August 2008 Archives

It was the crowning achievement in man's pursuit of knowledge and the pinnacle of human exploration. Celebrated not just as the most significant achievement of the century, but as a victory for the capitalist US space programme over its Russian communist counterpart, the moon landing became the defining moment of the Sixties.

But conspiracy theorists believe the landings were faked and that the footage shown to the world of Neil Armstrong stepping on to the moon's surface was actually filmed in a Hollywood basement. The hoax argument was taken so seriously by NASA that they once planned a $15,000 book project debunking the theories. Filmmaker Bart Sibrel, a leading light in the conspiracy movement, was even punched by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, when he confronted him over the alleged "hoax".

The Case -

On 22 November, 1963, at just before 12.30pm President John F Kennedy's motorcade pulled in to Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. As his open-top limousine drew past the Texas School Depository on to Elm Street gunshots rang out and the iconic young leader slumped into the arms of his beautiful wife Jackie Onassis.

Mortally wounded, JFK was struck in the side of the head by a final bullet as his car passed a grassy knoll on the north side of Elm Street. His car sped to nearby Parkland Hospital where he was declared dead in the emergency room by Dr George Burkley.

At 1.30pm his death was announced to a grief-stricken nation by the White House.
By 2.38pm Lyndon B Johnson was being sworn in as the 36th President of the United States on board Air Force One.

At around the same time police swooped on a cinema in downtown Dallas and arrested Lee Harvey Oswald for the murder of JFK. Just two days later Oswald was shot dead before he could face trial by Jack Ruby.

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THIS blog is, I have come to realise, a chance to live out my journalistic dreams.

Growing up I was a massive fan of the X Files and quickly came to indulge my over-active young imagination with a wild variety of cover-ups and conspiracies.

From these seeds of mistrust and cynicism, my interest in becoming a reporter grew.
Sadly, the reality of life in the news room compelled me to change my perspective.

Though I love my job, the chances of me finally proving that the moon landings were faked, or that Princess Diana was abducted by aliens, are, I must now confess, very slim.

The problem is that everything in the paper has to be categorically, undoubtedly, and provably true.
While forced to accept and abide by this one unbreakable law of journalism, I still crave the chance to spread my wings and speculate, argue and accuse.

So even though my day job may not provide the opportunity for scuppering secretive sects bent on world domination, there is nothing to stop me indulging these fantasies on the wonderful worldwide web.

To those of you who share my love of conspiracies, the internet is the ultimate tool. Type 9/11 plot into Google and you get more than 2.5 million hits.

Finally we have a medium where all it takes to share your paranoia is a video camera, a keyboard and a
broadband connection.

What better place then to discuss some of the conspiracy theories that have come to obsess us over the years?

Was the US government complicit in the murder of thousands of innocent citizens inside the Twin Towers?
Could the British secret service have slaughtered controversial weapons expert Dr David Kelly in cold blood?

Are the Royal Family a group of reptilian humanoids who......um actually probably best not to go down that road!

This blog will not blather on about the historical origins of conspiracy theory or throw semi-psycho babble at those who indulge in them.
What we want is a debate!

Each week I will provide a brief outline of a popular conspiracy theory, complete with the pros and cons as I see them. Feel free to disagree and whatever your views are - make them known!!

Given the title of this new forum, it would be silly not to start with the most infamous conspiracy of all time - the assassination of President John F Kennedy.
So there you have it.

A simple blog can't tell you if the truth really is out there, but we can have a damn good try.

NEXT WEEK: JFK - The Great American Conspiracy