Memes    UFOgate One of the less explored areas of UFO research is the involvement of intelligence agencies with the phenomenon. On occasion, this took the format of these agencies actively endorsing or using cases to mask more mundane, but nevertheless deemed secret information. Extra-terrestrial intelligence or terrestrial intelligence agencies? It is trendy to suggest to friends and family that the US government knows more about the UFO phenomenon… or even extra-terrestrial beings. Though entirely speculative, it does not mean that the US government plays no role in the phenomenon whatsoever. There is good evidence that shows that it, either officially or unofficially, has been interested in the UFO phenomenon – and has actively promoted it.

The strangest UFO encounter… or a hoax? In 1947, strange events occurred in Maury Island, Washington. Two men reported a UFO and afterwards went to great lengths to ridicule their own story. Did they receive the help of the intelligence community? Driving Mr. Bennewitz Insane Disinformation and UFOs; it is a subject that for many years has been a taboo, but by neglecting it, it will not go away, specifically not when it is becoming more and more clear that it has played an important role behind the biggest UFO stories of the last few decades. New York, New York: the Linda Napolitano “abduction” Did the most important UFO abduction ever – proving the physical reality of the aliens – occur in late November 1989? Or was it instead a carefully constructed plot to disinform and discredit? A lone chemist’s quest to expose the UFO cover-up In the late 1950s, chemist Leon Davidson worked at Los Alamos, the research facility where the atomic scientists had endeavoured to control the force of the atom. But atoms were not the main thing on this scientist’s mind. Davidson was interested in UFOs and hunted down the then top secret CIA Robertson Panel report. This led him to the conclusion that the CIA were actively promoting UFOs as ETs, a conclusion few have been able – or willing – to accept since. A missing Pentacle The so-called “Pentacle Memorandum” convinced UFO researcher Jacques Vallee that the US government had been toying with the official UFO investigations, and that these were a front for something else… if not something more sinister. The Gulf Breeze Six On July 9, 1990, six US military intelligence analysts from the 701st Military Intelligence Brigade at Augsburg, West Germany, at that time the biggest NSA (National Security Agency) listening post in the world outside the United States, deserted their posts, somehow convinced that the end of the world was nigh. It is one of the most extra-ordinary stories… MJ-12: Majestic, or Incredulous? Nothing has changed the world of UFOs as much as the infamous MJ-12 documents, purported to be presidential briefing papers and evidence that the US government is covering up an extra-terrestrial presence on Earth. Always deemed too good to be true, is it the biggest disinformation campaign the field has seen? The Pied Pipers of the CIA The UFO contactee movement was led by people that worked hand-in-hand with the CIA; the abductee scenario was created by CIA personnel. It reveals an intriguing alternative universe of the contactee and abductee phenomenon. Doctoring Villas Boas and aliens on ice In the late 1950s, Brazil seems to have become the testing ground either of an alien power… or those pulling the UFO string, putting forward the first successful stories of UFO abductions and crashes. In both, the esteemed Doctor Olavo Fontes seems to have been part of the experiment. The alien overlords The drive to uncover “the truth” about the UFO phenomenon is often believed to be an “us versus them” situation: the people versus the evil government. But in the 1990s, it became clear that this was not the case. Instead, it became apparent that it were “CIA assets” that were briefing that the CIA had secrets. A rather incestuous relationship… The Dawn of the Extraterrestrial Crashes? Fifty years before Roswell, a spacecraft allegedly crashed in the tiny Texan town of Aurora. The story even comes with a pilot “not of this world” who was buried in the local cemetery. Is the story too good to be true, or precisely what it says? Faking a Martian Invasion The first book to appear on flying saucers – a novel – spoke of how alien crashes were staged by a “League of Scientists”, with the hope of creating world peace against a common, extra-terrestrial enemy. Is it fiction… or fact? CONSPIRACY TIMES One of the major changes in the past fifty years is the public’s attitude, in most countries, from believing most if not all of what the government publically stated, to almost categorically dismiss every public statement by authority as a lie. Today, the “conspiracy viewpoint” has largely become the new paradigm – even more so in younger generations. 9/11 + 11/22 = Conspiracy2 November 22, 1963 with the Kennedy Assassination and September 11, 2001 with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon should respectively be seen as the seeding and the birth of a new creature: “The Conspiracy Nation”.

