Book examines conspiracies, mind control

CONSPIRACIES, COVER-UPS AND CRIMES: Political Manipulation and Mind Control in America, by Jonathan Vankin, Paragon House, 319 pages, $24.95.

Some people will tell you that the truth is stranger than fiction. After reading Jonathan Vankin’s new book on conspiracies, it’ll be difficult to separate the two.

Sure, we’re all familiar with the conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but what about the cover-ups conspiracy theorists say occurred to hide the truth behind the Jonestown massacre, George Bush’s rise to the White House, the CIA’s connection in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the use of human robots to carry out political assassinations, and the media’s role in fixing national elections?

Vankin, an editor at a California weekly newspaper, has interviewed people who have dedicated their lives to uncover the facts behind these and other events that have entered the realm of conspiracy. What results is a book that clearly identifies the conspiracy theorists and brings their stories into the public arena for all to examine.

Some of these theories are unbelievable. Lyndon LaRouche thinks members of the Grateful Dead are part of a British intelligence operation. Other conspiracy theorists believe Jim Jones’ cult in Guyana was part of a CIA mind-control experiment. Perhaps one of the most interesting tidbits from Vankin’s book is the theory that space shuttle astronauts performed tests that caused earthquakes. The San Francisco earthquake in 1989 and the Armenian earthquake in 1988 both occurred when the shuttle was in orbit.

Other conspiracies in the book suggest the Nazis had a role in the John F. Kennedy assassination, John Hinckley was programmed to kill President Reagan, intelligence services have used cancer as an untraceable form of killing, and that the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the Kennedy assassination and Watergate are connected.

Besides these theories, Vankin also examines secret societies, the “October Surprise” and the government’s role in drug dealing.

Considering the publication date of Vankin’s book, it’s easy to understand how he failed to include the Joseph Casolaro conspiracy about the free-lance writer who was found in a West Virginia hotel room with his wrists slashed. Casolaro was about to unveil a major political scandal about the sale of Inslaw Inc.’s stolen computer program to foreign governments. Casolaro believed he could link the Inslaw case to the “October Surprise” and the scandal-plagued Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

I was surprised, however, that Vankin didn’t include a chapter on the December 1985 airplane crash in Gander, Newfoundland, that killed eight crew members and 248 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division. Why Vankin decided not to include this particular event in his book makes me wonder about what else Vankin decided not to tell his readers. Does he have information about the Gander crash that is too sensitive to reveal? Did the plane have a secret cargo that the government doesn’t want publicized?

I suspect it’s just another conspiracy by journalists and major book publishers. What else is new?

Jim Emple is an assistant design editor on the NEWS display desk.