11 Who Really Rule the World ?? – Freemasons / Rothschilds !

And Seecreet Sociieetitiees iin Unniiverrssiititiees iin USA

Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organised, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it. – – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States (1856-1924) So you see, my dear Coningsby, that the world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes. – – Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister (1804-1881)

The advent of the industrial revolution, the invention of a banking system based on usury, and scientific and technological advancements during the past three centuries have had three major consequences. These have made the incredible concentration of wealth in a few hands possible, have led to the construction of increasingly deadly weapons culminating in weapons of mass destruction, and have made it possible to mould the minds of vast populations by application of scientific techniques through the media and control of the educational system. The wealthiest families on planet earth call the shots in every major upheaval that they cause. Their sphere of activity extends over the entire globe, and even beyond, their ambition and greed for wealth and power knows no bounds, and for them, most of mankind is garbage – – ――human garbage.‖ It is also their target to depopulate the globe and maintain a much lower population compared to what we have now.. 22

Secrecy and anonymity is integral to the operations of the Elite as is absolute ruthlessness, deep deception and the most sordid spying and blackmail. The Elite pitches nations against each other, and aims at the destruction of traditional values, creates chaos, deliberately spreads poverty and misery, and then usurps power placing its stooges in place. These families ―buy while the blood is still flowing in the streets‖. Wars, ―revolutions‖ and assassinations are part of their tactics to amass wealth and power, eliminate opponents, and proceed relentlessly towards their avowed goal, generation after generation. They operate through covert and overt societies and organisations.

Winston Churchill, wrote around 1920: From the days of Spartacus-Weishaupt to those of Karl Marx, to those of Trotsky, Bela Kun, Rosa Luxembourg, and Emma Goldman, this world wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilisation and reconstitution of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence and impossible equality, has been steadily growing. It has been the mainspring of every subversive movement during the nineteenth century, and now at last, this band of extraordinary personalities from the underworld of the great cities of Europe and America have gripped the Russian people by the hair of their heads, and have become practically the undisputed masters of that enormous empire.

Churchill is also said to have remarked about the Elite: ―They have transported Lenin in a sealed truck like a plague bacillus from Switzerland into Russia…‖ (quoted by John Coleman inin The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations,, Global Publications 2006). President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote in November 1933 to Col. Edward House: ―The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centres has owned the government since the days of Andrew Jackson.‖ Interlocking Structure of Elite Control In his book Big Oil and Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf: Four Horsemen, Eight Families and Their Global Intelligence, Narcotics and Terror Network, Dean Henderson- Stock ownership in the top 25 US bank holding 33

companies show many of the bank‘s stockholders reside in Europe.‖ US government works not for the people but for the Elite. No media outlet will raise this issue because the Elite owns the media. The Four Horsemen of Banking (Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo) own the Four Horsemen of Oil (Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, BP Amoco and Chevron Texaco); in tandem with other European and old money behemoths. According to company 10K filings to the SEC, the Four Horsemen of Banking are among the top ten stockholders of virtually every Fortune 500 corporation. In 2009, of the top 100 largest economic entities of the world, 44 were corporations. The wealth of these families, which are among the top 10% shareholders in each of these, is far in excess of national economies. In fact, total global GDP is around 70 trillion dollars. The Rothschild family wealth alone is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars. So is the case with the Rockefellers who were helped and provided money all along by the Rothschilds. The US has an annual GDP in the range of 14-15 trillion dollars. This pales into insignificance before the wealth of these trillionaires. With the US government and most European countries in debt to the Elite, there should be absolutely no doubt as to who owns the world and who controls it. To quote Eustace Mullins from his book The World Order :: The Elites rule the US through their Foundations, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Federal Reserve System with no serious challenges to their power. Expensive ‗political campaigns‘ are routinely conducted, with carefully screened candidates who are pledged to the program of the World Order. Should they deviate from the program, they would have an ‗accident‘, be framed on a sex charge, or indicted in some financial irregularity. James Forrestal, the first Secretary of Defence of the US, according to Jim Marrs, accumulated 3,000 pages of notes to be used for writing a book. He died in mysterious circumstances and was almost certainly murdered. His notes were taken away and a sanitised version made public after one year! Just before he died, almost fifteen months before the outbreak of the Korean War, he had revealed that American soldiers would die in Korea! Marrs quotes Forrestal: ―These men are not incompetent or stupid. Consistency has never been a mark of stupidity. If they were merely stupid, they would occasionally make a mistake in our favour.‖ The Bilderberg Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and the mother of all these, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, are bodies where 44

decisions about the f uture of mankind are arrived at. Who set these up and control them? The ―international bankers‖ of course. In his book The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World , Col. Fletcher Prouty, who was the briefing officer to the President of the US from 1955- 1963, writes about ―an inner sanctum of a new religious order.‖ By the phrase Secret Team he means a group of ―security-cleared individuals in and out of government who receive secret intelligence data gathered by the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA) and who react to those data.‖ He states: ―The power of the Team derives from its vast intra -governmental undercover infrastructure and its direct relationship with great private industries, mutual funds and investment houses, universities, and the news media, including foreign and domestic publishing houses.‖ He further adds: ―All true members of the Team remain in the power centre whether in office with the incumbent administration or out of office with the hard- ccore set. They simply rotate to and from official jobs and the business world or the pleasant haven of academe.‖ Training the Young for Elite Membership It is very remarkable as to how ‗they‘ are able to exercise control and how ‗they‘ always find people to carry out the job, and how is it ‗‗it they‘ always make the ‗right‘ decision at the right time? This can only be possible if there exists aa hidden program of inducting and training cadres mentally, ideologically, philosophically, psychologically and ability- wise, over prolonged periods of time and planting them in the centres of power of countries like the US, UK, etc. This training would begin at a young age in general. There must also be a method of continual appraisal, by small groups of very highly skilled men, of developing situations with ‗their‘ men who are planted throughout the major power centres of the world so that immediate ‗remedial‘ action, action that always favours Elite interests, can be taken. How does that happen? It is in finding answers to these questions that the role of secret societies and their control of universities, particularly in the US, assumes deeper importance. Whenever you trace the money source of important initiatives designed to bring about major wars, lay down policies for the future, enhance control of the Elite over mankind, etc., you will invariably find them linked to the so called banking families and their stooges operating out of Foundations. 55

In April 2008, two day Higher Education Summit for Global Development, held at the US State Department in Washington DC. The Summit was addressed by five US Secretaries, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The real emphasis throughout the Summit was only on one thing – – that uni veversiti ees in dedeveveloping countr ies operate in partnership with foundations so that global problems could be solved! These are private foundations and the only way to understand this emphasis is to realise the US government is owned by those who own these foundations. The inaugural address was delivered by the war criminal responsible for millions of deaths in Rwanda, trained in US military institutions, and awarded a doctorate – – Dr. Paul Kagame! The very first presentation was made by the CEO of the Agha Khan Foundation ( founded by freemasons )! Yale secret society Skull and Bones, Antony Sutton in his book America’s Secret Establishment – – An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones, points out there is a set of ―Old Line American Families and New Wealth‖ that dominates The Order (of Skull & Bones) – – the Whitney family, the Stimson family, the Bundy family, the Rockefeller family, the Harriman family, the Taft family, the Bush family, and so on. He also points out that there is a British connection: The links between the Order and Britain go through Lazard Freres and the private merchant bankers. Notably the British establishment also founded a University – – Oxford University, and especially All Souls College at Oxford. The British element is called ‗The Group‘. The Group links to the Rothschilds in Britain (Lord Rothschild was an original member of Rhodes‘ ‗inner circle‘). The Order in the US links to the Guggenheim, Schiff and Warburg families Every year 15 young men, and very recently women, have been inducted into The Order from Yale students since 1832. Who selects them? A study of the career trajectories of many of those ‗chosen‘ shows how they rise to prominence in American life and how their peers ensure these men penetrate the very fabric of important US institutions. They are always there in key positions during war and peace, manipulating and watching ceaselessly. The influence of the Elite families on the thought processes of nations is carried out through academic institutions and organisations, as well as the media. Sutton writes: Among academic associations the American Historical Association, the American Economic Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Psychological Association were all started by members of The Order or persons close to The Order. These are key associations for the 66 conditioning of society. The phenomenon of The Order as the FIRST on the scene is found especially among Foundations, although it appears that The Order keeps a continuing presence among Foundation Trustees.

