Tony Ortega's book The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, Paulette Cooper

Kirkus Reviews: The Unbreakable Miss Lovely

Kirkus Reviews: The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tony-ortega/the-unbreakable-miss-lovely/

Neat!

• 'Archetypical newshound' Paulette Cooper described in 'thrilling account' - Kirkus January 9, 2016, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker

And now a word from our publisher, Silvertail Books

Hey, look what Humfrey Hunter tweeted this morning.



http://tonyortega.org

Tony posted this today:



Cinco de Mayo, one year later

One year ago today, we got a special package in the mail to our underground lair. We captured the moment as we got a look at the first copies of our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.

Since then, London-based Silvertail Books has sold more than 10,000 copies of this story about journalist Paulette Cooper’s ordeal at the hands of the Church of Scientology. We’re very grateful to our many readers, and we thank you for all of the great messages and photographs we’ve received. What a year it’s been. Pass the tequila.

http://tonyortega.org/

Tonight, Tony Ortega posted this on Facebook:

I had no idea this was coming. I am humbled that the great Nathan Rabin found my book worth reviewing and found it compelling. Hooray for Paulette Cooper, whose story is still knocking people out!

https://www.facebook.com/tony.ortega.1044/posts/1014869241932368

The Unbreakable Miss Lovely looks at one of Scientology’s most formidable foes

By Nathan Rabin, May 12, 2016

Quote:

The “Church” of Scientology likes to compare what it sees as the unfair religious persecution it experiences under the German government for being an abusive commercial enterprise masquerading as a religion to the genocide Jews experienced during the Holocaust. Arguments that can be reduced to “our enemies are just like the Nazis!” are famously flimsy and hyperbolic, and as a Jew who lost family members in the Holocaust I am personally offended by the Church’s disingenuous attempts to link the richly merited scrutiny they experience from a vigilant government looking out for its citizens to a historic tragedy where millions were cruelly executed for their religion.

But no one is more entitled to be nauseated by Scientologists continually playing the Holocaust card than journalist and author Paulette Cooper. When Cooper was a little girl in Europe, her Jewish parents were both killed in the Holocaust. From the time she was born, her life was defined by brutal persecution from a sinister organization.

As an adult, Cooper wrote one of the first and most important muckraking exposés about Scientology, 1971’s The Scandal Of Scientology. For her troubles, she was relentlessly persecuted by another sinister organization with no mercy: Scientology. Oh sure, there are plenty of comparisons that can be drawn between Nazis and Scientology, but they aren’t in service of L. Ron Hubbard’s long, long con. For example, the Nazis succeeded in destroying Cooper’s parents for what they believed, and the Scientologists tried their damnedest, but did not succeed, in trying to destroy Paulette Cooper for the uncomfortable truths she uncovered.

As a longtime Scientology obsessive (my editors here are encouraging me to subtly turn this into the “Silly Little Scientology Book Club” but I am resisting, for the time being), I’ve read an awful lot about Paulette Cooper. Her larger-than-life tale of being the victim of a Kafkaesque program of surveillance, persecution, and bullying appears again and again in stories of Scientology’s rise and fall, including Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear.

But before Tony Ortega’s The Unbreakable Miss Lovely,Cooper’s story had never been told in full. It is one of the most remarkable and unlikely narratives in the sprawling field of Scientology exposés. Ortega’s specialty is his ability to contextualize Cooper’s soap-opera life within the raging currents of history.

Continued here:
http://www.avclub.com/article/unbreakable-miss-lovely-looks-one-scientologys-mos-234773

‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ goes on sale as an audiobook on September 29

Tony Ortega: ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ goes on sale as an audiobook on September 29

http://tonyortega.org/2016/09/22/th...goes-on-sale-as-an-audiobook-on-september-29/

* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *

Sell the house. Sell the car. Sell the kids. As your cult leader we demand total obedience, and that means you will be shelling out the big bucks one week from today for the audiobook edition of The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper.

