The Conspiracy Reader:
The Best of Paranoia Magazine

edited by Al Hidell and Joan d'Arc

Citadel Press/Kensington Publishing, 1999, $18.95

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A Fresh Look at Dallas, 1963

Double Crossed: Who is Alek J. Hidell?
by Joan d'Arc

Two distinctly different I.D. cards were carried by "Lee Harvey Oswald" upon his arrest by the Dallas police on the day of JFK's assassination. The bogus I.D. cards are discussed in detail in this article, including proposal of the theory that the Russian-born Alek J. Hidell became a CIA recruit and defected to the USSR as Lee Oswald. Upon his return from the Soviet Union, Oswald's family noted to others that his appearance had changed drastically, including a receding hairline and a two inch difference in height. They never had time to confront him about it, for he had received a new "assignment" as the patsy for the JFK assassination.

The Center of the Labyrinth
by Al Hidell

The shootings in Dallas were an ancient play, following a script etched long ago into our collective unconscious. Looking beyond specific evidence and theories, Al Hidell finds that the life and death of Lee Harvey Oswald contains intriguing parallels to the lives and deaths of several mythological figures. He asks: Was Oswald a Sacred Executioner, or a Mythic Hero?

 

Assassinations and Suspicious Deaths

Who Killed John Lennon?
by Al Hidell

Mark David Chapman appeared to be a classic "lone nut" assassin. But what led him to shoot ex-Beatle John Lennon in 1980, and did he have help? Al Hidell looks at the evidence for a conspiracy, and explores the role the novel The Catcher in the Rye (written by reclusive former Intelligence Officer J.D. Salinger) may have had in the assassination.

Chappaquiddick: Water Under the Bridge?
by R.B. Cutler

This lecture and interview with New England assassinologist R.B. Cutler portrays the Chappaquiddick incident as a CIA "ambush" rather than an accident from which Ted Kennedy walked away and Bobby Kennedy's secretary, Mary Jo Kopechne, lost her life. After twenty-five years of media distortion and Kennedy family cover-up, this bizarre event may be better understood in light of the "political assassination" of the third Kennedy brother. Interestingly, on July 26, 1997, A&E televised a special program which ultimately concluded that Ted Kennedy was not in the car on that fateful night. Will the Cutler "ambush" hypothesis finally get its day in court? It was in Paranoia first, in November, 1994.

The Pope Must Die: Murder in the Vatican
by Seeker 1

Pope John Paul I, who "died in his sleep" after 33 days of papal rule in 1978, was a reformer who had made many enemies. Was the Pope murdered, and does his death have any connection to the 1982 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II? In this article, Seeker 1 looks at the history of Vatican scandals and its links to Nazis, the Mafia, and the Masons.

Love and Power
by Al Hidell

What if you learned about a seamy drug- and prostitution-ring? And what you believed the ring involved high-level public officials, including a United States Senator? Would you talk, or keep your mouth shut? Indiana cab driver Joe Love decided to talk, even after he was harassed by police and imprisoned on bogus charges. For those who suspect that the American "justice" system serves power rather than justice, Love's 1995 beating death inside an Illinois courthouse was sadly predictable.

Who Killed Yitzhak Rabin?
by Barry Chamish

The U.S. media has portrayed the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as an open-and-shut case. However, in Israel itself, the issue is being debated much like the Kennedy Assassination is here. In this article, Israeli investigative reporter Barry Chamish names names and exposes the holes and incongruities of the official story.

 

The UFO Enigma

Like a Virgin: Virgin Mary Sightings, Prophecy and UFOs
by Joan d'Arc

Descriptions of Virgin Mary sightings reveal a curious connection between religious phenomena and UFO manifestations, including alien abductions. The various "stages" of an alien abduction are compared with those of Marian apparitions to conclude that the motifs contained in both "visitations" are surprisingly similar.

