Mel Sembler, The CIA, Mind Control and Scientology. What a lovely tea party that makes.

Here is an odd and enlightening set of timelines for a group of notable events. Do the folks of DeKalb county really want someone with such a notorious past, with such unseemly connections, to have such a major impact on the county's future as Mel Sembler might have if the Sembler Company's plans go ahead? Talk about a wild set of parallel connections.

1832 – Skull and Bones is founded at Yale University.

1875 – Beginning in San Francisco, opium trafficking by Chinese immigrants is outlawed in the United States.

1880 – The US and China sign an agreement that prohibits the shipment of opium between both countries.

1914 – The Harrison Narcotic Act is passed into law requiring sellers of opiates to become licensed.

1917 – Prescott Bush tapped for Skull and Bones.

1937 – The Marijuana Tax Act is signed into law.

1948 – George H.W. Bush tapped for Skull and Bones.

1950 – The CIA begins the MKUltra program.

1953 – The Church of Scientology is founded. Founder L. Ron Hubbard forms special Celebrity Centers to cater to and recruit celebrities, musicians, artists, politicians and various professional positions.

1953 – Zapata Oil is founded.

1955 – The Peoples Temple is founded by Reverend Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1958 – Charles Dederich founds Synanon in Santa Monica California. Synanon was created to provide drug addicts with a recovery program. It eventually turns into a cult that used violence and “tough love” against its members/patients.

1961 The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, an international treaty banning the illicit manufacture and trafficking of narcotic drugs, is adopted.

1964 – The CIA renames MKUltra to MKSearch.

Mid 60’s through mid 80’s – Future President George W. Bush is reported to have suffered substance abuse problems (alcohol and drugs).

1966 – The Church of Scientology creates NARCONON, a drug rehabilitation program that is based on the writings of Hubbard and was tested on drug abusers in the Arizona State Prison system.

1967 – The Peoples Temple moves from Indianapolis to Redwood Valley, California.

1968 – George W. Bush tapped for Skull and Bones.

Late 60’s and early 70’s – Youth offenders on drug charges are routinely sent to Synanon by court order. Celebrities, musicians and various professionals are recruited and openly invited to Synanon properties and events.

1969 – The State of New Jersey releases a study that shows only 10% to 15% of Synanon’s participants actually end their addictions.

1970 – The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 is signed into law.

Early 70’s – The US Government funds a program known as “The Seed” that follows the tactics and example of Synanon, located in Florida.

Early 70’s – The Peoples Temple makes attempts at becoming mainstream by creating a state licensed facility for developmentally disabled persons, community outreach programs, drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs and Jones’ involvement as a community social and political leader in San Francisco.

1971 – President Richard Nixon coins the phrase, “War on Drugs”

1972 – George H. W. Bush is named Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

1973 – CIA Director Richard Helms orders all MKUltra files destroyed. The US Government claims that the program has ended.

1973 – The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is created as a law enforcement agency within the Justice Department as a result of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The position of “Drug Czar” is created by President Richard Nixon.

1974 - Filmmaker Robert Altman uses members of Synanon as extras for the making of his film California Split.

1974 – Investigations begin into the inner-workings of Synanon. Cult activities begin to appear at around this time. Women are forced to shave their heads, men were given forced vasectomies and there is a communal lifestyle with multiple compounds in possession of the organization.

1974 – Sen. Sam Ervin presents a report to Congress titled, “Individual Rights and the Federal Role in Behavior Modification”. Among the findings were that programs like The Seed, “begin by subjecting the individual to isolation and humiliation in a conscious effort to break down his psychological defenses.” and such programs are “similar to the highly refined brainwashing techniques employed by the North Koreans in the early 1950’s.” Funding for The Seed is soon cut off.

1975 – Synanon files to revise its tax status, attempting to make itself a church, The Church of Synanon.

1976 – The Church of Scientology locates its “Worldwide spiritual headquarters” in Clearwater Florida. The Church of Scientology has since become a major landowner in the Clearwater area.