Report from Iron Mountain The “Report from Iron Mountain” was a 1967 publication that claimed to be a leaked, top secret government report. It argued that though world peace was a nice idea, the economy of war was such a vital part of global stability, it was difficult to come up with substitutes. A hoax? Satire? Or the truth? For more than three decades, the Report has been a cornerstone of intelligent debate… sometimes. From Eden to War Is there a hidden hand manipulating world events, trying to set man against its own neighbour, promoting war whenever it can? William Bramley felt this was indeed the case and reported on his findings in his 1989 book “The Gods of Eden”, which amongst all the conspiracy books out there, sits within an often overlooked position. State-Sponsored Terror in the Western World Most terrorist attacks in Europe, whether attributed to left-wing or right-wing activists or even Islamist fundamentalists, can be traced to actions by government-sponsored military or intelligence agencies. The Knights of the Extreme Right Many secret societies, including those aimed at nurturing the spiritual enlightenment of their members, have been infiltrated by intelligence agencies for the purposes of grooming terrorists and fulfilling nefarious political agendas. The Truths and Lies of WikiWorld The free online encyclopaedia Wikipedia is a democratically decided database that has been open to abuse, but the advent of WikiScanner has uncovered a web of deceit and disinformation. Moon Wars? NASA has been dubbed “Never A Straight Answer”. In recent years, the controversy about whether or not we went to the Moon, and whether or not NASA is hiding the existence of extraterrestrial life on Mars, has reached the mainstream media. What is going on? And could it be that something altogether different is happening? The Russian Woodpecker: experiments in global mind control? In 1978, various US researchers argued that a signal originating from within the Soviet Union, the so-called Russian Woodpecker, was an experiment in global mind control. Thirty years on, what do we know? French visions for a New Europe Raymond Abellio and Jean Parvulesco are two prominent French esotericists who have visualised and tried to implement a roadmap for what Europe – and the Western world as a whole – should become. It is a future where the real role of the Priory of Sion comes into its own. Climategate: the man-made global warming hoax The release of leading climate scientists’ emails, suggestive of a conspiracy to manipulate global warming data, raised the temperature ahead of the December 2009 Copenhagen climate change summit. Power Struggles and Murder in the Vatican Evidence surrounding the killing of the new commander of the Swiss Guard in 1998 overturns the Vatican’s official version of events and raises disturbing questions about the roles of Opus Dei and Freemasons in the Curia and of the KGB and Stasi intelligence networks. The Manchurian Candidate A novel and twice made into a movie, Condon’s creation seems fiction – as it seems so farfetched, could anyone believe it is real? Nevertheless, Condon accurately reported on then secret experiments. And perhaps the enormous scope and implications of the people and powers involved may also conform to reality. 1984: For the love of Big Brother The concept of an “Orwellian” society was expressed by George Orwell in his epic novel 1984. Famous in the 1980s for its seemingly prophetic title when a world was facing the Cold War, it has since disappeared into the background… but perhaps its message has now become all the more important? V for Vendetta From the makers of The Matrix Trilogy, V for Vendetta paints the story of a vengeful terrorist – or freedom fighter? – which, whether in Thatcherite Britain of the 1980s or Bush’s America after 9/11, has an eternal message. Wag the Dog In 1997, the world at large was still relatively innocent about “political spin”. It is fair to say that the film “Wag the Dog”, despite not being the biggest of blockbusters, made an important contribution in the general public’s understanding of political spin. Conspiracy Theory In 1997, Conspiracy Theory, due to the lead roles being played by Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, introduced the movie audience to the mindset of a conspiracy theorist… who turns out to be correct. THE DAN BROWN PHENOMENON The Da Vinci Code has created a media sensation, if only because it is one of the bestselling books ever – over fifty million copies sold, and counting. Of specific interest is the manner in which Dan Brown opted to play with the themes and characters he incorporated into his story. DaDa Da Vinci The “genius” Leonardo Da Vinci, who gave his name to the book, is nevertheless mainly absent from the pages of the book. Was he the genius we believe he was? Was he grandmaster of a secret society? Or was he instead a lone painter?