Space Oddity: David Bowie, Whitley Strieber and Aliens
by Anonymous

This intriguing article analyzes the themes and lyrics of David Bowie's popular music, concluding that perhaps Bowie has had "visitor" experiences, i.e., has been abducted by aliens.

UFOs: Chariots of the Damned?
by John White

The religious dimension of UFOs and abductions has long been investigated by researchers as the most perplexing aspect of the phenomenon. The premise of this article by a well-known author and researcher is that the deception practiced by the abductors can be seen in the light of a Satanic plan which has as its ultimate motive the takeover of the world through brainwashing and mind control.

Alien Corpse in Puerto Rico
by Jorge Martin

Just what was the long-dead corpse that investigator Jorge Martin saw in Puerto Rico? Its physical features are reminiscent of the "Greys" of UFO literature: small body, large head, wide and dark slanted eyes, and a lipless mouth. Martin takes us along on his investigation, which included a meeting with a mulatto-like Man in Black who told him, "I've been told you deal with flying objects. Be very careful with that."

 

Government Crimes and Cover-Ups

Deep Dark Secrets: America's Underground Bases and Tunnels
by Joan d'Arc

This article gives an overview of the secretive nuclear technology utilized to create huge underground bunkers for the government and its major defense contractors. Also discussed is the ostensible, as well as potential, purpose of these deep tunnel systems and gigantic underground bases, and where the "Strange Bases of the Fortune 500" are located.

Urban Warfare: A Victim Reflects on the 1985 MOVE Bombing
by Allen Hougland

Twelve years ago, a stand off with a "cult" ended in a deadly inferno. Eleven people, including five children, perished. Sixty-one houses burned to the ground. It was, in short, an urban precursor to Waco. Except in this case, everyone admits that it was the government officials who started the fire! Allen Hougland interviews the only adult survivor of the siege, and reviews the events of May 13, 1995 in light of Ramona's recent court battles.

FEMA: Fascist Entity Manipulating America
by Mark Westion

FEMA is much more than the government's "natural disaster response agency." Everything is in place for the crackdown. FEMA computers compile information. Specially-equipped "doomsday vehicles" stand on alert. Representatives of the Shadow Government are poised in top secret underground bunkers waiting for the green light. In this article, Mark Westion looks at the U.S. government's chilling "contingency plans" for threats both external and internal.

Who Framed Leonard Peltier?
by Joan d'Arc

How far can you go in opposing the policies of the U.S. government before you have to be "neutralized"? In this article, Joan d'Arc examines the case of American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Leonard Peltier, imprisoned for over twenty years for a killing he says he did not commit. Along with reviewing the strong case made by Peltier's many supporters, d'Arc also puts the events of June 26, 1965 in the context of the FBI's larger campaign to "neutralize" the American Indian Movement.

TWA 800: No Single Missile Theory
by Al Hidell

"Why is the Navy not a suspect?" the reporter shouted to FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom. "Remove that man" was the lead TWA flight investigator's only reply. The November 8, 1996 incident was a blunt demonstration of the government's attitude towards TWA 800 conspiracy theories, some of which have much more credibility than we've been led to believe. In this article, Al Hidell separates the fact from the fiction in this widely-debated contemporary conspiracy.

Drugs and the CIA: From Ho to Hasenfus
by Eric Odinson

In 1997, the mainstream media finally began discussing the CIA's possible role in the importation of crack cocaine into the nation's urban areas. However, the connection between covert operations and the world of drug trafficking has a much longer history. In this overview article, originally published in 1992, Eric Odinson exposes the CIA's past drug dealings, including the CIA/Contra cocaine connection.

 

Media Mind Control

You Name the Dwarfs: Surrealism, Advertising and Mass Mind Control
by Robert Guffey

This tome discusses the sexual themes used to market products to the public, and shows that there is a connection between the aesthetics of the surrealist movement (the transmitting of messages through art) and modern advertising, which seduces the consumer to buy products via a sexual aesthetic.

