required prior to opening. "By contrast, our proposal will have no residential accommodation. It will be for administrative functions, ancillary uses and theological studies for parishioners and staff," Ms Dunstan said. "Further, all staff will travel to and from the site each day by buses, which will stop in a proposed purpose-built layby on Millwood Avenue on the property's western boundary.

Tags: 1993, Australia, Chatswood, Church of Scientology Australia, Continental Liaison Office, Drug Free Ambassadors, Quicky, Something Can Be Done About It, Sunday service, The Way to Happiness, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Vicki Dunstan, Volunteer Ministers, West Chatswood, Willoughby Council, Youth for Human Rights International

Former Gawker writer Adrian Chen has a long and contentious history with the hacktivist collective known as Anonymous. We're not really very interested in that backstory (though a recent article shows that it's pretty juicy). And we're also not all that interested in the drubbing that Chen gave last week to McGill University professor Gabriella Coleman's new book, Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous. We found Coleman's book to be pretty useful and fascinating, but Chen accused her of being too embedded with Anonymous so that she tended to overlook some of its faults. For an interesting counterpoint to Chen's piece in the Nation, we recommend David Auerbach's response in Slate. Anyway, what did interest us, and what we feel qualified to comment on, was Chen's contention that one of the things Coleman overstates is the effect Anonymous had on Scientology. In fact, Chen seems to think that "Project Chanology," the specific effort by Anonymous to agitate against the church, had little to no effect at all.

Tags: 1990, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, Adrian Chen, Anonymous, Atlanta, BBC, Canada, Egypt Sherrod, Ex-Scientology Kids, Gabriella Coleman, Gawker, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Google, Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous, Int Base, Jacqueline Olivier, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jenna Miscavige Hill, John Sweeney, Lawrence Wright, Los Angeles, Marc Headley, McGill University, Mimi Faust, New York City, New York Times, Operation Slickpubes, Paul Haggis, Private investigator, Project Chanology, Proposition 8, Scientology and Me, Sea Org, Slate, Tommy Davis, WhyWeProtest, Will Smith, Xenu

To prepare for it, Olivier hired a handful of non-Scientology teachers to go along with the ten Scientology teachers who had been running the home-schooling operation. But before the non-Scientology teachers could go near the children, they had to get Scientology training, Olivier says. "You couldn't interact with the kids until you'd taken a bunch of Scientology courses. And they were still supervised by the Scientology teachers to make sure they didn't make any mistakes using Study Technology," she says. "They even wanted the parents to take Scientology courses. And they had a course room right on campus. With L. Ron Hubbard posters on the walls," she adds. "The kids were taught all that stuff. That if you yawned, it meant you'd had a misunderstood word."

Tags: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, BBC, California, Celebrity Centre, Claire Headley, E-meter, Franca Campopiano, Hollywood, Jacqueline Olivier, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter, Los Angeles, Meredith Wasson, New Village Leadership Academy, Piano Foster, Study Tech, Study Technology, Tax, Will Smith, Word Clearing

Buffalo is one of three cities, along with Denver and Las Vegas, where the Church of Scientology – which spent $8 million for a 60-second advertisement during this year's Super Bowl – is mounting a major ad campaign. But the church is controversial. It has been accused of forcing members to separate from family and friends who become critical of Scientology. Eleven former church executives have accused leader David Miscavige of hitting them. And growing numbers of defectors – including actress Leah Remini and director-screenwriter Paul Haggis – are speaking out.

Tags: Baylor University, Buffalo, David Miscavige, Denver, Gordon Melton, Institute for Studies of Religion, Kim Brillon, Lamar Media, Las Vegas, Leah Remini, Michel Brillon, Paul Haggis, Super Bowl

Tags: New Village Leadership Academy

View my aerial photos on of this ribbon cutting on Flickr http://flic.kr/s/aHsjMCr4fA On 17 November 2013 Scientology Supreme Leader David Miscavige cut the ribbon to open Scientology's Superpower building in Clearwater, Florida. Hundreds of Scientologists cheered him on.