In 1920 Theodore Marburg founded the American Society for the Judicial Settlement of Disputes, but Marburg was only the President. The FIRST Chairman was member William Howard Taft ( Skull and Bones ). The Society was the forerunner of the League to Enforce Peace, which developed into the League of Nations and ultimately the United Nations.The United Nations is an instrument of the Elite designed to facilitate the setting up of One World Government under Elite control. The UN building stands on Rockefeller property.

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT (1857-1930) Twenty-seventh President (1909-1913)

Initiated: February 18, 1909. Brother Taft was made a "Mason at Sight" within the Body of Kilwinning Lodge No. 356, Cincinnati, Ohio, by Grand Master Charles S. Hoskinson. His father and two brothers were also Members of this Lodge. Brother and President Taft addressed the Brethren, saying, "I am glad to be here, and to be a Mason. It does me good to feel the thrill that comes from recognizing on all hands the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man." Brother and President Taft visited the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on the occasion of a Special Communication held in the Masonic Temple (One North Broad Street), on March 12, 1912.

Skull and Bones operates as an independent elite Freemasons lodge.

It originated as 'the Brotherhood of Death' at Inglostadt Germany, an offshoot of Contintental Freemason Baron Von Hund's 'Strict Observance' Rite, who was involved with that other infamous Freemason founded & led secret society, the Illuminati of Bavaria. 77

What Is the Significance of the Skull in Masonic Symbolism?

The Masons, formally known as Freemasons, make up the world's largest and oldest fraternity. Among these symbols, the enigmatic skull and crossbones continues to appear in Masonic culture.

An I conic Symbol The image of the skull and crossbones is often associated with death and piracy. Likewise, the symbol often serves as a warning of dangerous or harmful substances. Today, the skull and crossbones appears at Masonic lodges in Chambers of Reflection and in tracing boards used to teach Masonic beliefs and traditions. It can also be seen in the fraternity's rituals, such as initiation and knighting ceremonies. The image commonly appears on Masonic paraphernalia, such as rings and jewelry.

M emento M ori Throughout history, the skull and crossbones has symbolized the concept of ―memento mori,‖ which translates from Latin as ―remember death‖ or ―remember you must die.‖ In his essay, ―The Symbol of the Skull and Crossbones and Its Masonic Application,‖ Brother P.D. Newman of Tupelo Lodge Number 318 observes that this remains true for the Masonic symbol, stating the skull ―stands as the primary reminder of the grim truth that death is ever immanent.‖

According to Gurdjieff, every man, has an internal sevenfold constitution which he termed the "Seven Men." This notion is not unlike the Theosophical teaching concerning the septenary nature of the soul of man, an interpretation which has, since the occult revival of the 19th century, consistently been extended by authors such as Manly P. Hall, J. S. M. Ward, and W. L. Wilmshurst to the seven officers which constitute a perfect Lodge.

"Man, the seven-fold being, is the most cherished of all the Creator's works, and hence also it is that the Lodge has seven principle officers, and that a lodge, to be perfect, requires the presence of seven brethren; though the deeper 88

meaning of this phrase is that the individual man, in virtue of his seven-fold constitution, in himself constitutes the "perfect lodge," if he will but know himself and analyze his own nature aright."

The crossbones also have an intriguing Masonic application. In the guidelines provided by the Grand Lodge of Colorado for implementing and conducting a proper chamber of reflection, Masons are informed that "[t]he crossbones are also a hint at the pillars, the portico of man upon which he must stand as he labors in the quarry."6 As Matthew C. Pelham, Sr. demonstrated in his thought provoking article "A Search for More Light in the Symbolism of the Skull and Crossbones," the association between the crossbones, which themselves are always constructed using human femurs or thighbones, and the two pillars of the Temple, stems no doubt from the verse in Song of Solomon which announces in a moving hymn to Deity that "His legs are as pillars." Still, there is another similarity between the pillars of the Masonic Lodge and someone's (or, more specifically, something's) legs which is so absolutely striking that I dare not fail to mention it.

In the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, the ship Argo sailed to Europa in Crete following Jason's legendary retrieval of the golden fleece. On the island of Europa, the Argonauts encountered a great metallic giant called Talos, meaning sun or solar, which was cast wholly of solid bronze. His legs, on the other hand, while also made of bronze, were cast completely hollow, and one of them, it was said, contained a single vein through which flowed the divine ichor or golden blood of the gods. The presence of the ichor within his leg animated the giant, enabling Talos to perform the sole function for which he was created, that is to circumambulate Europa three times daily in order to protect and guard the land from approaching pirates. If the reader will recall, the Pillars of Freemasonry are also said not only to have been hollow and cast from bronze, but according to some traditions within the Craft, it was only one of them which contained the treasured archives of Freemasonry, not unlike Talos' peculiar legs, only one of which was possessive of the Olympic gods' magical ichor. Lastly, it is notable that scholar A. B. Cook ( real ? ) interpreted the myth of Talos as being a veiled allusion to the Masonically relevant lost wax casting method of metallurgy thus bringing us back full circle to the question of the legitimacy of this symbol. 99

Regardless of the negative connotations which may surround the image, the symbol of the skull and crossbones, whether considered exoterically or esoterically, is absolutely possessive of profound Masonic import

Skull and Bones was founded in 1832. It was co-founded by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft as "the Order of the Skull and Bones". The society's assets are managed by the society's alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, incorporated in 1856 and named after the Bones co-founder. The association was founded by Russell and Daniel Coit Gilman, a Skull and Bones member, and later president of the University of California, first president of Johns Hopkins University, and the founding president of the Carnegie Institution.

FF ounding membeerrss

Frederick Ellsworth Mather (1833), Democratic member of the New York State Assembly (1854 – 1857)

Phineas Timothy Miller, (1833) American physician

William Huntington Russell (1833), Connecticut State Legislator, Major General ( of Bertrand Russell )

Alphonso Taft (1833), U.S. Attorney General (1876 – 1877), Secretary of War (1876), Ambassador to Austria- Hungary (1882) andRussia (1884 – 1885), father of William Howard Taft

George Ingersoll Wood (1833), American clergyman 1010

The Seecret Origi ns of Skul l & Bones The story begins at Yale, where three threads of American social history -- espionage, drug smuggling and secret societies -- intertwine into one.

Elihu Yale was born near Boston, educated in London, and served with the British East India Company ( owned by Rothschilds ), eventually becoming governor of Fort Saint George, Madras, in 1687. He amassed a great fortune from Chinese Opium War and returned to England in 1699. Cotton Mather suggested the school be named Yale College, in 1718.

A statue of Nathan Hale stands on Old Campus at Yale University. There is a copy of that statue in front of the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Yet another stands in front of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts (where George H.W. Bush went to prep school and joined a secret society at age twelve).).

Nathan Hale, along with three other Yale graduates, was a member of the "Culper Ring," one of America's first intelligence operations. Established by George Washington, it was successful throughout the Revolutionary War. Nathan was the only operative to be ferreted out by the British, he was hanged in 1776. Ever since the founding of the Republic, the relationship between Yale and the "Intelligence Community" has been unique.

In 1823, Samuel Russell established Russell and Company for the purpose of acquiring opium in Turkey and smuggling it to China. Russell and Company merged with the Perkins (Boston) syndicate in 1830 and became the primary American opium smuggler. Many of the great American and European fortunes were built on the "China"(opium) trade.

