Secret Societies, Narcoterrorism, International Fascism, and the World Anti-Communist League: Legacies

I've got some more field research for you guys. It involves one of the strangest spectacles I've ever witnessed. But first, some programming notes...

For the most recent subscribers' episode, I brought back one of my favorite researchers active today. He was the chief of graphics for Cicada 3301 during its mid-period. During this time he encountered figures such as Thomas Schoenberger and Defango, both of whom would later gain infamy thanks to QAnon. More recently his work on Q has been used by the likes of Vice and the HBO Q: Into the Storm docu-series. He also contributed to the TEDxMidAtlantic conference on Q. He is Arturo Tafoyovsky, aka Lestat. 

For this round, I wanted to delve more into Ufology and the New Age, both of which are well represented in the QAnon saga. To this end, we tackle Gaia TV, Project Camelot, Foster Gamble, MUFON, and the curious figure of Tyroan Simpson, aka Frank Bacon. The latter had been grifting in UFO circles for years before hitching his cart to the "patriot" movement. Lestat also weighs in on the current Disclosure flap. 

We cover a few other odds and sods, such as Jim Watkins, General Stanley McChrystal, and ARGs heavily utilizing themes of secret societies and the occult. The main event, however, is our epic discussion of Pizzagate. We cover Cicada 3301 (and possibly QAnon) puppetmaster Thomas Schoenberger's links to Nora Maccoby; Steve and Tanya Biss; and a host of other figures who turn up in that particular saga. For good measure, we even get into the links Sean Stone, son of the director Oliver, has to this network. 

Its one long, strange trip kids. As always, I hope you enjoy and thanks for your support. And remember, this is just the latest addition to the ever-growing roster of exclusive subscriber shows. Prior guests include Diana Walsh-Pasulka, Richard B. Spence, Christopher Knowles, Douglas Valentine, Adam Gorightly, Greg Bishop, Walter Bosley, J. Michael "Doc Future" Bennett, Erica Lukes, Patriots' Soapbox's Radix Verum, David Metcalfe, Neil Sanders, Edmund Berger and Samuel Vandiver. Next up is the parapolitical legend Russ Bellant.

And now, for the main event...

The Weird and the Eerie

That's pretty much day to day life in these United States circa 2021, right? I had thought so to, but not after events that transpired this past Tuesday. That was truly weird, and truly eerie. But before getting to that, let's set the mood: 

"I have been to one of their meetings!" a disheveled Philip Jeffries (David Bowie) pronounced to the hear-challenged Gordon Cole (David Lynch) as a confused Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) looked on. This iconic scene from the Twin Peaks movie Fire Walk With Me (1992) is one of the finest depictions of the Black Lodge and its inhabitants Lynch would grace the fanboys with until the miraculous third season of Twin Peaks rose from the ether in that oh-so-significant-of-years, 2017. Between the twenty-five years that separated the film from Twin Peaks' third season, Bowie's storied sequence and the phrase he uttered became a kind shorthand for encounters with the weird, the powerful, and the unknowable. Michael Malice enlists the "meetings" bit to describe his encounters with the Dark Enlightenment in The New Right: A Journey to the Fringe of American Politics. It was as apt a use as any I've seen. 

I myself have steadfastly resisted using that expression. But after this past Captive Nations Week (July 18-24, 2021), I think I may have finally earned the right. Decide for yourselves as a I recount the annual Captive Nations summit sponsored by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC). 

The pre-registration bit appears to have been announced the day of the event. The event itself (and most importantly, the time and location) was not announced officially until July 15 for some strange reason...

Regular readers of this blog will probably not be surprised to learn that the VOC, like Captive Nations Week itself, is closely connected to the infamous World Anti-Communist League (WACL), an endlessly fascinating netherworld of diehard fascists, international gangsters, and "former" intelligence and military officers the world over. I've chronicled this outfit for years, beginning with a series of blogs in 2013 and continuing with a podcast series on The Farm that originally aired in 2020 and this year. If you haven't followed any of those efforts, check here to catch up on WACL. 