The Jesus Dimension What is the difference between the historical versus the mythical Jesus? What was the role that Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist played in the early Christian community?

The Work of Sion The stand-off between the two main forces at work in the novel is that between Opus Dei and The Priory of Sion… two players who have only ever crossed swords within the pages of this novel.

Upset & mayhem For a novel, The Da Vinci Code has been able to create enormous controversy. Not only has it become a publishing success in a genre that few felt would sell much, to a sign of our times.

In the aftermath of The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons (bookwise, its predecessor) also became an international bestseller and film. Again, Brown makes use of some interesting themes, which once again became extremely controversial. Bernini’s Rome Roma, the city of Love. But in Angels & Demons, a secret layout of the Italian capital is uncovered, and the artist Bernini identified as the secret mastermind. Truth, or fiction?

Shedding light on the Illuminati The Illuminati are a controversial secret society, said to be the true rulers of the world. But are the allegations of the conspiracy theories true, or more imaginary than fictional plotlines?

The sequel to The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, was launched as the biggest ever book release. The organisation at the heart of this thriller was Freemasonry, set against the backdrop of Washington DC. Washington’s aprons After Rome, Paris and London, Dan Brown has set his sights on the architecture and layout of the US capital to weave his plot. Though this time Masonic in theme, pyramids and obelisks are once again his primary obsession.

The Lost Mind Woven in between the fabric of The Lost Symbol is the story of the modern exploration of the mind, one that is barely reported in mainstream science journals or the media, even though it should often be frontpage news across the world.

Before Dan Brown, other books and films used the same ingredients of Knights Templar, secret societies and an alternative history, sometimes caused as much, and sometimes far less, controversy. Foucault’s Pendulum Sometimes, the prototype is far superior to the actual product. And this may apply to the prototype of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”: Umberto Eco’s “Foucault’s Pendulum”.

La Vie de Jesus More than a century before The Da Vinci Code, another instant bestseller not only managed to upset the entire Christian community; it actually managed to create entirely new inroads of debate about Jesus Christ – thus giving rise to the discussions entertained in The Da Vinci Code.

Revelation In 2002, the movie Revelation, directed and written by Stuart Urban, created the prototype of what The Da Vinci Code would later repeat, in book and film.

UNKNOWN MASTERS Since The Da Vinci Code, there has been a massive uptake in interest in hidden dimensions to paintings, though this trend is, in itself, not new. Though Leonardo da Vinci is definitely the most debated, he is definitely not the sole or first to have hidden clues in his paintings. Fire, the John Gesture In 1997, Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince introduced the so-called “John gesture”: a specific pose painted by Leonardo da Vinci. They were at pains to clearly identify the symbolism of the gesture, but with a little help of Hermetic magic… The Shepherds of Arcadia Poussin’s painting has been identified as a cornerstone of the enigma of Rennes-le-Château. What if the painting has a stellar connection, that might indeed shed light on the true motivations of the painter? Van Eyck: The Painting Heretic? Jan Van Eyck is considered as one of the founders of modern painting techniques. But Van Eyck is also known as an alchemist and may have left us with a powerful, magical talisman: The Adoration of the Lamb.