One of Russell and Company's Chief of Operations in Canton was Warren Delano, Jr., grandfather of Franklin Roosevelt. Other Russell partners included John Cleve Green (who financed Princeton), Abiel Low (who financed construction of Columbia), Joseph Coolidge and the Perkins, Sturgis and Forbes families. (Coolidge's son organized the 1111

United Fruit company ( CIA front ), and his grandson, Archibald C. Coolidge, was a co-founder of the Council on Foreign Relations.))

William Huntington Russell , Samuel's cousin, studied in Germany from 1831-32. Germany was a hotbed of new ideas. The "scientific method" was being applied to all forms of human endeavour. Prussia, took the principles set forth byby John Locke and Jean Rosseau and created a new educational system. Johan Fitche, in his "Address to the German People," declared that the children would be taken over by the State and told what to think and how to think it..

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel took over Fitche's chair at the University Of Berlin in 1817, and was a professor there until his death in 1831. Hegel was the culmination of the German idealistic philosophy school of Immanuel Kant.

To Hegel, our world is a world of reason. The state is Absolute Reason and the citizen can only become free by worship and obedience to the state. Hegel called the state the "march of God in the world" and the "final end". This final end, Hegel said, "has supreme right against the individual, whose supreme duty is to be a member of the state." Both fascism and communism have their philosophical roots in Hegelianism. Hegelian philosophy was very much in vogue during William Russell's time in Germany.

When Russell returned to Yale in 1832, he formed a senior society with Alphonso Taft . Bones is a chapter of a corps in a German University.... General Russell, its founder, was in Germany before his Senior Year and formed a warm friendship with a leading member of a German society. He brought back with him to college, authority to found a chapter here." So class valedictorian William H. Russell, along with fourteen others, became the founding members of "The Order of Scull and Bones," later changed to "The Order of Skull and Bones".

The secretive Order of Skull and Bones exists only at Yale. Fifteen juniors are "tapped" each year by the seniors to be initiated into next year's group. Some say each initiate is given $15,000 and a grandfather clock. Far from being a campus fun-house, the group is geared more toward the success of its members in the post-collegiate world. 1212

The family names on the Skull and Bones roster roll off the tongue like an elite party list -- Lord, Whitney, Taft, Jay, Bundy, Harriman, Weyerhaeuser, Pinchot, Rockefeller, Goodyear, Sloane, Stimson, Phelps, Perkins, Pillsbury, Kellogg, Vanderbilt, Bush, Lovett and so on.

William Russell went on to become a general and a state legislator in Connecticut. Alphonso Taft was appointed U.S. Attorney General, Secretary of War (a post many "Bonesmen" have held), Ambassador to Austria, and Ambassador to Russia (another post held by many "Bonesmen"). His son, William Howard Taft ('87), is the only man to be both President of the United States and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Some of the world's most famous and powerful men alive today are "bonesmen," including George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush, Senator John Kerry, Austan Goolsbee (Chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers), Nicholas Brady, and William F. Buckley. Other bonesmen include U.S. President William Howard Taft, Morrison R. Waite (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), Henry Luce (Time-Life), Harold Stanley (founder of Morgan Stanley), Frederick W. Smith (founder of Fedex), John Daniels (founder of Archer Daniels Midland), Henry P. Davison (senior partner Morgan Guaranty Trust), Pierre Jay (first chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York), Artemus Gates (President of New York Trust Company, Union Pacific, TIME, Boeing Company), Senator John Chaffe, Russell W. Davenport (editor Fortune Magazine), the first presidents of the University of California, Johns Hopkins University, and Cornell University, and many others. Skull and Bones of Yale University , is the most powerful in USA.

Selecting Future Prime Ministers to Serve the New World Order In his article, ‗Oxford University – The Illuminati Breeding Ground‘, David Icke recounts an incident that demonstrates how these secret societies and groups, working for the Elite, select, train and plan to install their men in key positions. In 1940 a young man addressed a ―study group‖ of the Labor Party in a room at University College Oxford. He stressed that he belonged to a secret group without a name which planned a ―Marxist takeover‖ of Britain, Rhodesia and South Africa by infiltrating the British Parliament and Civil Services. Since the British do not like extremists they dismiss 1313

their critics as ‗right--wingers‘ while themselves posing as ‗moderates‘ (this seems like the anti-Semitism charge by ADL, etc. whenever Israel is criticised). The young man stated that he headed the political wing of that secret group and he expected to be made Prime Minister of Britain some day! The young man was Harold Wilson who became Prime Minister of Britain (1964-70, 1974-76)! All young men studying at Ivy League universities, and at others, must bear in mind they are being continually scrutinised by some of their Professors with the intention of selecting from amongst them, those who will serve the Elite, and become part of a global network of interlocked covert and overt societies and organisations, working for the New World Order. Some of those already selected will be present among them, mingling with them and yet, in their heart, separated from them by a sense of belonging to a brotherhood with a mission that has been going on for a long time. These young men also know they will be rewarded by advancement in career and also that if they falter they could even be killed! Utter secrecy and absolute loyalty is essential to the continued success of this program. This is enforced through fear of murder or bankruptcy and through a cult which probably takes us back to the times of the pyramids and before. Philosophically ‗they‘ believe in Hegelian dialectics through which they justify bringing about horrible wars – euphemistically called ‗controlled conflict‘. Their political ideology is ‗collectivism‘ whereby mankind has to be ‗managed‘ by a group of men, ‗them‘, organised for the purpose – – a hidden ‗dominant minority‘. The Illuminati, the Freemasons, members of other known and unknown secret societies, all mesh together under the wealthiest cabal in human history to take a mesmerised, dormant and battered mankind from one abyss to the next. In his book Memoirs, published in 2002, David Rockefeller, Sr. stated that his family had been attacked by ―ideological extremists‖ for ―more than a century… Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best iinterests of the United States, characterising my family and me as ‗internationalists‘ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure – – one world, if you will. If that‘s the charge, I stand guilty. 1414

If the average college freshman is expecting to step on a campus where he or she leaves behind the stereotypical high school cliques then most will be given a false sense of freedom. Most college students are unknowingly under the yoke of the definite yet predominantly silent hold , the university secret societies possess on what is popularly called college life. Like a bunch of spiders they position themselves in key places on their web so that their slightest touch affects the entire college web.

At the University of Virginia the number 7 mysteriously pops up on campus buildings and other campus fixtures and checks in the amount of 1,777 or 7,777 are sent to the university. For nearly 100 years candidates picked by the most secretive society have virtually always won the University of Alabama's student government elections.

Secret societies put university politics into play like a well-oiled machine. In fact, it is well documented that Machine, University of Alabama's secret society, has used all manner of illegal tricks and threats to both win university elections and discourage opponents from running against them. No one knows the exact membership, their leadership is especially secretive, but Machine's representatives inform potential election candidates what student positions Machine will allow them to pursue. Burning Spear is comprised of the most elite of the student senate and student government association, incidentally most currently belong to Insight Party, the FSU political party that has been sweeping university elections, under one name or another, for several years.