1976 – Mel Sembler and Joseph Zappala found a program known as Straight Incorporated, using The Seed as it’s guide and former Seed employees to staff the new company. Funding for the program comes from the same federal agency that funded The Seed. Sembler bases his operations out of Clearwater Florida, also the new home of The Church of Scientology.

1976 – George H.W. Bush becomes the Director of the CIA.

1978 – First reports surface of child abuse at Synanon facilities and the money flow to its founder is exposed. Synanon begins a campaign of threats and physical attacks on outspoken former members and whistle blowers as well as filing lawsuits against media outlets that expose the activities of the organization.

1978 – US Congressman Leo Ryan is among the more than 900 victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Ryan’s assassination at the order of Jim Jones precipitates the ordered mass suicide of the congregation.

1978 – George W. Bush unsuccessfully runs for Congress, campaign managed by brother Neil Bush, who lives in Lubbock, Texas. At the time of this political campaign, John Hinckley Jr. also resides in Lubbock.

1979 – The Church of Scientology incorporates the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises. Among the organizations that later will fall under the WISE umbrella is the Clearwater Business Association.

Late 1970's - Mark David Chapman works with Vietnamese refugees at Fort Chafee Arkansas.

1980 – In an eerie mirroring of the plot of Robert Altman’s classic film Nashville, John Hinckley Jr. is arrested in Nashville on firearms charges. He later admits that he had already formed a plan to assassinate President Jimmy Carter to impress actress Jodie Foster and had come to Nashville because of Carter’s appearance in that city.

1980 – George H.W. Bush announces plans to run for President of the United States. Among his political and financial supporters are John W. Hinckley Sr., Chairman and President of Vanderbilt Energy Corporation, formerly Hinckley Oil.

1980 - George H.W. Bush is elected Vice President of the United States.

1980 – John Lennon is assassinated by Mark David Chapman.

1981 – Assassination attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan. Would be assassin John Hinckley Jr. is held. On the date of the attempt on Reagan’s life, the brother of John Hinckley Jr., Scott Hinckley, and the son of Vice President Bush, Neil Bush; were scheduled to have dinner together.

1981 – Son of President George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush; enters the real estate industry in Florida, eventually becoming a partner with Cuban immigrant Armando Cordina. In later years Bush would become a real estate consultant for Cuban exile Miguel Recarey, who assisted the CIA in attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro.

Early 80’s – The CIA provides weapons, training and money to the Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. The trained and funded fighters ultimately organize the Taliban, who take control of Afghanistan in 1996 after seizing the capital, Kabul

Early 80’s – The CIA decides to fund their overt war in Afghanistan by assisting in the production and smuggling of opium made from Afghanistan poppy production.

Mid 80’s – Florida developer and co-founder of Straight Incorporated, serves on the White House Conference for a Drug Free America.

1988 – Mel Sembler serves on the National Steering Committee and the national Finance Committee for the Presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush.

1988 – George H.W. Bush is elected as the 41st President of the United States.

1989 – The state of New Jersey bars Synanon from doing business with NJ casinos after it is discovered they had a contract with Showboat Casino to provide a “Motivational program” to it’s employees. Through ADGAP, Synanon also sells about $30,000.00 worth of pens, pencils, key chains and other items.

1989 – The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations reports that members of the State Department provided support for the Contras by the use of drug trafficking.

Early 90’s – Military style “boot camps” for youth offenders become an option for the courts to send troubled kids. A 1997 Justice Department report finds that these boot camp style treatment programs are no more effective than juvenile prisons.

1992 – Bill Clinton defeats George H.W. Bush in the Presidential election. Clinton becomes the 42nd President of the United States.

1992 – The World Literacy Crusade is formed as a non-profit organization devoted to study technologies and drug rehabilitation technologies developed by L. Ron Hubbard.