Even in 2021, well over 60 years after efforts began to craft what became WACL, some of the movers-and-shakers linger. The 100-year-old General John K. Singlaub, a onetime WACL chairman, sits on the VOC's "national advisory council." Lee Edwards, a mere 89-years-old and a founding member of the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), first became involved with WACL around 1970. Fittingly, he was a co-founder of VOC and presently serves as its chairman emeritus. He was present for Captive Nations festivities on July 20, 2021, where he introduced a Cuban hip hop video (seriously --more on that below). 

Edwards is the bald-headed one

And then there's Paula Dobriansky. Her father Lev was a significant figure in WACL circles for decades. He was close to longtime OUN-B head Yaroslav Stetsko, arguably the premier Ukrainian fascist of the twentieth century. Stetsko was also the head of the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (ABN), an outfit with ties to Nazi Germany that later became one of the crucial components of WACL. Lev Dobriansky founded Captive Nations Week and served as the chairman of the committee behind it for years. Stetsko was his co-chairman for decades. It was out of the National Captive Nations Committee that the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation was established in 1993. 

Paula Dobriansky opted for more "mainstream" company. She served in the State Department of various Republican administrations for many years, climaxing with her appointment as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs during the administration of Bush the Lesser. She also did time at the National Security Council and the US Information Agency, which has led to speculation that Paula had a much closer relationship with the CIA than her father. During the 1990s, she became involved with the infamous Project for a New American Century. She also has longstanding ties to Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), for years the leading neo-liberal foreign policy think tank. Its arguably been superseded during the twenty-first century by the Atlantic Council, who's board of directors Dobriansky sits upon. In other words, this woman has been at the heart of the bipartisan, neoliberal foreign policy establishment for decades. 

Paula speaking at the VOC's Captive Nations Week event

She is also a trustee of the VOC, and was there on July 20, 2021 to kick off her father's legacy. The company she kept for this event was more in keeping with the circles Lev traveled in. Paula was one of a trio of speakers to set the stage for the broader event. Joining here in these efforts was Edwin Feulner, the founder and longtime president of the Heritage Foundation, one of the two most powerful conservative think tanks since the Reagan years. The other is the Council for National Policy (CNP), which Feulner is also a member and former director of. 

Feulner

I got to shake hands with a confused-looking Paula Dobriansky shortly after her speech wrapped up. I later shook hands with Feulner and exchanged some pleasantries outside the men's restroom. I tried to introduce myself to Lee Edwards as well, but the old man looked like he wanted to kill me with his bare hands. 

I'll be honest: I rather liked Paula Dobriansky. I was accompanying my fellow WACL cohort Moss Robeson on this outing. Moss has written some rather inflammatory pieces on Paula and her father. She was surprisingly good spirited about the whole thing and even took the time to say goodbye to Moss before departing for whatever else veeps such as herself do in Washington on a day-to-day basis. No doubt she warrants a lot of criticism, but the woman has class. 

Completing the introductory trifecta was Lisa J. Peterson, who was just wrapping up her time as the Acting Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights in the Biden administration. She was completely at ease speaking between Paula and Feulner, even emphasizing many of the same talking points as the more right wing presenters. Predictably, Peterson emphasized social justice and other wokism, with a slight emphasis on Russia, but on the whole her speech would have been perfectly at home at a foreign policy rally during the Reagan years. 

Peterson

Despite the fact that an unrepentant Nazi collaborator was instrumental in crafting the Captive Nations Week that this event was celebrating, President Joe Biden had few qualms about endorsing it. Indeed, everyone in attendance got a commemorative letter from the president honoring the event:

I'll always treasure my copy, as the coffee stain in the top right corner is a testament to

It must have been reassuring to many of the participants that neo-cons, neo-libs, and the far right (symbolized by the opening trio) could set aside their differences and find so much common cause. It was a recurring theme throughout the summit. 

After this rousing introduction, the panel section of the proceedings began. There were three planned for the day: "Freedom of the Press vs. State Control"; "The Role of Dissidents in Gaining Freedom"; and "Human Rights and the International Community." As one might imagine, the first panel largely centered around "active measures," a Russian phrase for political warfare. The active measures bit has become trendy in recent years among foreign policy circles. It makes the whole political warfare thing seem like it emanated from the Kremlin, or something along those lines. 