Often considered the first secret collegiate society in North America, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, founded in 1776 by students at the College of William and Mary, was in fact antedated by other societies at the College established as long as a generation earlier. The society had a rudimentary initiation and maintained an uncertain level of secrecy. Since the 1840s, Phi Beta Kappa has operated openly as an academic honor society. Other societies as Chi Phi (1824),Kappa Alpha (1825) and Sigma Phi Society (1827) many of which continue as American collegiate social fraternities (and, later, sororities) to the present day. Sigma Phi remains the oldest continuously running collegiate secret society. Yet there was also a second strain of development, when at Yale University, Chi Delta Theta (1821) and Skull and Bones (1832) were founded — ultimately serving as antecedents for what would become known as class societies. 1515

After Skull & Bones , Scroll & Key (1841), and later Wolf's Head (1883), among students in the senior class. Alpha Delta Phi and Psi Upsilon remained junior class societies there. There were sophomore and freshman societies at Yale as well. A stable system of eight class societies was in place by the late 1840s. Delta Kappa Epsilon is actually a highly successful junior class society, founded at Yale in 1844. None of the 51 chapters the parent chapter spawned operates as a junior society, but DKE did come from the class society system. Likewise, Alpha Sigma Phi started out as a Yale sophomore society and now has 68 chapters (although, again, none of Alpha Sigma Phi's chapters have remained sophomore societies). The development of class societies spread from Yale to other campuses in the northeastern States. Seniors at neighboring Wesleyan established a senior society, Skull & Serpent (1865), and a second society, originally a chapter of Skull and Bones, but then independent as a sophomore society, Theta Nu Epsilon (1870), which began to drastically increase the number of campuses with class societies. William Raimond Baird noted in the 1905 edition of his Manual that, "In addition to the regular fraternities, there are in the Eastern colleges many societies which draw members from only one of the undergraduate classes, and which have only a few features of the general fraternity system." From Wesleyan, the practice spread more widely across the Northeast, with full systems soon in place at Brown, Rutgers, and other institutions. Kappa Sigma Theta, Phi Theta Psi, Delta Beta Xi, Delta Sigma Phi, were all sophomore societies at Yale, and the two large freshman societies of Delta Kappa and Kappa Sigma Epsilon lived until 1880. Delta Kappa established chapters at Amherst, the University of North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, Dartmouth College, and Centre College. Kappa Sigma Epsilon had chapters at Amherst, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Dartmouth. Other class societies existed at Brown, Harvard, Syracuse, Colgate, Cornell, and other Northeastern institutions. At universities such as Colgate University, these secret societies have evolved and morphed over the years. Theta Nu Epsilon spread to about 120 colleges and universities, but many of its chapters operated as three-year societies .

Colgate University 1616

Since being founded in 1819, Colgate University has had a rich tradition of student societies. Over the years, Colgate has had numerous secret societies with various degrees of secrecy. Although there have been many underground organizations on the Colgate campus, the first secret honour society on record is the Skull and Scroll society founded in 1908. Members of the Skull and Scroll wore white hats with a black skull and scroll added to them. The Skull and Scroll had a rich history of membership with important names in Colgate history such as Ellery Huntington, Melbourne Read, and Harold Whitnall. The Gorgon's Head, was founded in 1912 and had members that wore black hats with a golden emblem. The Gorgon's Head chose people for traits such as character, distinguished service, and achievement. These two organizations merged in 1934 to create the Konosioni senior honour society. Konosioni initially was tasked with enforcing rules, such as mandating that all freshman have to wear green beanies, with the punishment of paddling. The 1970s saw a change in course for the society as it became focused on leadership and the community. Konosioni now leads torch light processions for first-year students during Convocation and for seniors during Graduation.

The College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, was home to the first known secret collegiate society in the United States, the F.H.C. Society (founded in 1750). The initials of the society stand for a Latin phrase, likely "Fraternitas, Humanitas, et Cognitio" or "Fraternitas Humanitas Cognitioque" (two renderings of "brotherhood, humaneness, and knowledge"), but it has long been publicly nicknamed the "Flat Hat Club". William & Mary alumnus and third American president, Thomas Jefferson, was perhaps the most famous member of the F.H.C. Society. Other notable members of the original society included Col. James Innes, St. George Tucker , and George Wythe. Jefferson noted that, "When I was a student of Wm. & Mary college of this state, there existed a society called the F.H.C. society, confined to the number of six students only, of which I was a member, but it had no useful object, nor do I know whether it now exists." The best opinion is that the society did not survive the British invasion of Virginia at the end of the American Revolution. The society was revived in 1916 (at first, as the Flat Hat Club) and revived again in 1972. 1717

William & Mary students John Heath and William Short (Class of 1779) founded the nation's first collegiate Greek - letter organization, Phi Beta Kappa, on December 5, 1776, as a secret literary and philosophical society. Additional chapters were established in 1780 and 1781 at Yale and Harvard. With nearly 300 chapters across the country and no longer secret, Phi Beta Kappa has grown to become the nation's premier academic honor society. Alumni John Marshall and Bushrod Washington were two of the earliest members of the society, elected in 1778 and 1780, respectively. During American Civil War , several societies to disappear, many were revived during the 20th century. Some of the secret societies known to currently exist at the College are: The 7 Society, 13 Club, Alpha Club, Bishop James Madison Society, Flat Hat Club, The Spades, W Society, and Wren Society.

Cornell University Cornell University has a rich history of secret societies on campus. Andrew Dickson White, the first President of Cornell University and himself a Bonesman, is said to have encouraged the formation of a "secret society" on campus. In the early years, the fraternities were called the "secret societies," but as the Greek system developed into a larger, more public entity, "secret society" began to refer only to the class societies. In the early twentieth century, Cornell students belonged to sophomore, junior, and senior societies, as well as honorary societies for particular fields of study. The majority of the societies disappeared or became inactive in a very short time period, and today, the two organizations which operate on campus are: Sphinx Head (founded in 1890) and Quill and Dagger (founded in 1893).

Notable Members: E. B. White, Marc Lacey, Oswald C. Brewster, Paul Wolfowitz

Interesting Facts: Quill and Dagger was the first of the Ivy League societies to admit women into its ranks. With membership now being too difficult to conceal, the names of newly tapped Quill and Dagger members, like those of several other secret societies at other campuses, are published in Cornell's student newspaper. Quill and Dagger, 1818

however, takes this one step further and publishes a book, available on Amazon, with the names and addresses for each member. This society has also embraced social media and operates a LinkedIn group for alumni.

Infamous Incidents: In the early '90s, Quill and Dagger was accused of ―blackballing‖ activist minorities who were against "the establishment." Minorities, who otherwise would have been on the short list for getting tapped, weren‘t admitted if they took part in any activist movements that current members and alumni saw as anti-establishment. However, at the time of this accusation, 12 of the 40 members of Quill and Dagger were minorities.

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College's Office of Residential Life states that the earliest senior societies on campus date to 1783 and "continue to be a vibrant tradition within the campus community." Six of the eight senior societies keep their membership secret, while the other societies maintain secretive elements. According to the college, "approximately 25% of the senior class members are affiliated with a senior society." The college's administration of the society system at Dartmouth focuses on keeping track of membership and tapping lists, and differs from that of Yale's, though there are historical parallels between the two colleges' societies.

Dickinson College The Raven's Claw is an all-male senior honorary society at Dickinson College. It was founded in 1896, making it the first society unique toDickinson College. Membership is limited to seven senior men who are selected by the seven previous members. The new members are chosen based on a variety of factors, these include: campus leadership, a solid academic record, and athletic participation. New members are inducted in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of Old West." The ceremony is traditionally conducted during commencement weekend. They are called "claws" or "white hats", denoting the white caps they wear around campus to signify unity and loyalty. While the members of the group are known, the majority of their actions and traditions are concealed. The group prides itself in serving the Dickinson College and Carlisle, Pennsylvania communities through discreet service activities. The group's 1919 alumni organization is also responsible for founding one of the college's largest scholarship funds and the McAndrews Fund for athletics. Founded in 2001, The Order of Scroll and Key is a senior honour society at Dickinson College which recognizes seven senior men each year. Every member is tapped at the end of their junior year on the basis of their dedication to the College and the surrounding Carlisle community. Their current membership includes fraternity presidents, community advisers, community service leaders, as well as many other individuals. Their alumni have gone on to be successful community leaders, businessmen, artists, etc. The Order of Scroll and Key works to benefit numerous area charities and philanthropies, and in recent years has supported Carlisle C.A.R.E.S., Safe Harbor, and Sadler Health Clinic, among others. As one of Dickinson's distinctive "hat" societies, members can always be recognized by the gray hats that they wear. Wheel and Chain is Dickinson College's Senior Women's Honorary Society. Founded in 1924, members are elected in the spring of their junior year on the basis of participation in campus activities, service to the college and community, leadership skills and personal character. Membership is limited to ten senior women. New members are inducted in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of Old West" in April. In May, each incoming Wheel and Chain class ceremoniously rings the bell in Denny Hall during Commencement ceremonies. Colloquially known as the "blue hats", members are known to the public; however, the society's activities remain secret. Georgetown University In 1903the Jesuits formed an all-male secret society called the Society of Stewards to work anonymously and in the shadows to ensure that the core traditions that established Georgetown as a Jesuit university are kept safe. Since then, the Society of Stewards has been known to tap promising student leaders in their sophomore and junior year to join them in order to uphold Georgetown's Catholic identity amidst American secularization. While not much is known about the secret society, a Georgetown student newspaper leaked details of their existence in 1988 which sparked outcry from students who protested that the society promoted elitism and exclusivity. In the early nineties, the Society of Stewards split in two over ideological reasons, one group claiming to be the "true line" of stewards, while the other taking up the name the "Second Society of Stewards." The original group dwindled and died out during the 1990s, but 2020