1993 – Federal funding for Straight Incorporated is halted and the organization goes out of operation. Key employees and staff members immediately create new programs identical to Straight Incorporated and in some cases re-open in the same location as Straight Incorporated. Straight Incorporated becomes the Drug Free America Foundation. Board members of the Drug Free America Foundation include former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

1994 – One million Americans are incarcerated yearly on drug related offences.

1994 – Republican Mark Foley is elected to Congress. Before being elected to public office, Foley was involved in Florida real estate in the 80’s and later spearheaded Congressional work regarding laws against the sexual exploitation of children.

Mid 90’s – Synanon dies out as an organization.

1997 – Charles Dederich, founder of Synanon, dies.

1997 – The Wall Street Journal reports on the use of Mena, Arkansas in the trafficking of illegal drugs by the Contras, the CIA and the cover-up of these activities by then Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton.

1997 to 2000 – Mel Sembler operates at the Finance Chairman for the Republican National Committee.

1998 – The CIA Inspector General published a two-volume report that describes the contra and contra-related entities that were involved in drug trafficking and protected by US law enforcement on orders from the Reagan and Bush administration.

2000 – George W. Bush is elected 43rd President of the United States.

2000 – The Taliban issues a decree banning opium poppy cultivation. At the time of the decree, Afghanistan supplied 75% of the world’s supply of opium.

2001 – The US Government gives Afghanistan $48 million dollars for reducing their opium production by 99.89%.

2001 – 9/11 attacks lead to the invasion of Afghanistan.

2001 – The Taliban are chased from power in Afghanistan.

2001 - Mel Sembler named US Ambassador to Italy.

2003 - The infamous forged Nigerian uranium yellowcake documents were reportedly recieved in a Rome apartment by an Itallian agent, Rocco Martino.

2003 – World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP) reports revenue of $80 million dollars. The WWASP Dundee Ranch Academy in Costa Rica is raided by child welfare authorities. The owner of the facility is arrested on charges of human rights violations.

2003 – Florida Congressman Mark Foley is given a special dinner by the Clearwater Business Association at the FLAG Land Base of the Church of Scientology.

2005 – The cost of waging the “War on Drugs” for the year 2005 totals $12 billion dollars, the cost of incarcerating drug law offenders is $30 billion dollars, $9 billion dollars for police protection, $4.5 billion for the legal expenses and $11 billion for state and federal correctional facilities. The total for all these activities is over $45 billion dollars.

2005 - Mel Sembler heads up the Scooter Libby defense fund raiser efforts. Several million are netted, Scooter walks on the charges after President Bush commutes his sentence.

2006 – The supply of opium from Afghanistan has increased dramatically. Before the rise of the Taliban, Afghanistan supplied 75% of the world’s opium supply. As of 2006 90% of the world’s opium comes from Afghanistan.

2006 – Florida Congressman Mark Foley resigns from his position following a scandal in which he solicited sex from young male Congressional Pages. Foley claims he has an alcohol problem and was molested by a Catholic priest when he was young.

2007 – The Taliban is in resurgence in Afghanistan.

High Weirdness back roads

I've been thinking a bit about some of the subjects and events which seem to stay low on the horizon within the Conspiracy Theory and High Weirdness communities these days. With the current state of events in America we certainly have our plates full and it seems the odd, kooky and more curious stories get shuffled out of the deck. The recent Drones photos and revelations are a prime example, so is the VaTech Black Op.

Listed below are three subjects that fit this description. The Gulf Breeze Six is an example of a story that simply gets overlooked because it predates the Internet and doesn't have the broad range of appeal that the JFK assassination or UFOlogy has. Maitiera seems to only interest the folks who are interested in cults or mind control and those who are interested in Theocratic Conspiracy Theories. The emergence of the Internet and it's effect on our community falls more in line with people who have an interest in the history of our communities or those who have been publishing their ideas for long before the Internet was known of by the average person.

There are many other subjects and stories that can be listed but these three seem to have more prominence in my mind these days. The Gulf Breeze Six have been in my head because of the recent drones photos and the major UFO sightings in England this week. Maitiera has been in my mind because I have been thinking more about the VaTech Black Op. Our history has been in my mind because I'm in a mood to assess where I want to take this blog and looking back is always a part of looking forward.