Or, if you aren’t already a member, join Audible.com and get the book for free!

Yes, we recently took time out of our cult-leading duties to spend three days in a 7th Avenue office reading our own book into a microphone so you could hear us tell the spellbinding tale of Paulette Cooper’s incredible ordeal at the hands of Scientology’s spies. Just think of the result: you, your dear leader, his mellifluous voice, and Paulette’s saga, all together in your noise-cancelling headphones for ten hours!

The book is already on pre-order at Audible’s US and UK websites [CLICK HERE, AMERICA][CLICK HERE, BRITANNIA], and there you can check out how easy it is to get the book for free by joining and getting access to Audible’s many other great titles.

* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *



.

This coming Thursday, Tony Ortega will be doing an Ask Me Anything on Reddit, here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/scientology/comments/54fv2u/ama_september_29_tony_ortega_author_of_the/

This is quoted from his website:

To mark the occasion of The Unbreakable Miss Lovely being released in audiobook form this week, on Thursday we’ll be subjecting ourselves to an AMA at Reddit’s Scientology board.

You’ll have a chance to “Ask Me Anything” from noon to 2 pm, Eastern time, on Thursday, September 29.

For some idea of how it might go, you might look at the AMA that Chris Shelton engaged in earlier his year.

Paulette Cooper joins Tony Ortega Thursday for Reddit AMA.

https://twitter.com/TonyOrtega94/status/780818385705766912

* * * * * BEGIN QUOTATION * * * * *

Paulette Cooper joins me Thurs. for Reddit AMA as 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely' released as audiobook https://www.reddit.com/r/scientology/comments/54fv2u/ama_september_29_tony_ortega_author_of_the/…#Scientology

* * * * * END QUOTATION * * * * *

‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ audiobook on sale, and we’re doing a Reddit AMA at noon

By Tony Ortega, September 29, 2016

Quote:

One of the reasons this website exists is to support our project, started four years ago, to learn everything we could about the incredible adventures of Paulette Cooper, one of the first journalists who exposed the abuses of the Church of Scientology and who nearly paid for it with her life. For decades, Scientology’s shadowy spy corps, which referred to Paulette by the code name “Miss Lovely,” tried to destroy her career, her family, and her sanity with multiple elaborate operations, and by making her the target of 19 separate lawsuits. She survived it all.

Although Paulette’s name was already well known to anyone who paid even a casual interest to Scientology, we learned a lot of startling and edifying things about Paulette’s life that had never been told before, resulting in our 2015 book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, which was published by Humfrey Hunter and Silvertail Books in London.

And now, Audible.com today has released the audiobook version of Miss Lovely, and we hope, for those of you who enjoy listening to a book on a long drive or during your daily commute, that you’ll give it a listen. [USA edition] [UK edition]

To mark the occasion, Paulette has cancelled a previous engagement so she can join us at Reddit for an “Ask Me Anything” session that will last from noon to 2 pm, eastern. Please join us, and ask us about Paulette’s amazing life as Holocaust survivor, Manhattan magazine writer, Scientology investigator, and target of L. Ron Hubbard’s Guardian’s Office. Or ask us about this website, the state of the Church of Scientology, or, heck, about anything. We’ll do our best to answer as many questions as we can.

See you there at noon!

Source and open comments:
http://tonyortega.org/2016/09/29/th...-on-sale-and-were-doing-a-reddit-ama-at-noon/

Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/scientology/comments/54fv2u/ama_september_29_tony_ortega_author_of_the/

I am Tony Ortega, a journalist and author who has covered Scientology for more than 20 years. Ask Me Anything.

On ‘The Other Side of Midnight’ with Richard Hoagland

By Tony Ortega, October 2, 2016

We had a feeling that this would be an unusual interview for us, and it was. We don’t know if that means you’re actually going to enjoy this or not. But here’s the full two-hour program of your proprietor talking Scientology with well known radio figure Richard C. Hoagland.