Tags: Clearwater, David Miscavige, Florida, Mike Rinder, Quicky, Tony Ortega

View my aerial photos on of this ribbon cutting on Flickr http://flic.kr/s/aHsjMCr4fA On 17 November 2013 Scientology Supreme Leader David Miscavige cut the ribbon to open Scientology's Superpower building in Clearwater, Florida. Hundreds of Scientologists cheered him on.

Tags: Clearwater, David Miscavige, Florida, Mike Rinder, Quicky, Tony Ortega

Monday Morning Quarterbacking: Apostate Air Force Edition I think the follow-on effects of yesterday's airborne raid on the Super Power ribbon-cutting ceremony will reverberate for some time, and we might even see some significant changes in the way the cult produces the IAS event in two weeks. Given that those changes are likely to be about protecting David Miscavige from imagined threats to his personal security and about protecting his image with his "flock," it's possible that he takes his eye off the ball: raising money. If it is true that Miscavige has postponed the events earlier this year mainly due to his need to micro-manage the legal cases he's embroiled in, then there's a non-zero chance that he'll postpone the IAS event while he revamps the event and the security plan. And if he does that, it is extremely likely that the proceeds from the gala are going to be down substantially.

Tags: 2006, African-American, Anonymous, Apostate, Art of War, Clearwater, David Miscavige, DC, Europe, Facebook, Grant Cardone, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jacqueline Olivier, Leah Remini, London, Mark Bunker, Mike Rinder, New Village Leadership Academy, Portland, Quicky, Saint Hill, Sec Check, Sun Tzu, Super Power, Tampa Bay Times, Tony Ortega, UK, Will Smith, Wise Beard Man

COB David Miscavige (l) and Flag Captain Harvey Jacques (r) work on their postulates and attempt to wave off a helicopter carrying Mike Rinder and Mike Bennitt, as they are about to overfly the Flag Building opening ceremony. Today, it's all about the helicopter, though there are a lot of other interesting goings on that took place. Mike Rinder decided to take advantage of an offer from Mike Bennitt, he of the high-quality videography of the Mosey Rathbun case in Texas, and use a helicopter to fly over the Super Power building during today's 1:00pm opening ceremony, so they can get an estimate of the crowd size.

Tags: Apostate, Austin, Bert Fields, Chairman of the Board, Clear, Clearwater, Craigslist, Cult Watch, Dan Sherman, David Mayo, David Miscavige, FAA, Facebook, Flag Building, Freewinds, Harvey Jacques, Ideal Org, Int Base, Jefferson Hawkins, Joe Childs, Karen de la Carriere, Los Angeles, Mark Bunker, Mike Bennitt, Mike Rinder, Mission, Office of Special Affairs, OT, Portland, Quicky, Sea Org, Shrine Auditorium, Study Tech, Sunday Funnies, Super Power, Tampa Bay Times, Tax exempt, Texas, Tom Cruise, TomKat Project, Tone Scale, Tony Ortega, WhyWeProtest, Word Clearing

CLEARWATER, Fla., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Thousands of Scientologists have attended the unveiling of a multimillion-dollar building in a Florida city that is a hub for the religion, officials say. After 12 years of stop-and-start construction, the Flag Building in downtown Clearwater was opened by church leader David Miscavage in a ceremony that lasted less than 10 minutes, the Tampa Tribune reported Monday. Estimates of the number of church members at the grand opening ranged from less than 6,000 to about 10,000.

Tags: 1990, 1999, Clearwater, Flag Building, Florida, Los Angeles, Quicky, Super Power, Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune

A Special Correspondent sent in these photos. I guess the dire warnings and threats of no electronic devices didn't catch everyone.... I have some catching up to do on life... I am putting these up without comment and probably won't get to another post until some time later tomorrow. Maybe something will come along in the meantime and there will be a surprise, but I have some backlogs that I must take care of.

Tags: Quicky, Vulture Culture

Actors Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kelly Preston joined a smaller than expected crowd of Scientologists on Sunday to dedicate what the church calls its most important project ever, its massive Flag Building. Church leader David Miscavige presided in a ceremony that lasted just eight minutes and was marked by a burst of confetti that rained down like golden tickets. His remarks couldn't be understood outside the church's perimeter.