The Gulf Breeze Six – This was an extremely peculiar case when it played out in the summer of 1990. I had spent several years in the Pensacola area before this occurred and was in fact stationed in Pensacola during the Gulf Breeze sightings. I never had a sighting but there was indeed a “feeling” of strangeness around the area during the sightings time frame. The story itself was odd on far too many levels and I’m afraid that Vance Davis’ publication of Unbroken Promises has only added to the muddy waters of this story, in my eyes.

I’ve thought that this story would actually make a very good film. The story has it all; intrigue, mystery, a manhunt, the supernatural, all of this against the backdrop of the military Intelligence Community. There has been very little interest about these six individuals and I think it would be interesting if someone could get them together for an interview to talk about the history of their adventure and perspective since we are nearing the 20th anniversary of the event.

Maitiera – In early 2006 several local Atlanta television stations began airing Maitiera commercials in the early morning hours, usually around 4:00 AM. I often wondered how many people were first introduced to this figure because of the ads. I especially wondered how many trust fund babies in Atlanta saw the ads after a particularly bad and desperate night of drinking and drugging in the Buckhead nightclub district. In the right set of circumstances, with a head full of coke, a belly full of Grey Goose and a empty yearning in the heart, a young person perched in their lofty condo looking down on Peachtree could see a possible “meaning” to their life by seeing those ads.

Cults and cult leaders in general seem to garner very little attention these days. I do have a feeling that the renewed Pentecostal movement has tempered any desire of the corporate news outlets to expose and discuss the activities of cults. I’m not saying that the Pentecost is a cult but it is obvious that cults use the tactics of organized religion to recruit and keep members.

The emergence of the Internet – Before the web, the typical Conspiracy Theory or High Weirdness enthusiast had to rely on a loose and ethereal world of mail order and print magazines for information, new ideas and guidance. Those were the days of kitchen publishing and printed databases and mailing lists that you could get from sources as varied as Donna Kossy and Ivan Stang. What the web has done to this sub-culture is open it to a completely new audience but it has also removed a certain charm and work ethic that was inherent to the subject. It’s been years since I sent out a SASE and got that rush of excitement many weeks later when I saw my handwriting on the envelope, knowing there were pages of goodies inside.

I have never read or even seen an essay on the effects of the Internet on our community. I think this would be a marvelous subject for one of the better writers to tackle. I think we have some incredible historians in the community and their perspective on how things have changed, become more mainstream and more open for disinfo would be exciting to learn.

News - Cho ties to Manna Christian Fellowship

(UPDATE 5/2/2007 by the CT Blogger - Cho connection to the Unification Church has been verified by another blogger. Follow the link to the posted update: http://theconspiratorsnest.blogspot.com/2007/05/news-confirmation-of-chounification.html)

In an earlier posting I brought up a possibility that Cho had a connection to the Unification Church. I still have found no direct evidence of a Moonie tie to this but I have found a connection to Manna Christian Fellowship.

The fellowship was founded by Rev. (or Bishop) W. Wellington Boone, who has since formed The Wellington Boone Ministries of Atlanta and has been deeply involved in the radical right-wing evangelical movement. Boone's political and religious views are far right-wing to say the least, fascist and un-Christian is probably a more apt description. Boone is also a member of the Promise Keepers movement, which promotes the total submission of women to their husband. Another way to look at their beliefs could be to question whether they wish their followers to submit to the leaders wishes, and in effect, submit to whatever the government tells them to do.

The Cho connection? While at Princeton, Cho Sun-kyung was a member of the Princeton branch of the movement and. The Princeton based representative of this church is now involved in the PR and media spin on this story. Apparently the Manna movement has focused extensively on recruiting from within the Asian student bodies of the top Universities. The are major differences in the methods and beliefs of these two organizations but they share a common philosophical belief and as we have seen proven through evidence learned in relation with the DoJ scandal, there is a conspiracy by the far right-wing religious movement to take control of of this nation's government and direct our foreign policy.