Naturally, there were resounding calls for better educating the public in detecting active measures. Myroslava Gongadze, a Ukrainian journalist and "activist," filled us in one how effective public education had been against the efforts of the Kremlin in the Ukraine. Slowly but surely, the public was waking up to active measures. Elsewhere, Brian Whitmore of the Atlantic Council suggested that it was time for the United States to take the offensive as far as active measures were concerned. That played well with the audience.

Whitmore is on the left, Gongadze the right

It was around this time I gagged on my coffee, drawing unwelcome attention from the crowd. I decided it was time to take some air. i.e. go back to my hotel room and get high. What awaited me upon my return brought this scene from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to mind:

On the bright side, I had missed the entire panel on "The Role of Dissidents in Gaining Freedom." On the not so bright side, I walked in on the antics of Rushan Abbas. Abbas is a Uyghur American activist, and one of the foremost critics of the Uyghur genocide allegedly being carried out in China. I say allegedly, as claims of genocide there are highly controversial, to put it mildly. In fact, the VOC has been at the forefront of pushing these claims. 

Abbas and the crowd certainly wanted to leave no doubt that something was happening to the Uyghur people in the PCR. Indeed, two of the four people sharing the "Human Rights and the International Community" panel with her visibly began to sob during her presentation. And it was graphic, recounting the various tortures the PRC is allegedly subjecting the Uyghur people to. On the other hand, the outrageous hypocrisy of it all was almost to much to stomach. 

You see, Abbas served as a translator at Guantanamo Bay where she assisted in the interrogation of Uyghur men being held there. Of all the Uyghur people in the world, is Abbas really the best they could find to speak for them? Unless the giggle factor is what the VOC was aiming for. Certainly they got plenty of that later in the panel discussion when Abbas called for Chavez's removal in Venezuela. Not to be undone, Suzanna Scholte of the Defense Forum Foundation denounced China's role in spreading the Covid virus. Unsurprisingly, the played well with the audience as well. 

Scholte (left) and Abbas (right)

From there, it was finally time for the main event: the Dissident Human Rights Awards Ceremony. A certain anti-Castro sentiment had been in the air all morning. Now, we were finally going to cut loose and call for regime change like it was 1961! Lee Edwards himself took the stage for this solemn occasion. 

The 2021 Dissident Human Rights Award went to Cuba's San Isidro Movement, which Edwards informed us was driven by artists. At the forefront of these efforts was something known as "rap," which Edwards described as a "new form of communication" to the audience. Apparently, some Cuban hip hop collective was slated to receive the award, but they were unable to attend. Instead, a pre-recorded message was played over the image of a shirtless Cuban rapper. All the while, the thought "Is Lee 'Fucking' Edwards going to introduce a hip-hop video" kept flashing through my mind. 

And I was not disappointed! He did in fact bust out the video, and the mostly white and middle-aged audience tried to groove to it, in a sense. I sincerely apologize for not taking pictures of this spectacle dear reader. I confess, I was in a near trance-like state by this time. But in case you're wondering, here is the video:

Marco Rubio was supposed to drop by for this spectacle, but wisely sent roughly third seconds of pre-recorded comments instead. Pity, as I was planning on asking him if the Pentagon's UAP report justified increased defense spending. Originally, I had thought such a question may have been a little over the top during such a serious occasion, but not so after the awards ceremony! 

In conclusion, the VOC Captive Nations Week Summit provided a compelling glimpse into Washington's permanent foreign policy establishment. Having witnessed it first hand, I can say that the only fundamental differences between most Democrats and Republicans on these matters is the extent to which LGBTQ+ rights should be emphasized when regime change is advocated. 

And make no mistake about it, regime change was seen as desirable the world over: Cuba, Russia, China, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, it was on the table. Other points of emphasis included how democracy could be "strengthened" in the West and how America's enemies were "weaponzinig democracy against democracy." On the whole, one was left with the distinct impression democracy could use a lot of work. Fortunately, we have institutions like the VOC to help us through this process. 