Tags: 1970, 1990, 1998, 2011, Auditing, Belleair, Brad Kugler, Charlie Frago, Clearwater, Clearwater Police Department, David Miscavige, Dunedin, Flag Building, Guy Fawkes, Irvine, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Largo, Luis Garcia, Palm Harbor, Peter Mansell, Pinellas Trail, Religious worker, Super Power, Tampa, Tom Cruise

The Church of Scientology spent at least $30million to have a criminal investigation into the death of one of its members in Florida dropped by local authorities, a former church leader alleges in a new lawsuit. Marty Rathbun claims the church used its influence to sway judges and the medical examiner in Clearwater, Florida, to stop investigating the 1995 case of Lisa McPherson. Her family claims church leaders watched her die after they took her to a hotel room following a minor car crash.

Tags: 1995, Clearwater, Florida, Joan Wood, Lee Fugate, Lisa McPherson, Marty Rathbun, Medical, Quicky, WTSP

In this raw footage interview, the former second-in-command of Scientology, Marty Rathbun, explains how Scientology coerced medical examiner Joan Wood to change her opinion on the cause of Lisa McPherson's death which then derailed the criminal charges against Scientology.

Tags: 1995, 1998, 1999, Ben Shaw, Bernie McCabe, Cyril Wecht, David Miscavige, Doug Crow, Florida State Attorney's Office, Fort Harrison, Jeffrey Goodis, Joan Wood, John Travolta, Judge Susan Schaeffer, Lee Fugate, Lisa McPherson, Lisa McPherson criminal case, Marty Rathbun, Michael Baden, Mike Rinder, Pinellas County, Scientology celebrity, Super Bowl, Tom DeVocht, Video

Mark Bunker has uploaded to YouTube a 16-minute interview he did with former high-ranking Scientology executive Marty Rathbun for his movie Knowledge Report. It contains more details of the news that rocked Scientology this week: In attorney Ken Dandar's federal lawsuit, Rathbun is alleging that the church spent $30 million fighting the criminal investigation of Lisa McPherson's death, including an operation to improperly influence county medical examiner Joan Wood. McPherson was a troubled church member who had a mental breakdown in 1995 and then was taken to be cared for at Scientology's headquarters at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida. Seventeen days later, she was rushed to the hospital and died on the way. Scientology was then the subject of a criminal investigation which relied in part on the death certificate that Wood issued. Wood later changed the cause of McPherson's death from "undetermined" to "accident" in 2000, which stopped the state's criminal investigation of Scientology in its tracks. In Bunker's interview, Rathbun talks about how the church applied pressure to convince Wood to make that change. We've made a decision at The Underground Bunker not to post Bunker's video at this time. Unlike Rathbun's explosive deposition, the YouTube video is not a privileged court document. However, you can easily find the video yourself at WhyWeProtest.net, and we encourage you to watch it and discuss it here.

Tags: 1995, 2000, 2011, Clearwater, David Miscavige, Florida, Fort Harrison, Freewinds, Jeffrey Goodis, Jesus, Joan Wood, Ken Dandar, Knowledge Report, Lisa McPherson, Mark Bunker, Marty Rathbun, Mental breakdown, Mike Rinder, Pope, Quicky, Scientology executive, Scott Pilutik, Virginia, Wally Pope, WhyWeProtest, YouTube

Mark Bunker, also known as Wise Beard Man, posted a sixteen minute interview wherein he afforded me the opportunity to connect the dots revealing David Miscavige's smoking gun in the Lisa McPherson criminal case: watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ntEXhmjW-pE references:

Tags: David Miscavige, Lisa McPherson criminal case, Mark Bunker, Quicky, Tampa Bay Times, Tony Ortega, Wise Beard Man

For you Scientology watchers and Scientology history buffs, we think we have something very special for you today. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard sailed around the Mediterranean in a small armada of vessels, going from port to port. Each day, he issued to the hundreds of crew members traveling with him his "Orders of the Day." The Voice has obtained hundreds of these documents, spanning from 1968 to 1971, and we are told that these dispatches -- many of them containing Hubbard's thoughts on the state of his religion, his paranoia about enemies, and his praise and harsh discipline for his crew -- have never previously been published. We will be gradually revealing material from the orders in coming weeks. But for now, we wanted to start with a significant anniversary -- today happens to be exactly 43 years since Hubbard rechristened his flagship, changing its name from the Royal Scotsman to Apollo. As you will see after the jump, for Hubbard it was a day to feel magnanimous and proud.