More to come...

News - Was Cho Seung-Hui a member of the Unification Church (Moonie)?

(Update by the CT Blogger: For more details on the VATech shooter's religious connections, click here.

For details on the VaTech shooter's connections to US Intelligence Agencies, click here.)

(update by The CT Blogger - 5/7/2007 - New update on the shooter's background in the Evangelical movement can be found here)

While downloading and categorizing some new mainstream media reports on the VATech shooter I came across some curious tidbits of information about his family that is raising red flags with me. I have no media reports on this theory to date but there are some strong indications that I believe may lead to a connection with the Unification Church and the shooter. I think there is enough circumstantial evidence of this to at least get this idea out on the web right now.

Cho's parents were wed under an arranged marriage. This is a common practice with the Unification Church. The church was founded in Korea. The DC area is a particular place of interest for the church due to it's political connections with the church's leader. Mind control has also been a tactic used by the church. The Unification Church has a direct connection to Bush 41, ex-CIA chief and ultra-deep insider of the US Intelligence Community (IC). The connections between the Unification Church and the CIA are too numerous to mention.

I'm going to keep looking at this facet and see what comes up. Has anyone looked at the Washington Times' coverage of the shooting? I wish I had made the Korean connection much sooner so that I could have archived that paper's reaction for future study. Why didn't we consider this earlier? Is Cho's sister, Sun, named after the church's leader and founder?

Commentary - Mind Control

The year 1959 saw the release of Richard Condon's novel The Manchurian Candidate; five years earlier a CIA behavioral researcher and guru, Morse Allen, made his first attempt to create a programmed assassin by using hypnosis within the auspices of Project ARTICHOKE. By time Condon's novel had been turned into a film and was in theaters the CIA's MKULTRA project was in full swing. Allen had been pushed aside in the development of creating a process to hypnotize an unwitting subject into performing covert operations for the agency. Condon's novel is fiction. Project ARTICHOKE, MKULTRA and the CIA's efforts to create hypnotized assassins and covert operatives is real. The creation of a Manchurian Agent is the result of this work.

What became of this program? There is no known end date for MKULTRA. The last report I have been able to find which mentions the project's activities is a 1994 GAO report which states that human experiments were still being conducted in 1974. As we have seen with John Poindexter's pet DARPA project, Total Information Awareness, a project can be birthed, grown, exposed, banished and re-birthed under a new name, new agency and a new focus. A project such as MKULTRA, which specializes in methods of controlling the minds and actions of human beings, holds a seductive promise that would be impossible for the agency to relinquish. This is the type of power that no agency or organization would ever want to part with. It can be argued that the project is still alive in one form or another after reviewing several events of the past 15 years which have glaring similarities to suspected MKULTRA projects.

The assassination of Itzchak Rabin in 1995 has many of the hallmarks of an MKULTRA based operation. Assassin Yigal Amir fits the "lone nut" profile. He has connections and close ties to extremist organizations. There are numerous inconsistencies surrounding official reports of Rabin's assassination. The methods used to recruit radical Islamic suicide bombers appear to match methods developed in Project BLUEBIRD and Project ARTICHOKE. The "lone nut" (Manchurian Agent) method of assassination (JFK, RFK, MLK, Wallace, Reagan, Rabin) appears to still be the preferred method in western or westernized societies but in emerging third world nations and in the Arab and Persian states, the "Groupthink" style of Manchurian Agent operations and indoctrination appears to be preferred for assassinations as well as day to day operations.

Beginning with the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis and continuing today with the Iraq insurgency and al-Qaeda attacks, what we see emerging is a pattern of attack methods in which groups of individuals or individuals who align their actions with the dogma of radical groups and perform advanced strategic operations, are taking center stage. The methods of luring individuals into these radical groups use aspects of Project BLUEBIRD as well as the writings of many researchers and psychologists who study "Groupthink". Confused, disenfranchised and impoverished people are indoctrinated into movements in which they are made to feel a part of something greater than themselves. The promise of acceptance, righteousness and social justice are cornerstones of this method. Once they become a member of the group, advanced techniques can be employed which condition the subject into accepting the idea of sacrificing their life for the greater good of the group. A Manchurian Agent is created in this way.