Dispatches from Occult SLC

I must apologize for the lack of activity around these parts of late. As per usual usual, I've taken on an insane amount of projects and am presently scrambling to bring a few to a close. One of them is my next book, the first draft of which is almost complete. Elsewhere, ground has been broken on future projects that will hopefully open up opportunities in other mediums. 

Speaking of other mediums, The Farm continues to grow. In addition to the weekly shows, there are two additional, subscriber-only ones per month with exclusive guests and content. Recent guests have included Concordia University professor Andre Gagne, as well as the return of the Penny Royal crew. 

Professor Gagne and I explored various aspects of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement and related ideologies. The NAR possesses an almost Medieval worldview. Emerging around the same time as the neo-Pagan movement in these United States, the NAR contributed in their own way to the Re-enchantment of the West. But whereas the neo-Pagans saw wonder, the NAR envisioned a world awash in angels, demons, and other principalities. 

We also explore some of the most peculiar ritualism of the NAR, much of it related to their concept of spiritual warfare. Binding and other tools are noted, as well as the NAR's concept of "territorial spirits" and it's similarities to occultic concepts of egregores. Inevitably, we delve into the "Manifested Sons of God" and "Seven Mountains" concepts. This leads to a fascinating discussion concerning how the NAR and related movements will deal with Trump's defeat. The most compelling aspect of this conversation, however, is our discussion of language and translations. The NAR worldview has made phenomenal inroads to mainline Christian sects in this fashion. Words have power and this movement is well aware of this. 

***

As for the Penny Royal guys, we get into a broad discussion of far right activity in the paraweird community, invoking many of the usual suspects: Michael A. Hoffman II, William Grimstead, James Shelby Downard, Adam Parfrey, and, inevitably, QAnon. 

After a deep dive into Downard, we explore a cache of mysterious documents the Penny Royal crew acquired last year. They center around the enigmatic figure of Henry Fischer, a well-travelled confidence man with intelligence ties. The documents purport to link him to a host of intrigues and shadowy figures, including the Golden Lily, the Sovereign Order of Saint John, and Willis Carto of Liberty Lobby infamy. It's quite a story, and as a capper, my website was mentioned in the documents. Yes dear reader, this here blog you're currently browsing. 

Fischer

We also have an epic discussion of The Nine as a cult initiated by the US Navy, and the closely related Ra Materials. To wrap up, well delve into the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit, Accelerationism, AI's from the future, and the murky history of Bitcoin. It's quite an epic journey.  

These are just the latest additions to the ever-growing roster of exclusive subscriber shows. Prior guests include Diana Walsh-Pasulka, Richard B. Spence, Christopher Knowles, Douglas Valentine, Adam Gorightly, Greg Bishop, Walter Bosley, J. Michael "Doc Future" Bennett, Erica Lukes, Patriots' Soapbox's RadixVerum, David Metcalfe, Neil Sanders, Edmund Berger and Samuel Vandiver. Upcoming guests include Cicada 3301 graphic designer Arturo "Lestat" Tafoyovsky, and the parapolitical legend Russ Bellant. 

Adventures in Mormonland

Summer time is here and I've found myself traveling again. My destination was a curious one on many levels: Salt Lake City. Insert your favorite Mormon joke at this point. Certainly the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) provides much to snicker at, both spiritually, and across the vast landscape that is Utah. But I wasn't doing much laughing by the time my trip drew to a close. 

It must be said that there is a certain vibrancy to SLC that cannot be denied. There's also a strong air of Stepford Wives, but that's hardly surprising. SLC is a crucial node within the national security state. This is especially true when it comes to continuity of government (COG). SLC's University of Utah was the fourth node in the original ARPAnet, the precursor to today's Internet. One of the original purposes of the ARPAnet was to serve as a military communications system in the aftermath of a nuclear exchange. In other words, it would enable the components of COG to communicate with one another. 

the U of U

Also present near SLC is Camp W.G. Williams. This enigmatic base serves as the headquarters of the equally enigmatic 19th Special Forces Group. The 19th, along with the 20th, are the only two Special Forces groups designated as National Guard. This makes them no less elite, however. In point of fact, they're the only two Special Forces groups (officially) designed to operate in the domestic United States. 