Star Trek: Sci-Fi or Psy-War?
by Jerry E. Smith

This highly entertaining article begins with the premise that modern media advertising is a form of psy-war waged against targeted demographics by major corporations, institutions and religions. Analyzing the names and motifs used in the long-running television show, Star Trek, the author attempts to show that it was a conspiratorial attack by the military-industrial-entertainment complex which aimed to subliminally convert American viewers to Catholicism. The author also suggests that Star Trek may have been a psy-war operation perpetrated by the Vatican to subvert the U.S., or may have simply been a vehicle for creating acceptance of a United Federation of Earth.

Machiavelli and the Age of Image Propaganda
by Mark Westion

The implicit admonition to "obey, consume and die" is the undercurrent of this intriguing article which follows the manipulations of the eras beginning with World War II (The Grand Experiment) and into the 1950s (The Life of Riley). This conspiratorial view of social history and pop culture dons granny glasses for a magic carpet ride into the 60s, double-knits its way through the 70s and crash lands in the midst of a fin de siecle of banking disasters in the 80s, leaving Machiavelli unscathed for the nineties.

The Brits Bash Bubba
by Webster G. Tarpley

Recently, the White House issued a study on the "media food chain" that was responsible for much of the anti-Clinton scandal reporting. Readers of Paranoia, however, had read all about it in Summer of 1995. In this transcript of Mr. Tarpley's public testimony to a Congressional subcommittee, we learn of the interlinking media links behind the anti-Clinton effort, and follow the trail back to its surprising origin: Great Britain!

 

CIA Mind Control and Psy-Warfare

Project Monarch: Nazi Mind Control
by Ron Patton

This article describes in detail a highly complex form of trauma-based mind control known as Monarch programming, which was practiced by the Nazis and carried over into our own CIA as part of MK-ULTRA. Monarch programming creates dissociative structures and multiple personalities using "triggers" or commands. Subjects are used for covert operations, prostitution and pornography. This article describes the methods with which these dispensable slaves are programmed for use as "plants" for infiltration purposes, and as "sleeper assassins."

Psy-Ops and Cereology: The Search for 'Intelligent' Circle Makers
by Joan d'Arc

Are "crop circles" the result of an elaborate world-wide hoax? This article discusses the facets of this phenomenon which the hoax explanation cannot address and concludes that it is very possible that the British secret service, MI-5, are behind the crop circle "hoaxes" in Britain in order to pass off a genuine phenomenon as "fake."

Honey, Did You Leave Your Brain Back at Langley Again? A Brief History of Modern Mind Control
by Robert Guffey

This article describes the process that began with the CIA's experimentation with simple torture techniques, hypnosis, LSD and other mind-altering drugs, aversion therapy, psychosurgery, and intra-cerebral implants, eventually leading to the wireless electromagnetic variety now included in the much-touted "non-lethal weaponry" of the 21st century.

 

Cults and Secret Societies

The Mystery of the Knights Templar
by Scott Corrales

Were the Knights Templar the real "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? The Knights Templar were perhaps the world's first Secret Society. Scott Corrales explores the history and bloody rituals of this ancient order of warriors and mystics.

Is There a Satanic Child Abuse Cover-Up?
by Al Hidell

From the McMartin Preschool Scandal to the Franklin Cover-Up, some have alleged that secret groups are forcing children to engage in sexual acts and participate in horrific rituals. Do these groups exist, and are they a real threat to our children? Or is the "Satanic Scare" the work of conspiracy-mongers who have gained financial benefit from various books, seminars, and talk show appearances? Al Hidell considers underground secret societies and their threat to our most vulnerable citizens.