I don't believe that the suicide bombers of the middle east are CIA manufactured Manchurian Agents. I do however, believe that the techniques used by the CIA were passed down to members of the radical groups which utilize Manchurian Agents to carry out suicide missions throughout the world. The outcome of the Jonestown Massacre was all the proof that the CIA needed to focus on a method of psychological indoctrination rather than biological or chemical agents as an effective, low-risk solution. It's no secret that the agency was active in Afghanistan in the 80's and their presence in Afghanistan coincided with the emergence of the main al-Qaeda players. Osama Bin Laden was even trained by the agency during this time frame. I think it safe to assume that of the individuals who were trained in the psychological methods of indoctrination, many turned into Agent Provocateurs, willing to freelance their work to meet their own goals and needs. The connections made by Bin Laden during the Soviet Afghan War later found their way home in the early 90's as he began to form the foundation to al-Qaeda. Those trained in mind control techniques would have found their way to Bin laden or he would have actively sought them through his connections.

Would the Groupthink method be viable for use in America against Americans? I think there are signs that it would. American's have lost the perspective and insight needed to even recognize basic propaganda disseminated by their own government. Constant negative and positive reinforcement of following leaders and aligning oneself to political parties and moral absolutes is a 24 hour a day business on the corporate news outlets of cable news channels. Dissenters from any side of the political spectrum are shunned, mocked and verbally assaulted by the "true believers". Maintaining a specific and all-encompassing belief system is not yet the norm in America, but maintain AN all-encompassing belief system is the norm in America. The worst thing a person can say in today's cultural climate in America is "I don't have an opinion of that subject." It is expected and mandatory that you have an opinion on any subject, even the ones which do not effect you in any way. You have to have an opinion on abortion, the economy and foreign policy. Even sports, a pastime, is an area where everyone must have some type of opinion.

All that is needed to push the Groupthink training into action is a single event and action will occur. It's happened before, within the past 7 years. Think of 9/11 and how you and those around you reacted. No one had a unique experience, no one has unique memories of the events of that day. Every single American recalls that day in words in the exact same way.

"I remember seeing the planes crash into the buildings."
"My mind couldn't comprehend what I was seeing."
"All I wanted to see was justice brought to the people who did it."
"I fully gave my support to the President."

To quote from The Manchurian Candidate, "Raymond Shaw is the kindest, warmest, most wonderful person I have ever met."

In America, we have become a nation of Manchurian Agents.

Television - Jonestown documentary to air tonight on PBS

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_1_americanexperiencejonestownthelifeanddeathofpeoplestemple_2007-04-09

Aficionados of cults, mind control and CIA studies will have the chance to watch a new documentary this evening, produced for PBS' American Experience series. The documentary will include interviews with former Peoples Temple members, including survivors of the massacre.

I may take notes and post some thoughts here on the blog.

Don't drink the Kool-Aid, folks.

Used book stores

It's the spring of 1986 and I am in a used book store in Pensacola, Florida; looking through the piles of paperbacks for reading material. I'm a young 19 year old sailor approaching his 20th birthday and the Navy has not removed my love of the absurd and bizarre. If anything the nearly two years of military service has enhanced those senses and given me a wicked and cutting eye for dark humor as a bonus.

I have a large paper shopping bag to hold the goodies I am finding in the musty stacks and I am about to find a small treasure trove. I strike a pocket of books which once belonged to a radical. Someone who held a deep-seated devotion to their belief system. Someone who supported the most celebrated minds of their movement with purchases of their written works. Someone who explored the farthest range of ideas that this system's dogma could be prescibed to. I found the personal library of a red blooded extreme right winger with highly developed tastes.