leaks and exposes throughout the past decade show that the Second Society of Stewards is still very much active and at the forefront of the Georgetown community. At their purported meeting place in the dark cellars of Healy Hall, the words "Circuli Crux Non Orbis Prosunt" are grafitied in blood red along the walls. Four of the eight student body presidential and vice presidential candidates in the 2014 election were also revealed to be Stewards, though the issue was not as contentious as it had been the year before.

Georgia Institute of Technology[ The Anak Society is the oldest known secret society and honor society at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, Georgia. The society's name refers to Anak , a biblical figure said to be the forefather of a race of giants. Although not originally founded as a secret society, Anak has kept its activities and membership rosters confidential since 1961. Membership is made public upon a student's graduation or a faculty member's retirement. The Anak Society's membership comprises at least 1,100 Georgia Tech graduates, faculty members, and honorary members. The society has been influential in the history of Georgia Tech. Anak played a major role in establishing several of Georgia Tech's most active student organizations .

Harvard University[ Harvard has final clubs, fraternities, sororities, and a variety of other secret or semi-secret organizations. Final clubs are secretive about their election procedures, and they have secret initiations and meetings. However, there is little secrecy about who is a member. They are larger than secret societies generally are (approximately forty students per club). Guests are admitted under restrictions. However the Porcellian, AD, Fox and Fly clubs are somewhat stricter than the others, having rules against admitting non-members to most areas of their buildings. "Punch Season" and the "Final Dinner" is analogous to "Tap" at Yale. 2121

Final clubs at Harvard include The Porcellian Club (1791), originally called The Argonauts; The Delphic Club (1846); The Fly Club, (1836), a successor of Alpha Delta Phi; The Phoenix - S K Club (1897); The Owl Club, originally called Phi Delta Psi, (1896); The Fox Club (1898); The Spee Club; and The Oak Club (2005), a successor of Delta Upsilon(1890) and later The D.U. "Duck" Club (1940). There are also five female clubs: The Bee Club (1991), The Isis Club (2000), The Sablière Society (2002), The Pleiades Society (2002), and La Vie Club (2008). Harvard also has five fraternities, Kappa Sigma, Sigma Chi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Delta Kappa Epsilon, and four sororities: Delta Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Alpha Phi. These organizations are semi-secret in nature, have secret initiation processes and meetings but a more transparent process for gaining membership. All three sororities and the Sigma Chi fraternity also have rules against admitting non-members to many parts of their buildings. There are also several final clubs and fraternities which are now defunct, including Pi Eta Speakers, The D.U. "Duck" Club, Delta Upsilon, Pi Kappa Alpha, and The Iroquois. Approximately 10% of men and 5% of women are in final clubs. Approximately 7% of men and 15% of women are in Greek letter organizations. Additionally, an unknown number of students are in other secretive on-campus groups. Other secretive social groups include the Hasty Pudding Club, Harvard Lampoon, Harvard Advocate, the Signet Society, and The Seneca. Finally, Harvard Lodge is a university Masonic lodge, founded in 1922 by Harvard Law School Dean/Professor Roscoe Pound, members of the Harvard Square & Compass Club, and members of the Harvard Masonic Club (which included Theodore Roosevelt). It is the oldest academic lodge in North America, its membership is restricted to males with a Harvard affiliation, and it operates in the building of Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, overlooking Boston Common. 2222

Eucleian Society

Institution: New York University, Founded: 1832, Notable Members: John Harvey Kellogg, Walter Reed, Frederic Tuten

NYU's Eucleian Society, while exceptionally secret today, wasn‘t always so. The society initially served as a literary and debate group for students that often hosted lectures that were open to the public. One of the most notable lecturers? Edgar Allen Poe, who became such a popular guest among the group that they nicknamed themselves "The Raven Society" after Poe‘s most famous poem. Now, little is known about who the members are and what they do, as the society‘s records have been redacted or written in a symbolic shorthand understood only by members.

In 2009, the Eucleian Society set off beepers in classrooms across campus with the intention of disrupting class to deliver this message: ―Fellow Classmates, Truth is something you find outside of the classroom, outside of the walls of this university, and only from the professor in front of you insofar as he can serve as an experienced guide. We‘re not here to preach. We‘re here to simply say, NYU has its secrets too. This is your friendly wake-up call. Regards, The Eucleian Society‖

Pennsylvania State University There are currently three well-known societies at the Pennsylvania State University: Parmi Nous (1907), Lion's Paw (1908), and Skull and Bones (1912). Penn State has seen a number of different honorary societies with varying levels of publicity and activity. In 1907, the first "hat" society, so-named because of such organizations' emblematic headwear, Druids, was formed; similar societies expanded and included dedicated groups for women (e.g. Chimes, Scrolls) and men (e.g. Blue Key, Androcles) based on class standing and extracurricular involvement. These groups were temporarily governed by a "Hat Society Council" which was made up of representatives from each organization from 1948 to 1958. Hat societies were involved in University life passing down traditions (called "freshmen customs") for first-year students, forming honour guards for football players as they went 2323

on to the field, and recognizing leaders, scholars, and athletes in the Penn State community. The three remaining senior societies no longer operate as publicly but continue to serve the University in a variety of functions. Princeton University Princeton's eating clubs are not fraternities, nor are they secret societies by any standard measure, but they are often seen as being tenuously analogous. Additionally, Princeton has fraternities; the most visible is a chapter of St. Anthony Hall, Delta Psi. The 21 Club, an all- male drinking society, is also a notorious Princeton secret society. Princeton also has a long tradition of underground societies. While secret society membership is relatively public at some schools, Princeton's historical secret society rolls are very secretive. One such society is Phi (pronounced fē ), a society dating to 1929 when members of the Whig society splintered off after the merger of the Whig and Cliosophic debating societies. Phi's membership is secretive and difficult to discern, because no more than 10 active "Phis" exist at one time: Phis usually receive offers at the end of their 3rd year. As an adaptation to Princeton's stringent anti-society rules, each active class does not meet the preceding class that selected it until the 1st of June (after their first Reunions and before graduation). 1.6... is the Golden Ratio, hence the namePhi. Another society is the exclusively female Foxtail Society, founded in 1974 soon after Princeton began admitting women in 1969. The society was founded in response to the lack of eating clubs open to women. While admittance numbers have changed over the years, the Foxtail selects anywhere from 10 to 15 women to become members at the end of their junior year.