Tags: 1960, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1976, Africa, Apollo, California, Clear, Company, Corfu, England, Freewinds, Greece, Jefferson Hawkins, John McMaster, L. Ron Hubbard, London, Mary Sue Hubbard, Mediterranean, Mission, Norman Starkey, Orders of the Day, Perth, Quentin Hubbard, Quicky, Scotsman, Sunday Times, Tony Dunleavy

A society which in any way inhibits, suppresses or regiments its artists is a society not only low on the Tone Scale, but most certainly doomed. A totalitarian state, following its usual line of perversion of truth, talks endlessly about its subsidization of the artist, but it subsidizes only those artists who are willing to work for the state exactly as the state dictates. It regiments the artist and prescribes what he will do and what he will write and what he will think. This is in direct controversion to the function of the artist in society. - L. Ron Hubbard, Science of Survival Beware, apparently in a last-ditch power drive, death merchant David Miscavige is making a desperate foray into music and film.

Tags: David Miscavige, Hollywood, John Travolta, Quicky, Science of Survival, Tom Cruise, Tone Scale, Tony Ortega, Village Voice

Organised by Alice Sheppard, office supervisor by day and amateur astronomer by night, and Dean Burnett, a comedian, the events bring in speakers from all corners of skepticism. The most recent saw Adamsdown councillor John Dixon reflect on his rise to stardom after his run-in with the Church of Scientology after a tweet calling them "stupid".

Tags: Alice Sheppard, Cardiff, Dean Burnett, John Dixon, Skeptics, Twitter, Wales

She worked at the 2001 India earthquake; then she happened to be travelling through the US when the Twin Towers came down. She was asked by the Church to go there immediately and spent the following two weeks working alongside other volunteer ministers of all denominations at Ground Zero. "It changed my life," she says quietly. "I was a mess afterwards but I had some auditing and I was able to bounce back fresh as ever." While she was there she performed on-the-spot "assists" (a Scientology technique designed to get someone back into the present when their attention is stuck in some upsetting moment in the past) on emergency workers so they could keep on digging.

Tags: 9/11, Australia, Emmanuel Foundas, Kate Foundas, Wendy Honnor

In the mean time, why not revisit some of the biggest stories from 2010 on our website: early in the year we investigated the Church of Scientology and its abusive treatment of some of its members and their families; the program also took us to the gypsy slums of Europe, the brutal battleground of Congo and the killing fields of Mexico's drug war. The Australian Government's home insulation program was in the spotlight too, along with Tony Abbott's leadership aspirations.

Tags: Australia

I said it from the outset. The overriding reason I spoke to the St Pete Times in the first place last year was to prevent Miscavige from going the route of Jim Jones of People's Temple. I told Anderson Cooper that CNN's Jonestown Anniversary documentary got me to thinking about the parallels between David Miscavige and Jim Jones. Apparently, the maintstream media were intimidated by Radical Scientology from airing these comments. Well, MotorCityRedneck (whomever that is) has drawn those parallels very graphically on this anniversary of the Jonestown massacre. I thank that person for going through the trouble of effectively communicating what I apparently was not able to articulate convincingly enough. Fasten your seat belts. Here it is:

Tags: Anderson Cooper, CNN, David Miscavige, Jim Jones, Jonestown, Quicky

An Australian senator has called for a parliamentary inquiry into Scientology - and the allegations made by former members he cited could help ongoing lawsuits and criminal investigations in Europe and the US. An independent member of Australia's senate has launched an extraordinary attack on Scientology, denouncing it as a criminal organisation and calling for a Senate inquiry into the movement's tax-exempt status. Senator Nick Xenophon used his parliamentary privilege to list a catalogue of allegations passed on to him by former members, some of whom said officials in the movement had covered up serious crimes.[1]