Among the books were low-level introductory tracts by Goldwater and Schlaffley. There was a larger volume of more advanced manuals that focused outrage at Communist conspiracies and the evils of popular culture. The goldmine was a selection of the most extreme beliefs; books and pamphlets published by the John Birch Society. Even though I did not have a clue as to the precise nature of what these books meant I could still estimate that I had found something unique in nature from reading the back covers. My instincts told me that this sort of find is rare. Experience has proven to me that my assessment was correct.

Looking back on that adventure I realize just how dangerous it was to jump headlong into muddy waters. Had I been a confused and angry young man I would have had a life changing experience that would have led me down a dark road. Had I been filled with hatred, mistrust and discomfort for people unlike myself I would have become a convert. I didn't verbalize these ideas as I read those books but I suddenly began making connections in my mind that the act of brainwashing is a lot easier than any of us suspect. Just as quickly I understood that if this literature had promoted far-left radical ideas the danger would have been equally great. And the same thoughts applied to odd religious beliefs, citizens movements of shaggy birthright and loose definitions of the nature of morality.

I read only a handful of the books from my score over the next few weeks; the ideas were too overwhelming to soak in all at once, especially for a virginal mind to such wild political and social ideas. But that handful whetted my appetite for the time being. They introduced me to a wider world where there was no line to blur and the horizon stretched farther than I could see. I still have these books in my personal library and I have their companions from the other side of the coin to keep the two sides at bay.

In a few years I would learn about slack and Bob. I would find others who also got strange kicks from the act of exposing themselves to the true outsiders of society, the outsiders with whom there was a distinct possibility that they might draw you into their world and close the door behind the both of you. But for now I only knew that there was an unseen, unspoken and rarely exposed undercurrent that ran through all I could see. I didn't yet know how to look for the signs of hidden currents, but my eyes were now being trained.

CT dates: Pick a number from 1 to infinity

Even though Numerology is independent from Conspiracy Theory, it has deep connections and influence in the CT field. The Mayan Calendar, 666, deciphering the 9/11 attacks are a few prime examples. We have three upcoming dates in the month of April which have strong ties to the CT world. April 11th, 19th and 20th.

Here is a quick overview of notable events for each of these dates:

11th

al-Qaeda has shown a fondness for attacks on the 11th.
411 is the American telephone code for Information.
1866 - Carla Ford, future wife of Henry Ford is born.
1814 - 1st abdication of France by Napoleon.
1970 - The ill-fated Apollo 13 mission is launched.
1981 - Ronald Reagan is released from the hospital after John Hinkley's assassination attempt.

19th

1775 - The American Revolution begins at Lexington Common as the famous "Shot heard round the world" is fired.
1896 - Herzl's "The Jewish State" is published.
1909 - Joan of Arc, declared a saint.
1933 - President Franklin Roosevelt announces the United States will leave the gold standard.
1936 - Anti-Jewish riots break out in Palestine.
1947 - The French ship S.S. Grandcamp explodes in Texas City harbor, killing nearly 600 people.
1989 - The center gun of 16" gun turret #2 explodes on U.S.S Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
1993 - Branch Davidian siege ends on the 51st day as their compound burns to the ground. 79 people lose their lives, including 21 children.
1995 - Truck bomb outside Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, kills 168 & injures 800.

20th

121 - Marcus Aurelius is born.
1889 - Adolf Hitler is born.
1912 - Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, dies.
1799 - Napoleon issues a decree calling for establishing Jerusalem for Jews.
1871 - 3rd Enforcement Act is signed, the President can suspend writ of habeas corpus.
1884 - Pope Leo XIII's encyclical "On Freemasonry" is published.
1980 - Cubans begin to arrive in US from Mariel boatlift.
1999 - Deadliest school shooting in US history at Columbine High School, Littleton CO, 13 killed, 24 wounded.

Update (4/11) - News reports are just coming in that al-Qaeda is claiming responsibility for today's bombings in Algeirs. This would add to the list of attacks they have commited on the 11th day of a month.