And what would spur these units to officially deploy in these United States? Why, a nuclear exchange, or something else that incapacitated the government. The 19th and 20th Special Forces groups would take the lead in the defending the US, and restoring order, in such circumstances. Officially. 

Camp Williams

And it just so happens one of these two highly specialized Special Forces groups is headquartered about twenty miles south of SLC. Also housed at Camp Williams is the Utah Data Center. The precise mission of this outfit is classified. What is known is that this data centers services the entire US intelligence community and grew out of Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative. The Utah Data Center has been described as the NSA's "Biggest Spy Center," and is believed to not only intercept communications (both foreign and domestic), but to be deeply involved in code breaking as well. 

The Utah Data Center is certainly well placed for such activities. It looms over what has been dubbed the "Silicon Slopes," the vast tech sector emerging between SLC and Provo. Allegedly, it is one of the most vibrant tech communities in the nation. Perhaps this is why Cambridge Analytica looked to one of the most notable products of Silicon Slopes --Qualtrics --for its data mining efforts. If the Utah Data Center is any indication, that type of expertise is probably abundant in such a region. 

And who could forget about Dugway? You know, the US Army's other chemical and biological warfare facility? Sure, Fort Detrick gets all the press, but this is probably due to the sheer isolation of Dugway. Located about 85 miles southwest of SLC, in the Great Salt Lake Desert, the Dugway Proving Grounds occupies an area roughly the size of Rhode Island. Yes, the entire state.

Dugway

To recap: SLC and the surrounding area were in on the ground floor of the ARPAnet. They house a Special Forces unit designed to implement COG protocols as well as one of national security state's largest data centers. And the nation's largest chemical/bio weapons facility in less than 90 miles to the south. Combine this with a religion in which doomsday prepping is a way of life, and you have all the ingredients for the Command Post at the End of the World. One can only marvel at the foresight of the military planners. 

But enough about the shadow government. In an effort to further blur the lines between business and pleasure (and fiction and reality), I thought I'd chronicle some of the esoteric woo woo I encountered for this thing. This blog grew out of the synchromystical movement after all, meaning I have a soft spot for all things weird and occult America. And SLC is the perfect location to indulge in such things.

I live near the DC area and venture into the Capitol often. As such, I've spent my fair share of time contemplating the celebrated Masonic architecture there. And I'm here to say that SLC mounts a serious challenge to DC for the claim of "Most Masonic City in America." While the connection between Mormonism and Freemasonry is generally acknowledged, if grudgingly, nowadays, it is blatant at the spiritual heart of the religion. 

And that brings me to the other remarkable thing about SLC: the specter of a major religion still knee deep in mythmaking. We've recently considered the role prominent Mormon business people have in funding Ufology, but this is only scratching the surface. What the LDS has managed in SLC in less than two centuries is nothing less than remarkable. It is mythmaking of the highest order, and puts the city in position to be a major religious mecca for centuries to come. With this is mind, let us consider some of the cities most remarkable ritual centers. Some of these spots are known and official, but the most striking are neither. At least to me. But as always, I urge you guys to make up your own minds. With this in mind, let us begin our journey. 

Ritual Centers

Temple Square is one of the most Masonic and occulted stretches of these United States one is apt to encounter. At the heart of it is of course the Great Salt Lake Temple, truly a marvel of American architecture. Despite being in a state of renovation when I saw it, it was no less impressive:

There have been rumors for years that a vast underground network of tunnels exist beneath SLC. It is known that the LDS has an underground vault in which it houses the vast genealogical records the church has amassed over the years. There have been persistent rumors, since at least the 1980s, that something similar exists beneath the Great Salt Lake Temple. Curiously, these rumblings also provide us with the origins of the modern day reptilian tropes.