Rutgers University As eighth oldest of the colleges in the United States, Rutgers University has had several secret societies on campus. Documented societies date as far back as 1834 with the establishment of the Poor Knights of the Order of the Bull's Blood (also known as "Lodge 443"), and 1872 with the establishment of the Sword and Serpent. Students associated with these societies were allegedly involved in the Rutgers-Princeton Cannon War in 1876. At the turn of the 20th century, Rutgers had developed two full sets of class year societies based on the Yale model, down to the freshman societies such as the Chain and Bones and Serpent and Coffin. The senior class societies at Rutgers included the 2424

Brotherhood of the Golden Dagger (1898 – 1940), Casque and Dagger (1901), Order of the Red Lion (2006) and Cap and Skull (1900). Cap and Skull is no longer secret society and was dissolved in the 1960s after complaints of elitism. In 1982 the name was revived for university-sanctioned senior-year honour society.

The Order of the Bull’s Blood

Notable Members: Garret A. Hobart, Louis Freeh, Milton Friedman

Interesting Facts: The Order of the Bull‘s Blood is so secretive that many don‘t believe it actually exists. Others believe that while the society does exist, it has made up its history in order to be more like the societies of the Ivy League. Nevertheless, its presence is best marked through a slew of pranks, all of which have taken place on Princeton University

University of Georgia The University of Georgia is home to a chapter of the Order of Omega, an honour society which selects the top 3% of Greek Fraternity students for membership. A group unique to UGA is the men's secret society known as the Order of the Greek Horsemen which annually inducts five fraternity men, all leaders of the Greek Fraternity system. Likewise, the highest achievement a male can attain at the University is claimed by the Gridiron Secret Society. Palladia Secret Society was founded in the early 1960s as the highest honour a woman can attain at the University of Georgia. Palladia inducts approximately 12 women each fall and has an extensive network of alumni, including administrators at the University of Georgia and prominent female leaders across the state. One of the debate societies on campus is said to have a secret society associated with it. The Panhellenic sororities also have a secret society known as Trust of the Pearl, which inducts five accomplished sorority women each spring. 2525

University of Miam Iron Arrow Honor Society Iron Arrow Honor Society, founded in 1926 in conjunction with the University of Miami's opening, is the Highest Honor Attained at the University of Miami.

University of Michigan The University of Michigan Ann Arbor hosts three secret societies: Order of Angell, Phoenix, and the Vulcan Senior Engineering Society. Order of Angell and Phoenix were once under the umbrella group "The Tower Society", the name referring to their location in the top of the Michigan Union tower. Michigauma (Order of Angell) was all male while Adara (Phoenix) was all female. Order of Angell, known as "Order", is an evolved version of a previous society Michigauma. It was inspired by the rituals and culture of the Native Americans of the United States. Since its creation in 1902 the group is credited with creating Dance Marathon, one of the largest charitable events at the University of Michigan and construction of the Michigan Union for which it was granted permanent space in the top floors of the tower which they refer to as the "tomb". In 2007 the group changed its name to Order of Angell. Phoenix, (formerly known as Adara) holding to astrological roots, formed in the late 1970s by the women leaders on campus. In the early 80's they joined the tower society and occupied the 6th floor of the tower just below Michigamua. Phoenix, alongside Order, is now co-ed. Vulcan Senior Engineering Society, known as "the Vulcans", occupied the 5th floor of the Union tower though were not formally a part of the tower society. They draw their heritage from the Roman god Vulcan. The group which used to do its tapping publicly is known for its long black robes and for its financial contributions of the University of Michigan College of Engineering. 2626

University of Missouri In 1895, the Alpha Theta Chapter of the Theta Nu Epsilon sophomore society was founded under the guidance of faculty member Luther DeFoe. DeFoe also served as a mentor to the founding members of the QEBH senior men's society, which was founded in 1898. Mystical Seven was founded in 1907 and has become the second most well known society on campus. Some have suggested that Missouri's Mystical Seven was modeled after Virginia's Seven Society, which had been established just a couple years earlier. Other secret societies followed, including Society of the Hidden Eye for junior/senior men, LSV for senior women, Thadstek for freshman/sophomore men, Tomb and Key for freshman/sophomore men, and Kappa Kappa whose membership composition was unknown. During this period of rapid expansion of secret societies, a network of sub-rosa inter-fraternity organizations also established itself on campus with no purpose other than socializing and mischief making. This network, known commonly as the "Greek Underworld" included organizations such as Seven Equals, Kappa Beta Phi, Sigma Phi Sigma, Kappa Nu Theta, and Sigma Alpha Beta.. Mizzou is currently home to at least six secret honour societies that still participate in annual public Tap Day ceremonies at the end of each spring semester. QEBH, Mystical Seven, LSV, Alpha Xi Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, Friars Chapter of Mortar Board, and Rollins Society each use the Tap Day ceremony at the conclusion of the year to reveal the members who were initiated over the past year. Missouri is one of few remaining institutions in which the local Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board chapters carry out much of their work in secrecy. The Jefferson Society, which attempted to take part in Tap Day and was denied, claims to have been around since 1862. In addition to Tap Day activities, several of the societies maintain a public presence during some athletic events. QEBH is the caretaker of the Victory Bell, along with Nebraska's Society of Innocents, awarded to the winner of the Missouri – Nebraska Rivalry football game each year. The Friars Chapter of Mortar Board exchanges a gavel with Nebraska (The Black Masque Chapter of Mortar Board) at each MU-UNL football game. Mystical Seven and Oklahoma's Pe-et Society were likewise entrusted with the Peace Pipe trophy that was awarded to the winner of the biennial Missouri- Oklahoma football match. Omicron Delta Kappa previously served as caretaker of the Indian War Drum trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Border War football game between Missouri and Kansas. 2727

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill contains the archives of the Order of Gimghoul, a secret society headquartered at the Gimghoul Castle. The order was founded in 1889 by Robert Worth Bingham, Shepard Bryan, William W. Davies, Edward Wray Martin, and Andrew Henry Patterson, who were students at the time. The society is open to male students (rising juniors and higher), and faculty members by invitation. The society centers itself around the legend of Peter Dromgoole, a student who mysteriously disappeared from the UNC campus in 1833. The founders originally called themselves the Order of Dromgoole, but later changed it to the Order of Gimghoul to be, "in accord with midnight and graves and weirdness," according to the university's archives. Tradition has it that the order upheld the "Dromgoole legend and the ideals of Arthurian knighthood and chivalry." From all accounts, the order is social in nature, and has no clandestine agenda. Membership is closed and information about the order is strictly confidential, as is access to archives which are less than 50 years old. The Order of the Gorgon's Head, another secret society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was founded in 1896 by Darius Eatman, Edward Kidder Graham, Ralph Henry Graves, Samuel Selden Lamb, Richard Henry Lewis, Jr., and Percy DePonceau Whitaker. Membership has always been limited to male members of the junior, senior, professional, and post-graduate classes along with male faculty members. Inductees may not be members of other societies. Officers include Princeps (chief officer), Quaestor, and Scriptor. The purpose of the Order is to promote friendship, good will, and social fellowship among its members. The Order of the Gorgon's Head was one of two "junior orders" established at the University in the 1890s. The two orders had written agreements that they would not attempt to recruit freshmen or sophomores. Each order had a lodge (the Gimghouls later built a castle), where members gathered for meetings and events. Each had secret rituals based on myths. Those of the Order of the Gorgon's Head centered on the myth of the Gorgons, three monstrous sisters prominent in ancient Greek and Roman lore. The University's library also contains the archives of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies. The Societies were founded in 1795 by some of the first students to attend the University, and are the oldest public school societies in the nation. While at first maintaining strict secrecy in their proceedings, the Societies' meetings are now generally open to 2828

the public; however, the Societies reserve the right at all times to call an "Executive Session", at which point all non- members are escorted from the chambers. All undergraduates may attempt to join one of the two societies by petitioning, but only a select few are admitted, upon mutual agreement between current Society members. Most recently, in 2011, the Daily Tar Heel reported the first of two donations to campus entities by a secret society named Infinity. In 2011, the society gifted $888.88 to the Eve Carson Scholarship fund, which honors the late Student Body President Eve Carson. In 2012, the society gifted $888.88 to the Student Enrichment Fund, a student-created fund allowing students to apply for grants to attend off-campus events such as speeches, conferences or other academic or extracurricular opportunities. The significance of the digit '8' comes from the symbol for infinity that resembles an eight on its side. The Order of Gimghoul is headquartered in an on-campus castle rumored to be constructed on the spot of Peter Dromgoole‘s disappearance in 1833. Legend has it that Dromgoole entered a duel over a girl he fancied and lost, his blood forever staining a rock that now resides next to the castle‘s entrance. Originally called the Order of Dromgoole, the name was changed to Gimghoul because it sounded creepier and more sinister. The society operates around the legendary values of chivalry and Arthurian life. To this day, little is known about who the members are, how they are chosen, and what they actually do.

