One of the things we do here at the Underground Bunker is keep an eye on Scientology’s latest press releases. It’s a thankless task, but sometimes amid all the rah-rah notices about interfaith conferences and trash pickups and anti-psychiatry hoo-hah there’s occasionally something to pay attention to. (Or chuckle about.)
This week, it was the marking of the 45th anniversary of Scientology’s official presence in Spain. And while we’re sure it’s a milestone of great import, what caught our eye was the image that the press release posted to mark the occasion…
Now this particular scene we’re very familiar with. It’s from the September 18, 2004 grand opening of the Madrid Ideal Org, and it’s a special occasion for a number of reasons.
In the photo, David Miscavige is speaking. But this is also the one and only Ideal Org grand opening that Tom Cruise himself actually attended. (Out of more than 60 that have been held over the last 22 years.)
And not only did Tom attend, he actually got up and spoke to the crowd — and in Spanish!
Tiziano Lugli posted video of Cruise’s speech years ago, and we featured it here at the Bunker back in 2015.
After Tom gave it his best shot and finished his speech, he bounded down the steps to the chairs in the front row. And just for a moment you can see him with the other people seated there…
That’s Tommy Davis bent over putting a notebook away or something. There’s a woman next to him, then Tom shaking hands with David Miscavige. And then in the foreground, you see two women: Shelly Miscavige (with the bun) and Laurisse “Lou” Henley-Smith, Dave’s “personal communicator” with the short dark hair.
This is the last footage we know of which shows Shelly in public before she disappeared from Scientology’s public events 20 years ago this summer. (We later found footage of her at a 2001 mission opening, but this 2004 Ideal Org opening is the last video footage of her we’ve found before her 2005 disappearance.)
OK, so if we know that Shelly was sitting second from the end of that first row with her lighter colored hair in a bun next to Lou and her darker short hair, let’s look again at that photo that Scientology posted this week with its press release.
Here’s a blowup of that image, showing the front row…
The same image is posted at Scientology’s main website where it documents each Ideal Org grand opening. And at that slide show, you can also see this higher angle, when the ribbon was being pulled.
You can clearly see Shelly second from right, with her hair bun…
Twenty years after David Miscavige banished his own wife to a small secluded compound in the San Bernardino Mountains, cutting her off from almost everyone she knew including her family, he is so confident that law enforcement agencies are sufficiently cowed that he can post reminders of her like this with impunity.
After all, what’s anyone going to do about it?
More Spain: Save the date, muchachos and muchachas!
Speaking of Scientology in Spanish, Alex Barnes-Ross shared with us the latest hype video to get church members ready for October’s IAS gala.
In the short clip, you can see the tents that have been put up (without formal permission).
The clip starts with a British Scientologist struggling to read something in Spanish. But then he’s pushed away as a native speaker steps up to take over! (We have seen this particular woman before.)
She uses some slang and has a heavy accent, but this is a good approximation of what she is saying…
“Hey, guys, how are you? You see what’s going on here, right? Get ready for October, what a day it’s going to be. But for me, to be prepared for October, you have to bring, above all, your ETA. Make sure you have it. It’s a transit visa, a permit to enter. You also have to have your IAS membership card, and you have to bring your hot body here and join all of us from around the planet! I’ll wait for you, OT!”
Once again, we’ll point out, Scientology has asked its members to set aside the entire month of October, because they still have not revealed the date of the IAS weekend.
Also, Scientology’s push for its 75th Anniversary edition of Dianetics (which features Taylor Swift!) has resulted in new ads on local broadcast stations. An alert viewer managed to catch one this week on KTLA, the CW affiliate in Los Angeles…
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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology
Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain
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I imagine with the continued lack of new members David and Scientology are going pour on the coals to make this years IAS event the biggest and the best ever. I can’t wait to see the biggest and best protests as well.
The staff member attempting to read the Spanish announcement was infinitely better than Criise’s mangled Spanish at that event.you’ve posted the photos from.
But the irony! The video now asks for an ETA for an unspecified date. Ok I bite, my flight lands at 2:40 am. I have a destination. It is in October even. But it’s up to you to you guess my destination and the date and airport it’s landing in.
Sense this does not make.