Rock and Roll Minions of Satan
by Adam Gorightly and Al Hidell

In the 1950s, alarmed authorities called Rock and Roll "The Devil's Music." In this article, Adam Gorightly and Al Hidell explore the historical links between Satanism and popular music. The subject is long on speculation and short on facts, and the writers clearly have their tongues at least partially placed in cheek. However, the article is also a serious look at the way society seems forever inclined to turn relatively harmless teenage rebellion into something much more sinister.

The Cult that Haunted River Phoenix
by Al Hidell
and We Are Family: A River Rebuttal
by Phil Edwards

In one of Paranoia's most controversial articles, Al Hidell explores actor River Phoenix's little-known cult background. Phoenix's parents were active members of a religious sect known as The Family, a group accused (but never convicted) of practicing pedophilia and led by self-styled prophet Father David. Has The Family been the victim of religious persecution, or have their friends in high places (including George Bush!) been protecting them? Also included is a rebuttal by Family member Phil Edwards.

 

Suppressed Research and Secret Science

AIDS: A Doctors Note on the Man Made Theory
by Alan R. Cantwell, Jr., M.D.

Were gay men given experimental vaccines contaminated with the AIDS virus? The government says no, but government agencies have a long history of covert and unethical medical experimentation, particularly with minorities. This article provides an overview of such secretive medical experimentation, along with the history of AIDS and why this doctor, the author of AIDS and the Doctors of Death, and Queer Blood, believes AIDS is man-made.

Saucer Kraut: Inside the German Research Project
Interview with Henry Stevens by D. Guide

Did the Nazis have their own "Area 51"? In this exclusive interview, Henry Stevens of the German Research Project (GRP) reveals the secret UFO technology that was developed by the Germans during World War II, and discusses other secret Nazi technology still being suppressed to this day.

Diet For a Zombified Planet
by Mark Westion

This article discusses sodium fluoride as a toxic by-product of aluminum production, which was used after WW II in order to curb a huge waste disposal problem at the ALCOA plant owned by the Mellon family. It has been discovered that repeated infinitesimal doses of fluoride will, over time, make a person submissive and docile by slowly poisoning a certain area of the brain. This article also discusses the health horrors of irradiated food, pasteurized milk, Prozac, Olestra, Aspartame and other FDA-approved goodies. Let the buyer beware.

The Gulf Bio War: How a New AIDS-like Plague Threatens Our Armed Forces
by Alan R. Cantwell, Jr., M.D.

What is the common thread which weaves through the occurrence of the highly contagious disease known as the Gulf War Syndrome, which has struck as many as 60,000 veterans? Dr. Cantwell has found a biowarfare connection. Since the Nuremberg trials, it has been against international law to use people as guinea pigs in experiments without their informed consent. In an unprecedented legal decision, the FDA allowed the Pentagon to give un-approved drugs and vaccines to soldiers without their consent. The Pentagon also refused to identify the types of drugs and injections the troops were given forcibly, rendering them powerless against genetically altered "supergerms."

Alternative Three: The Great Brain Drain
by Joan d'Arc

What would explain the sudden paralysis of the American space program, along with Russian manned space flights, when everything seemed to be going so well? Why did the Russians step down when they were winning the space race? Was a sweetheart deal struck between the superpowers, culminating in a shared colony on the "dark" side of the moon? Joan d'Arc examines the disturbing speculation known as Alternative Three.

Four Horses of the Apocalypse: A Color-Coded Key to the Cryptocracy
by Wendy Wallace

This article is an intriguing example of suppressed Biblical research, the kind mainstream Christian "leaders" won't touch! Wendy Wallace decodes the timeline of biblical Revelations alongside current events in this spectacular article. The prophetic end time revelation, as seen through this "message in a bottle," is tripped off when George Bush announces in 1992 that he will NOT go ahead and triple the tariff on rapeseed oil and Chardonnay wine, thus echoing the biblical admonition to "hurt not the oil and the wine." This un-event is seen by this "paranoid woman" in the light of the opening of the third seal, the black horse, as she emphatically announces: The Time is Now.