September 2008 Archives

On 7 July 1947 a rancher in New Mexico reported the discovery of a strange flying saucer that had crash landed in the desert 40 miles north of the small Air Force town of Roswell.
With its strange markings and unusual design, the find soon sparked a furious debate about where the bizarre craft could have come from.
The summer of 1947 had seen dozens of UFO sightings over Roswell.
Locals reported blinking lights, hovering discs and oddly-shaped aircraft in the clear night skies.
So when the Air Force issued a press release saying that a flying disc had been found, the rumour mill went into overdrive.
To those convinced that we are not alone in the universe, Roswell was the defining moment that saw years of UFO sightings and alien encounters backed up with cold, hard evidence.
But the UFO theory was quickly dispelled by military officials, who claimed the object they had recovered was a humble weather balloon, and for more than 30 years the eyes of the world turned away from the New Mexico desert.
Then, in 1980, retired Major Jesse Marcel, who had been involved in the recovery of the craft, told the National Enquirer that the military had covered-up the discovery of an alien spaceship at Roswell.
Since that interview the incident has gained legendary status in the conspiracy community,
For millions across the globe, it is the strongest proof yet that the US government has concealed the existence of aliens for more than 60 years. The American military continues to refute the claims of UFO enthusiasts, and intelligence chiefs have stuck to their "weather balloon" story since 1947.
So have we all been duped by a government cover-up to convince the public that little green men and flying saucers are make believe, or is Roswell just another UFO hoax?

In the plush grounds of the prestigious Yale University in Connecticut a grim, grey building known as "the tomb" sits amid the affluence and elegance of America's most illustrious law school.
What lurks behind the imposing entrance to the spooky cavern is a mystery to all but the chosen few who are initiated each year into the ultra-secretive Skull & Bones society.
The fraternity, established in the early 1830s and modelled on German university sects, counts myriad Senators, CIA staff and state department diplomats amongst its membership.
It has also nurtured three US Presidents, William Taft, George Bush Snr and George W Bush, as well as the current President's 2004 democratic opponent John Kerry.
To all intents and purposes the society is an "old boys' club", a harmless gathering of promising young men where they can share stories, jokes and a few beers.
But over the years Skull & Bones has earned a more mysterious reputation as a secret power base for the elites, who covertly control everything from politics to the stock market. While gathered in their sandstone Yale bunker, these hugely influential men are said to carry out satanic rituals and indulge in bizarre sex ceremonies.
Conspiracy theorists say these men have banded together to create a New World Order and divide power over our lives among themselves.
So could these hugely influential men be involved in a dastardly plot to dominate the earth, or are they just a bunch of spoiled rich kids messing around in a dank, creepy clubhouse?

Very few days in history truly change the world forever.
Whatever the truth of what happened on 11 September 2001, it was undoubtedly one of those days.
More than 3,000 people lost their lives as two airliners flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, another smashed into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania.
The shockwaves of the audacious assault were felt across the world and ushered in a new era of terror that would redefine international relations and warfare in the 21st century.
We all saw images of the 19 Islamist fanatics who planned the assault, and were told that through military conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US would smash al-Qaeda and bring the figurehead who controlled them, Osama Bin Laden, to justice.
But there are millions of Americans and others around the globe who do not believe a word of that story. A committed collection of online theorists have harnessed the power of the web to put over a very different version of events.
Either through a shadowy conspiracy by the military-industrial complex, or through a dastardly plan by the Bush administration itself, they are convinced that the attacks of 9/11 were carefully orchestrated from within the US.
Could the world's most deadly terror atrocity really have been based on the most spectacular and bloody conspiracy in US history?

In the aftermath of World War II, and with Cold War against the Soviet Union looming on the horizon, the USA began to experiment with a new form of warfare. The MK Ultra programme is one of the most controversial projects ever conceived and saw the government using its own citizens as guinea pigs for a brainwashing project that would stun the world. With techniques ranging from sleep deprivation to covert drugging of soldiers with PCP and LSD, the secret services showed a breathtaking disregard for human suffering as they invaded the minds of their subjects. But just how far did the experiments go, and how many future killers were bread by the MK Ultra scheme?