Source:
http://tonyortega.org/2016/10/02/ho...r-the-world-by-boring-us-to-death-apparently/

There's a related post here:

https://whyweprotest.net/threads/le...ips-families-apart.131933/page-5#post-2598133

Rather than starting a new thread, I'll add it to this one.

Scientology is totally reading your comments here — and you’re scaring them senseless

By Tony Ortega, December 17, 2016

Quote:

If you’ve ever wondered about whether this website is read by officials of the Church of Scientology, we have a pretty remarkable example to bring to your attention today.

What a week it’s been here in the Underground Bunker. From digging up what L. Ron Hubbard actually said about space aliens and Scientology, to Leah Remini’s new jab at the LAPD about Shelly Miscavige, to Nora Crest’s emotional new video about Scientology homophobia, to the stunning news of a possible Shelly Miscavige sighting, and a crushing look at the way older workers are treated in the Sea Org, this place has been on fire.

And all of the action wasn’t only in the stories themselves. In the comments section of the post about Nora’s video, longtime reader Andrei “DodoTheLaser” Organ posted a pretty wild smackdown that hinted at something interesting going on where he is in the Cincinnati area.


You may remember Dodo from a story we did earlier about his son Daniel (2nd item, here). The Organ family is from Moldova, and Dodo is one of our many readers who is a former Church of Scientology member.

He tells us that he is friends with a woman who, like him, used to work on staff at Scientology’s Cincinnati org (which has been replaced by a new “Ideal Org” across the river in Florence, Kentucky). Now that they’re both out of the organization, they still live very close to each other, and their families are tight.

On Wednesday, Andrei got a series of frantic phone calls from his friend. She was being heavily recruited by the Florence Ideal Org, which wanted her to come back on course and on staff. And the Scientologists were pulling out all the usual tactics to overcome her objections, even going so far as to apply for a new credit card with a $40,000 credit limit on her behalf so she could pay in advance for expensive new classes to take her to “Clear.”

Andrei was incensed, and unleashed his rant in our comments section. “Back the Fuck Off,” he wrote. But what were the chances that his message, inscribed here at a blog hosted in New York, would even be read by Scientology officials in, of all places, Kentucky?

Thursday evening, Andrei got his answer. The following note was slipped under his neighbor’s door. (We’ve blacked out his friend’s name for her privacy.)



We especially enjoy the part where Scientology has informed its former member that she is no longer eligible to pay shitloads of money for bogus Scientology courses because she’s mixed up with some “suppressive persons” at this website that is totally not being obsessed over by Scientology officials day and night.

“I just feel like that post of mine on your blog made a difference and saved two people from a lot more turmoil and mindfuck,” Andrei tells us. “It makes me really happy.”

Well, it makes us happy, too, Dodo.

Source, and comments:
http://tonyortega.org/2016/12/17/sa...mments-here-and-youre-scaring-them-senseless/

Here's another interview with Ortega. He said he "had some fun with another curious podcaster, recording a show back on Election Day. It’s just been released, and so keep in mind this was before Hurricane Leah."

Very Prophetic in 2015, RightOn, Nice Call!

But, despite this Disconnection Notice, there is no ummmmmm, errrrrrrr <Ahem> Disconnection policy in Scientology............


Scientology Fraud on a massive scale?:
#1 There has been $0 actually charged on the credit cards (Plural) that you agreed to get for auditing. They will arrive with a $0 balance.

Who are the credit card companies issuing countless thousands of dollars of credit for Scientology auditing? I doubt they are aware of the true purpose.

There's been thousands of Scientologists who have applied for credit over the past 6 decades to pay the exorbitant costs of auditing and other Scientology 'services'. I wonder what it says on those application forms.

Are these applications put forward with that purpose on the application or just one more case of Scientology fraud? This fraud has gone on for decades, who knows the total amount of credit that has been obtained under fraudulent circumstances over the years.

It's in the millions, just another everyday crime that this criminal organization gets away with thanks to becoming a 'Religion' under the LRH Religious Cloaking Policy.