"... Branton is a former Mormon in his thirties, who grew up in 'the Southeast corner of Salt Lake Valley.' He claims to be an abductee who has had contact through 'altered states' of consciousness with human beings living in the inner earth... He admits that he has no conscious memory of the nonhuman species, but claims ' "intuitive" memories in the form of dreams and so on of being involved in some sort of government-alien interaction scenario, since a child.' The scenario contained elements developed in his writings, including treaties between the government and aliens, underground colonies of both human and nonhumans, and, of course, reptilians. He claims to have met a number of individuals in the Salt Lake City area who have had direct experience with this subterranean domain."

(A Culture of Conspiracy, Michael Barkun, pg. 123)

As Adam Gorightly reports in Saucers, Spooks, and Kooks, "Branton" (Bruce Alan De Walton) was part of a circle of Ufologists that also included Bill Hamilton, John Leer, Val Valerian (aka John Grace), and the one and only, William Milton Cooper. While the merit of the research done by these gentleman is a matter of some debate (to put it mildly), there's no disputing they've had a profound influence on Ufology. David Icke in particular owes much of his early shtick to Branton. 

That alone should give one pause when considering claims of underground tunnels beneath SLC. And yet renovations to the Temple produced such sights:

They probably just need those for drainage or something....

The front of the temple is known for its rich symbolism. My camera could not do it justice.:

Here are the highlights:

At the southwest corner of Temple Square resides the Salt Lake Assembly Hall. It's directly across from the SLC Temple, and, inevitably, is not as impressive. But be assured, it's not without its symbolic charms:

To the north of the Temple Square is the LDS Conference Center:

In case you can't tell, this building is modeled upon the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. 

Even deprived of water, the top was impressive when I viewed it. Note the ziggurat at the bottom left. Here's a closer view:

While it would be near impossible to top the downtown ritual center, one particular suburban effort makes quite the attempt. I am of course referring to the mysterious Gilgal Garden. As the story goes, LDS businessman Thomas Child constructed this project in his spare time. It's built in the midst of a suburban neighborhood in downtown SLC, and was walled off for years. Allegedly, Child didn't begin work on these sculptures until he was 57 years old and largely did them by himself. 

This place is covered with inscriptions chiseled into the stone. Many of them allude to, if not directly reference, blood sacrifice. 

***

On that note, we come to one of SLC's most (in)famous residents: serial killer Ted Bundy. Like many of the nation's most notorious serial killers, there seems to be much more to Bundy than what the official narrative allows. George from CavDef has done some incredible work on that end. Hopefully, George and I will be exploring Bundy much further on The Farm in the near future. Consider this a teaser. 

Bundy relocated to SLC in 1974 to attend the University of Utah (yeah, the same one housing the ARPAnet). For the next two years, Bundy would use SLC as a base of operations while he hunted women both in the area, and in the neighboring states of Colorado and Idaho. Bundy briefly converted to Mormonism in 1975, and was later excommunicated from the church following a 1976 kidnapping conviction. 

A whole mythos has grown up around Bundy in SLC. This has led to some outright fabrications in terms of locations involving the killer. Then there's "Bundy's Cellar" at stately Emigration Canyon. This spot is located a little outside of SLC proper. Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers passed through it in 1848. A year earlier, the ill-fated Donner Party had made the scene. Naturally, a monument commemorates the Donner Party not far from Bundy's Cellar. 

Har har

Some interesting sights greeted me prior to my descent into the canyon housing Bundy's Cellar:

 The actual cellar:

The surroundings:

Whether or not this site was ever used by Bundy scarcely matters at this point. At best, this location is already shrine, attracting a steady follow of a certain type of pilgrim. At worst, it is a functioning ritual center. And it is but one of many SLC and the surrounding area is littered with. 

At its core, Salt Lake City is a testament to the profound power of mythmaking. It was in this vast, barren landscape Mormonism put down its roots and transformed the wilderness into a marvel of American esotericism. The tradition has only continued as the years have rolled on. 

Ritual America indeed. SLC is a proverbial crossroads where high tech, high magic, and high weirdness intersect. And it could well be one possible model for the future of these United States.