Tags: 1990, 1991, Aaron Saxton, Abortion, Australia, Belgium, California, Carmel Underwood, Catholic, Child abuse, Claire Headley, Clearwater, David Miscavige, Dean Detheridge, Disconnection, Edward McBride, Europe, Federal Bureau of Investigation, First Amendment, Florida, Former Scientologists, France, Gloria Lopez, Introspection Rundown, Italy, Johannes Aagaard, John Lock, Kevin Mackey, Kevin Rudd, Laura DeCrescenzo, Lisa McPherson, Martine Boublil, Marty Rathbun, Nick Xenophon, Paul Schofield, Peta O'Brien, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Rehabilitation Project Force, Scientology executive, Scientology staff, Sea Org, St. Petersburg Times, Sydney, Today Tonight, Truth Rundown

The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has said he will consider calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the Church of Scientology. But he said the evidence must be looked at carefully before proceeding. Senator Nick Xenophon launched a scathing attack on Scientology, citing letters from former followers alleging extensive criminal activity.

Tags: Australia, Cyrus Brooks, Kevin Rudd, Nick Xenophon

Mr Xenophon, an Independent senator from South Australia, used parliamentary privilege to detail a host of serious allegations against the church made by former members. Among them were claims that the Church of Scientology engaged in extensive criminal activity, including assault; imprisonment; the covering up of sexual abuse; embezzlement of church funds and blackmail. It was also claimed that the church had exerted pressure on some members to undergo abortions.

Tags: Abortion, Australia, Cyrus Brooks, Kevin Rudd, Nick Xenophon, Paul Schofield, South Australia

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he has concerns about the Church of Scientology but wants to see what material independent Senator Nick Xenophon has before committing to a parliamentary inquiry. Senator Xenophon told Parliament yesterday there was criminal activity within the church and has called for a Senate inquiry into Scientology's tax exempt status.

Tags: Australia, Barnaby Joyce, Kevin Rudd, Nick Xenophon, Steve Fielding

The three men testified that they had been sent to Curaçao to work off Cuba's multimillion-dollar debt to the Curaçao Drydock Company, a private company whose largest shareholder is the government of the Netherlands Antilles. Their passports were seized at the airport and they were rarely allowed to leave the shipyard complex, and only in groups with a minder. They typically worked 15 days in a row and when off-duty had to watch Fidel Castro's videotaped speeches. Working conditions were perilous, they testified. One of the men, Fernando Alonso, burned his hand while welding steel without proper safety gear. Another, Alberto Rodriguez-Licea, broke his foot and ankle when a rope he was dangling from snapped. The third, Luis Casanova, was ordered to work in water and says he was shocked so severely that electricity shot from his tongue.

Tags: Alien Tort Claims Act, Caribbean, Cuba, Curaçao, Curaçao Drydock Company, Miami, Netherlands Antilles, Passport, Rodriguez, et al v. Curaçao Drydock Company, Tampa, Willemstad

Today, Scientologists own much of downtown Clearwater. They"ve given new life to an ailing waterfront. They draw tourists and celebs such as Cruise and John Travolta, and they serve in a host of civic organizations. In one study commissioned by the church, Scientologists' direct spending in the community in 1999 was estimated at $119 million. But not everyone is pleased. Many residents complain the church, its controversial history and unique beliefs alienate residents from a downtown that, despite the development and prime location minutes from the beach, remains sleepy. Downtown may look better, they say, but unless you"re a Scientologist there's little reason to go there.

Tags: Clearwater, Gordon Melton

On the 10th anniversary of Jonestown, she asked me to speak to a network gathering in Portland. Those days, the Church of Scientology was protesting against the anti-cult group. Now the network has been bankrupted by lawsuits, and a Scientologist has purchased the name of the church's old nemesis. Patricia does not think the lessons of Jonestown have sunk in, not even after Waco and Heaven's Gate. "I don't think politicians are any more aware now (of cults) or care to do anything because it's not an easy or expedient issue," she said. "I don't think young people even know what Jonestown was."

Tags: Cult Awareness Network, Leo J. Ryan, Patricia Ryan, Peoples Temple