• L. Ron Hubbard: ''MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MORE MONEY.''
  • "Principles of Money Management" (9 March 1972).

Getting Sirius about Scientology

By Tony Ortega, February 17, 2017

Quote:

We had some fun yesterday on the Jim Norton and Sam Roberts show on SiriusXM. Our portion starts about the 57-minute mark. After our portion, the crew had on Bob Odenkirk — hey, and we got to meet him as he was going in. What a pleasure.



[Ortega's segment of the show begins at 57:38.]

At 1:24:05 Tony says the Hole building is gone. According to his reporting from 5-6 months ago (Sept, 2016), it was still there when the drone pilot did the video flyover.
See - https://whyweprotest.net/threads/the-hole.108424/#post-2591983

Did Tony make a mistake or did the Hole building disappear some time in the last few months?

Hole? Nope, sorry. Doesn't ring any bells.
I don't see any Holes around here. Do you?
You sure this was the right spot?

Scientology critic and author Paulette Cooper Noble keynote speaker at Daemen College Academic Festival.

Daemen College: Daemen Festival to Feature Keynotes by Scientology Critic, TV Producer

http://www.daemen.edu/news/daemen-festival-feature-keynotes-scientology-critic-tv-producer

* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *

March 27, 2017

AMHERST, N.Y. – Author Paulette Cooper Noble, best known for her activism against the Church of Scientology, and television producer Paul Noble will be keynote speakers at the 17th annual Daemen College Academic Festival set for April 12.

The 2017 Academic Festival will open the evening prior to the full day of activities with Cooper Noble’s lecture, “The Hidden Child Who Took on Scientology,” at 7 p.m. April 11 in the Wick Campus Center Alumni Lounge.

The award-winning author is widely known for her book “The Scandal of Scientology,” a critical exposé about the Church of Scientology that subsequently led to years of harassment by Scientologists.

Cooper Noble has authored 23 books on a range of topics, including criminology, cults and travel, and more than 1,000 articles. She has received the Conscience-in-Media Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Edgar Allen Poe Award, and several other honors.

On April 12, Paul Noble will present his lecture, “Television and How It Changed Our World,” at 11 a.m. in Daemen’s Research and Information Commons Room 120.

During his nearly 45 years in television, he produced shows with such notables as Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and has worked with President John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Matt Lauer, and others. He is former vice president at Lifetime TV and previously worked at Fox TV and Metromedia Television.

Noble is a five-time Emmy winner of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and serves on the Palm Beach County Commission on Film and Television Board of Directors.
Both Academic Festival lectures are free and open to the public. In addition to the Daemen Office of Academic Affairs, lecture co-sponsors are the departments of English, History and Political Science, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Visual and Performing Arts, and the Entrepreneurship Program.

* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *

Scientology critic and author Paulette Cooper Noble keynote speaker at Daemen College Academic Festival on April 11, 2017 at 7 p.m.

Paulette Cooper at 75: Still unbreakable, and still Miss Lovely

By Tony Ortega, July 26, 2017

Quote:

We had dinner with Paulette Cooper in Manhattan a few weeks ago, and it felt once again like we could never keep up with her. The woman has so many things going on, we don’t know how she keeps track of it all.

She was in town to celebrate her wedding anniversary with Paul Noble, and they only had a short time before they had to get to a Broadway show (of course). So we ordered in some haste from a bewildering Asian-fusion menu and tried to catch up to Paulette’s various projects between dishes.

Paul is a supreme treat, as anyone will tell you who has spent time with him. And he has the most adorable anniversary tradition: Every year, he writes a humorous love poem for Paulette. He had us in stitches with his puns.

Anyway, we thought of this recent event because we only wish we could spend today with Paulette, which happens to be her 75th birthday. On July 26, 1942 Paulette was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and if you’ve read our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, you know she was not born into the most fortuitous circumstances. We’ll leave it at that for now, and if you don’t know what we’re referring to, you really ought to read about Paulette’s harrowing childhood, and her truly singular life, when you have a chance.