The Chris Gethard Show, a public access show out of New York, made several allegations against the members of the Order of Gimghoul regarding rape in recent years. The show even went as far as going to the campus to demand that someone speak to them. However, all of these allegations have remained unfounded.

University of Pennsylvania At UPenn, secret societies are smaller than their Greek counterparts, and tend to vary in degree of secrecy. [63][64] There are three senior honorary societies. The Sphinx Senior Society and the Friars Senior Society were both founded at the turn of the 20th century, while The Mortar Board Senior Society was founded in 1922. None of these societies was 2929

intended to be secret, in that their undergraduate and alumni membership were and continue to be publicly known, they share many of the characteristics of undergraduate secret societies of the time; they tap a diverse group of campus leaders to become members during their senior year, organize social and service activities throughout the year, and maintain an extensive network of successful and notable alumni. Alumni of Friars, for example, include Harold Ford Jr. and Ed Rendell; the Sphinx alumni roster boastsRichard A. Clarke and John Legend. In addition, there are several other groups called "secret societies". These groups generally denote a social club that is independent of any official organization. For this reason, the society is not regulated by the university and is not accountable to a national organization. University of Southern California The University of Southern California is home to the Skull and Dagger Society. Founded in 1913, Skull and Dagger is USC‘s oldest honour society. The Society inducts Trojans who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership on campus or who have brought fame and notoriety to the University. In the early 20th century, the Society published its members names and accomplishments, however in recent years has kept its members' identities secret. Members often include student body presidents, Daily Trojan editors in chief, All-American athletes, football team captains and inter-fraternity council presidents. Little is known about the rituals and practices of the society aside from once a year when the society pranks the school, drops a banner from the Student Union Building, and runs through campus wearing odd hats and tailcoats. Recently, the society has been criticized for its annual prank practice with opponents stating the pranks ―damage the trustworthiness and credibility of respected campus services.‖ Although originally an all-male society, Skull and Dagger now admits women. Skull and Dagger has been known to make gifts to the University. In 1994, the Society donated "The Wall of Scholars" to honor students who have won national and international fellowships, as well as recipients of USC awards. In 2011, the Society embarked to restore the University's class marker tradition and has been donating class markers ever since. Skull and Dagger has additionally endowed two scholarships, which are awarded annually to students "who have demonstrated significant campus and/or community leadership." 3030

University of Virginia Secret societies have been a part of University of Virginia student life since the founding of the Eli Banana society in 1878. Early secret societies, such as Eli Banana and T.I.L.K.A., had secret initiations but public membership; some, such as the Hot Feet, now the IMP Society, were very public, incurring the wrath of the administration for public revels. The first truly "secret society" was the Seven Society, founded circa 1905. Two decades before, there had been a chapter of the Mystical 7 society at Virginia, which may have been an inspiration. Nothing is known about the Seven Society except for their philanthropy to the University; members are revealed at their death. A few other societies that flourished around the turn of the 20th century, such as the Z Society (formerly Zeta), who were founded in 1892, the IMP Society, reformulated in 1913 after the Hot Feet were banned in 1908, and Eli Banana, are still active at the University today. The Thirteen Society was founded February 13, 1889. After an unknown period of inactivity they reemerged in 2004. Currently The Thirteen Society operates as a mainly honorary society for those who demonstrate "unselfish service to the University and excellence in their respective fields of activity". New societies have periodically appeared at the University during the 20th century. The most notable are the P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society, a secret group that rewards contributions to the University and which was founded prior to 1970; and the Society of the Purple Shadows, founded 1963, who are only seen in public in purple robes and hoods and who seek to "safeguard vigilantly the University traditions". The A.N.G.E.L.S. Society started sometime in the late 1900s is known to place white roses and letters on doors of those mourning, needing encouragement, or showing "kind behavior" to others. They are known to promote a stronger community of kindness throughout the University, completing many acts of service for students and faculty. Many of the secret societies listed contribute to the University either financially or through awards or some other form of recognition of excellence at the University. Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia is known for two secret societies, the Sigma Society and the Cadaver Society. Founded in 1880, the Sigma Society is one of Washington and Lee's "oldest, continuous social organizations." While membership information is not necessarily anonymous, the group's purpose and inner workings remain a secret. The 3131

group has long had a connection to President George Washington, though the extent of that relationship is unknown to the public at large. Similarly, the acronym P.A.M.O.L.A. R.Y.E. - which can be seen inscribed on buildings and in classrooms throughout the Lexington area - also bears an unknown significance to the group. The group has largely gone underground since undergoing a public spat with the University in 1994 when University officials paid the Sigmas $15,000 after it tore down the Sigma cabin. As noted by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Associate Justice to the Supreme Court Lewis Powell, Jr. is one of the group's most prominent members. The membership and organizational structure of the Cadaver Society are largely unknown. Cadaver has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1957. The Cadavers have a bridge that bears their name, connecting the main campus to Wilson Field, as well as their symbol in many prominent places throughout the campus. The society has been criticized for their secrecy

The Cadaver Society is thought to be comprised of mostly pre-med students, but no one really knows since membership is still successfully kept in the dark. Meetings only occur after dark, with members dressed in black capes with hoods to conceal their faces. The meeting place is unknown, but it has been speculated that there is a system of underground passageways used by the members to keep themselves invisible from the rest of campus. Many theories exist regarding the entrances to these passageways, including suspicious doors that are always locked in the science building's basement, manhole covers, and a small door in the wall of the Leyburn Library. Its symbol — a skull inside of a ‘C’ — can be seen across campus and is most often left at the scene of various pranks.

Yale University The term "secret society" at Yale University encompasses organizations with many shared but not identical characteristics. The oldest surviving undergraduate secret societies at Yale parallel various 19th-century fraternal organizations. In the traditional Yale system societies were organized by class year. There were two, (then three), senior societies, three junior societies, two sophomore societies, and two freshman societies. All the societies were independent, all had 3232

their own traditions, and each class-year pair or trio shared common traits appropriate to their class year; the freshmen societies were rambunctious and owned little real property, the sophomore and junior ones were progressively more elaborate, (the sophomore ones regularly maintained live theatre in their halls), and the senior ones were extremely small and elite, and with quite expensive property and celebrations. Each of the societies had a link to a society in the class year before it and after it; that is, members of one freshman society would all get elected to the same sophomore society year after year, and so on, so that there were two or three parallel sets of linked societies. From time to time, there would be a coup, and one society would break the pattern, forcing the other societies to likewise change election strategies, or cause the creation of a new society. Delta Kappa Epsilon, a junior society, was created in reaction to a botched election process to the junior class societies in 1844. This process held from the 1840s to the 1910s. This system kept Yale out of the more typical intercollegiate college fraternity system, although some regular college fraternities were created out of the Yale system. Yale-type class societies also extended across northeastern colleges.