Salvador Dali: painting the fourth dimension The Surrealist painter Dali is largely seen as an eccentric, money-hungry artist. But such three dimensional descriptions do not capture the visionary who tried to paint the fourth dimension on his two-dimensional canvas. Jean Cocteau: The life of a poet Jean Cocteau, alleged Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, was a true master of poetry, painting and cinema, creating a surreal world… which he considered to be totally real. William Blake: What paintings of visions come A poet and painter, William Blake is considered to be a man who gave back Britain a sense of identity, at a time when the French and American Revolutions were doing the same in those countries. But above all, Blake was a mystic, a visionary, with at least one foot in the Otherworld – if not more. Hieronymus Bosch: paint, us, sinners Within the world of art, Bosch occupies an unfortunate niche, as few have been able, or even willing, to tackle his paintings. The insurmountable obstacle is defining where Bosch got his inspiration from. The answer might have been staring us in the face. Gustave Moreau: re-imagining history The 19th century painter Gustave Moreau created a truly unique style for depicting his historical and mythological themes. Living secretively, one has to ask the question whether he was part of a secret lineage of true masters. CATASTROPHISM The notion that the world has been destroyed by violent cataclysm is universal, whether it is the biblical Deluge, or creation myths from other cultures. At the same time, the topic also poses the question whether such catastrophies might happen in the – near – future. Best Evidence? Are the Indian remains of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, their sudden abandonment and the apparent discovery of an ancient site with a layer of radioactive ash the best available evidence for the possibility that our ancient ancestors possessed a highly advanced technology – which might have included atomic warfare? The Tunguska explosion: an unexpected loud bang and explosion Few events were as catastrophic, and mysterious, as the Tunguska explosion. The explosion occurred near the Tunguska River – hence the name – at around 7.17 am on June 30, 1908. But that is about all that is known about it! Crop Circles: Messages From the TimeWave? As 2012 approaches, the expectation of a global paradigm shift grows. Modern anomalous phenomena like UFOs and crop circles are seen as precursors of this change, which is said to be forecast not only in the end of the Mayan calendar, but also in Terence McKenna’s TimeWave Zero – the end of time itself. 10,000 BC Catastrophism is a dirty word in archaeology. But despite not being liked, it remains a fact that civilisations have abruptly ended. And the biggest of all catastrophes seems to have occurred ca. 12,000 years ago. New research, however, might argue in favour of Velikovskian – if not Atlantean? – ideas. Massive impact The possibility that our civilisation can be wiped out by a sudden meteor strike is a reality we have only slowly and recently come to embrace. And it is at Meteor Crater, just outside of Flagstaff (Arizona), that we can see some of the best visual evidence of one such an event. THE CORPUS HERMETICUM The Corpus Hermeticum is considered to be one of the cornerstones of most of what has passed in esoteric circles since its first European public airing during the 15th century. It is often quoted, but seldom understood. This series of articles provides further insights into the “Body of Hermes”, as well as an annotated version of the treatises. The new Church of Florence Cosimo de Medici changed the world and specifically Mankind’s vision of himself. From a slave, subjected to the will of a faraway God, the Renaissance redefined a human being to a divine spark waiting to be ignited through knowledge and exploration of the universe.

Ficino: The high priest of the Renaissance Marisilio Ficino was one of the most famous and influential people of the Italian Renaissance… yet today, he is hardly a footnote in history. Preparing for the New Age of Egypt The Renaissance is remembered as an artistic style and social movement. But at the core, it was a social and religious programme of radical Reform, fought in several battles, to bring “Egyptianism” to the core of a New Europe. A new continent for a new philosophy The discovery of the New World has been seen as an initiative of Columbus, aided by the Spanish throne. But in truth, the seeds of his discovery was made possible by the Renaissance, its scholars… and their belief in the existence of a continent in the West, a belief they acquired by reading ancient accounts. The Lament of Hermes the Egyptian The Lament, part of the Asclepius, is a prophecy, describing the end of the Egyptian civilisation. It is an insight into a lost world, one which we are at pains to comprehend. The Song of Poliphili Apart from Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, another international bestseller, The Rule of Four, has used an enigmatic Renaissance document that in the end may be far more intriguing than any of da Vinci’s paintings ever may be. Art of Memory In the modern age of books and internet, it is difficult to get beyond the printed word; science has little faith in oral communication – you might think that with Instant Messaging and text messaging, there is an actual conspiracy against speaking… We have thus lost an entire field of knowledge, one of which is the so-called “art of memory”. The Spheres and the Labyrinth Bringing down the energies of Heaven to Earth and ascending to the Heavens is a vital key in many esoteric traditions: “As above, so below.” But how was it done? The simple answer is that sacred geometry helped in establishing these uplinks/downlinks. Today, various models lie scattered in books, cathedrals and elsewhere, there to be interpreted for what they truly were. THE STARGATE CONUNDRUM Following on from research for The Stargate Conspiracy (Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince), this three-chapter work delves into the work of Andrija Puharich and the Remote Viewing project, and the hidden motivations of the main players… and an unknown dimension to the work of those involved. Following the publication of this document on the site in early 2006, various comments were received, which are discussed in the Reactions (not part of PDF document).

Introduction & all chapters, paper format A4 (140 KB, PDF)