We asked Paulette for her thoughts on this auspicious day, and she sent us these words:

Big birthday, but I’m not (really) depressed. I have my health, a wonderful husband, my great little dogs, good friends and a terrific life. And I love seeing how something I gave 15 years of my life trying to change now finally is, thanks to the courage of so many along the way.

It’s been almost 50 years that I watched how it seemed that every time we took a step forward we’d go back and they’d win again. But the best birthday present is knowing that they can only keep going down now as they get exposed, and more people come out, and there are brave souls like you and Leah who will tell the world the truth. And the press now has the guts to report it!

Happy Birthday, Paulette Cooper. Never stop kicking ass.

Continued at http://tonyortega.org/2017/07/26/paulette-cooper-at-75-still-unbreakable-and-still-miss-lovely/

PODCAST: Chris Crimy [@MiamiSixthMan] of Come Get Sum Scientology Truth [@CGS_Extra] interviews former Scientology Guardians Office Volunteer Len Zibnerg about Scientology and the Paulette Cooper story.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cgsher...logy--former-volunteer-for-the-go-len-zinberg

* * * * * BEGIN INTRODUCTION * * * * *

Len Zinberg was a volunteer for the Guardians Office in the 1970s and was personally involved in spying on and efforts to damage Paulette Cooper. Len will discuss where the strength his moral compass was first born, His learning that the IRS was and Paulette and Robert Kaufman were evil and against Scientology Clearing the Planet.

How was he convinced Paulette was evil? What was he tasked with doing? How much did he know about his actions? and How was his relationship with his IRS employed father?

Find out the answer to these questions and more on part1 right here on Come Get Sum Extra!!

* * * * * END INTRODUCTION * * * * *

Audio Waybacked

PODCAST: Part 2 of Chris Crimy [@MiamiSixthMan] / Come Get Sum Scientology Truth [@CGS_Extra] interview of former Scientology Guardians Office Volunteer Len Zibnerg about Scientology and the Paulette Cooper story.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cgsher...y--former-volunteer-for-the-go-len-zinberg-p2

* * * * * BEGIN INTRODUCTION * * * * *

In part 2 Len describes the process of recovering from leaving the cult mindset. He'll describe never having to face what he had done but always knowing it would be there which would lead to an unexpected friendship.

What does Len think of the Tech now? Is it conceivable for him to ever go back? and Who's on first?! All these questions and more will be answered with Part 2 and 10 Questions!!

Catch it on Come Get Sum extra!!!

* * * * * END INTRODUCTION * * * * *

Audio Waybacked

Here's another interview with Tony Ortega:

Scientology on MetaMondays | Tony Ortega

PODCAST: Come Get Sum Extra: Scientology - Paulette Cooper P1

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cgshere/2017/09/29/come-get-sum-extra-scientology--paulette-cooper-p1

* * * * * BEGIN INTRODUCTION * * * * *

Paulette Cooper was one of the most publicised cases of "Fair Game" executed by the Office Of Special Affairs (Then called The Gaurdian's Office) in the 1970s. This just years after LRH declared Fair Game over. This was not under David Miscavige but under L Ron Hubbard's orders. She was threatened, defamed, tricked and ultimately framed for making bomb threats to Scientology buildings.

In Part 1 we speak about her surviving the Holocaust, Her Writing and investigating a weekend course that would shock her!

Why was Paulette interested in the goings on in Scientology? Does Scientology photoshop crowds at Org openings? Why was she such a focus?

The answers to these questions and more can be found right here in this edition of Come Get Sum Extra!!

http://paulettecooper.com/

* * * * * END INTRODUCTION * * * * *

PODCAST: Come Get Sum Extra: Scientology - Paulette Cooper P2

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cgshere/2017/10/06/come-get-sum-extra-scientology--paulette-cooper-p2

* * * * * BEGIN INTRODUCTION * * * * *

Paulette elaborates on her experience during her weekend course. Find out what happened after Paulette released "Scandal of Scientology" (found on her website). How far did the Guardian's Office go? How far could they go and how far does Paulette believe they would go?

Why write the book? Can you get called into Ethics on day 1? Why didn't we do 10 Questions?



Find out the answer to these questions and more on this edition of Come Get Sum Extra!!!!

http://paulettecooper.com/

https://www.change.org/p/irs-commis...igation-into-scientology-s-tax-exempt-status?

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 1-800-273-8255

* * * * * END INTRODUCTION * * * * *

‘Miss Lovely’ as you’ve never seen her — new photos of Paulette Cooper, war survivor

By Tony Ortega, October 12, 2017

https://tonyortega.org/2017/10/12/m...r-new-photos-of-paulette-cooper-war-survivor/

Tony Ortega‏ @TonyOrtega94 9 minutes ago
Just heard from someone who received an email that included this tidbit...
"We at Freedom Magazine are doing a piece on the inaccurate reporting of Tony Ortega."
I better get the cover, Miscavige!

Nan McLean gets a new closeup

By Tony Ortega, February 28, 2018

Quote:

If you’ve read our book on Paulette Cooper, you know that one person who was vital to helping Paulette survive an onslaught of Guardian’s Office intimidation and harassment was an Ontario grandmother by the name of Nan McLean. At 94, Nan is still a treasure, and we were happy not only to talk to her for our book but also to see her in Toronto in 2015 for Jon Atack’s conference. We also highlighted a 1973 documentary featuring Nan which recently made its way online.

And now, there’s an interesting new in-depth article which goes into original documents about the harassment that Nan and her family experienced in the 1970s. We’re very glad to see Nan getting this kind of attention.

Source: https://tonyortega.org/2018/02/28/s...tory-against-discrimination-lawsuit-in-tampa/

Paulette Cooper turns 76: ‘I found my best friend from the orphanage — from 70 years ago’

By Tony Ortega, July 26, 2018

Quote:

Paulette Cooper, the “Unbreakable Miss Lovely” herself, turns 76 today, and she has an amazing update for us. We are so in awe of this lady.

Continued at https://tonyortega.org/2018/07/26/p...-friend-from-the-orphanage-from-70-years-ago/

On the Love and Radio podcast:
The Exciting World of the Totally Free

Paulette Cooper – Journalist

In 1968, Paulette Cooper was one of the first journalists to investigate a then-little-known religious group.

Fact checking support by Michelle Harris. Narration by Cate Cahan and Dan Epstein, and additional voices by Nate and Tommy Jackson.

Published on: July 25, 2018
Producers: Steven Jackson

Audio Wackbacked

Paulette Cooper’s ‘Scandal of Scientology’: The book that made Miss Lovely a target

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, April 6, 2019

Quote:

This week we’re looking back at ‘The Scandal of Scientology,’ a book that drove L. Ron Hubbard to distraction. It was written by a New York magazine writer named Paulette Cooper, who was only 28 when it came out on June 1, 1971. Even before its publication, Paulette became an obsession with Hubbard as he tried to destroy her utterly with a series of complex operations that we detailed in our own book, ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely,’ referring to the code name Hubbard’s espionage corps the Guardian’s Office gave her. Paulette gave up her rights to the book in a 1976 court settlement with the church, and so an actual paperback copy will cost you dearly, if you can find one. But you can still read the entire book online. She’s still trying to get the word out about Hubbard, and recently wrote several essays for ‘Battlefield Scientology,’ a collection of some of the Bunker’s best stories. Now, here’s a taste of ‘Scandal’:

Continued at https://tonyortega.org/2019/04/06/p...logy-the-book-that-made-miss-lovely-a-target/

give my best regards to paulette cooper and tony ortega

The Necronomipod podcast is doing a multi-part series on Scientology:
https://necronomipod.podbean.com/

After the third part is an interview of Tony Ortega about his book and Paulette.
Audio Waybacked.