This system has not survived the introduction of regular fraternities and other changes. The senior class societies continue to prosper today without any of the lower class societies. A similar system was introduced at Wesleyan University in nearby Middletown, Connecticut, but with a pair of societies in each class year and dual memberships between class societies and college fraternities, so that most class society members were also fraternity members. The older societies survived because of their endowments, real estate, and the vigor of their respective alumni organizations and their charitable Trusts. In the past century, the size of Yale has allowed for a wider variety of student societies, including regular college fraternity chapters, and other models, so that it can be difficult to categorize the organizations. And there are societies like Sage and Chalice and St. Anthony Hall which cross ordinary categories. There are typical attributes of the Yale societies. They are often restricted by class year, especially the senior class. They usually have fifteen members per class year. They "tap" their members, mostly on the same "Tap Night," and a 3333

member is off-limits to recruitment by another secret society, (i.e. reciprocal exclusivity) The normal pattern now is that a group of secret societies places an advertisement in the Yale Daily News in early spring that informs students when Tap Night is taking place and when students should expect to receive formal offers (usually 1 week before official Tap Night). Tap Night is typically held on a Thursday in mid April; the most recently held Tap Night was April 10, 2014. From 1854-1956, "'Sheff'," the Sheffield Scientific School was the sciences and engineering college of Yale University, and it also had a fraternal culture that differed in some respects from the humanities campus. Many societies have owned meeting halls, with different accommodations. Following the example of Skull & Bones, the halls are often referred to as 'tombs'. A series of articles on Dartmouth and Yale secret society architecture provides an overview of the buildings. Societies that own tombs or halls are sometimes known as 'landed' societies. The three oldest landed societies are Skull and Bones (1832),Scroll and Key, (1841) and Wolf's Head, (1883). The surviving landed Sheffield societies are Berzelius (1848) and Book and Snake (1863),St. Elmo (1889), and the Aurelian Honor Society (1910). St. Anthony Hall (1867) calls itself a "final society". Three newer societies that own property include Elihu (1903) – whose building is the oldest of the senior society buildings at Yale – Manuscript Society (1952), and Mace and Chain (1956). Yale's Buildings and Grounds Department lists the societies with halls in its online architectural database. There may be any number of unknown or underground secret societies at Yale. Any group of students may self- constitute themselves as a society at any time. Certainly there have been many which did not last long enough to leave any significant records. Indeed, the Yale Rumpushas in recent years published names of students it believes are in various secret societies. According to the Rumpus, numerous other societies (such as Cup and Crown, Phoenix ("Cage and Feather"), Nathan Hale, WIPS, L&C, Looking Glass, Spade and Grave, Boar and Rampant, Ox, ISO, Truth and Courage, Linonia, Llama and Cardigan, Red Mask, Crab and Bell, Ceres Athena, Gryphon, Fork and Knife, Ink and Needle, etc.) are either active or have been active recently. They typically meet in off campus apartments, fraternity common rooms, classrooms, and other available spaces. Some groups have enough resources to rent a permanent meeting space. Given the extracurricular zeal and competition for society spots evident in the Yale student body culture, a definitive list of secret societies that exist on the campus (or on any campus) can change year by year. 3434

Rounding out Yale‘s ―big three‖ along with Scroll and Key, Wolf‘s Head was created by a number of junior males from Skull and Bones or the aforementioned. Wolf‘s Head was the last all-male society at Yale, finally tapping women in 1992. The society's ―tomb,‖ dubbed "The Hall," is the largest of the university's secret societies.

Jessica Alba‘s husband, Cash Warren, is an alumnus of Wolf‘s Head and, he once brought the starlet to a meeting. Pictures from Alba‘s visit were leaked, disclosing the members and giving the public a glimpse of The Hall.

8 SECRET SOCIETIES IN THE WORLD!

Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis is a mystic organization that was started in the early twentieth century. The group was established along the same lines as the less secretive Freemasons, and supposedly relies on ritual and occult practices as a means for members to move from one level of prestige to another within the organization. The general philosophy of the group was a belief in new age esoteric principles and practices as a method of realizing one‘s true identity. Famed occultist and all-around eccentric Aleister Crowley composed much of the group‘s lore, including a manifesto called the Mysteria Mystica Maxima, and he later became its head. After his death, the influence and popularity of Ordo Templi Orientis began to wane, but it still exists today and has various chapters scattered across the world, chiefly in the United States, the U.K., and other parts of Europe.

As Aleister Crowley‘s popularity as a new age figure has continued to grow, more and more of the teachings of the Ordo Templi Orientis have come to light. As such, the group makes much less of an attempt to be secretive today than it did in the past. This doesn‘t mean that they don‘t still have some bizarre practices. Chief among these is the group‘s fixation on the sexual, especially their teachings on the ―adoration of the phallus‖ and the magic of masturbation. 3535

The Bilderberg Group No members, but attendees have included Ben Bernanke, the royal families of Spain and the Netherlands, World Bank officials, and representatives from major corporations

The Bilderberg Group is not a secret society per se, but it does operate under a similar veil of mystery. The group was started in 1954, and since then it has convened every year as an exclusive, invitation-only conference of various world leaders, captains of industry, and media moguls. No press is allowed in the conference and no significant details concerning the topics discussed are ever officially released to the public. Secrecy, along with the intense security of the meeting sites, which often feature armed guards, police, and even fighter jets patrolling the skies overhead are some noticeable features . The most popular is that the group tries to steer the direction of public policy, financial markets, and media in certain prescribed directions of their choosing, perhaps even with the goal of forming ―one world government.‖

Hashshashin – The Order of Assassins The Hashshashin, or Nizari, were a mysterious band of Muslim assassins that operated in the Middle East during the 13th century. The group was made up of Shia Muslims who broke off from a bigger sect and banded together in order to establish a utopian Shi‘ite state. Because their number was small, the group used guerilla tactics in their battle against their enemies, including espionage, sabotage, and, most famously, political assassination. The Hashshashin would plant highly trained moles inside enemy strongholds, with instructions to only attack when the time was right. They were known for their extreme discretion in minimizing civilian casualties, as well as their penchant for using stealth to intimidate their targets.

Around the time of their downfall, the library that contained all Nizari records was destroyed, so much of what is known about them today has taken on the status of myth. The most controversial legend centers of the group‘s use of 3636

drugs and other intoxicants – – ―Hashshashin‖ translates roughly as ―Hashish user‖– which some have said were employed by the members in battle. This has been widely discredited, but the term ―Hashshashin‖ as it refers to the Nizari is believed to be the origin of the modern word ―assassin.‖

The Black Hand The Black Hand was a secret society of anti-imperialist political revolutionaries that was started in Serbia in 1912. It formed as an offshoot from Narodna Adbrona, a group that sought to unite all of the Slavic people of Europe under one country. This required the separation of Serbia from the monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which had annexed the country some years before. Black Hand would be all but forgotten today if not for their unlikely involvement in one of the biggest events of the twentieth century. In 1914, the group engineered the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The job was badly botched, and was only completed when a low-level hood named Gavrilo Princip stumbled upon the Archduke‘s car and shot him to death at close range. Still, the results of the assassination were catastrophic. Within days, Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia, and after the allies of both countries joined the fray, the small dispute managed to escalate into WWI. The aftermath of WWI eventually led to WWII, and this led to the Cold War, which makes the Black Hand one of the most strangely influential forces of the twentieth century.

The Boule' Sigma Pi Phi

Incorporated, founded May 15, 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the 1st black fraternity in america and was before the 1st black "college" frat, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated which was founded December 4, 1906. The Boule' is a black GREEK secret society based on another secret society founded at Yale University called Skull & Bones. The Boule's primary founder was Dr. Henry Minton (along with Dr.'s Eugene T. Henson, Edwin Clarence Howard, Algernon Brashear Jackson, Robert Jones Abele and Richard John Warrick), of Philadelphia. 3737

DuBois emphasized, as Cokely stated, Quote: "the importance to steal the black professional away from Garvey because an Afrocentric organization that articulated and captured the black professional would give YT no safe haven in the black community, so the Boule' — the remaking of the house negro was necessary to build a group of negroes who had an investment in protecting the white systemas produced by YT having stolen this land...This is post reconstruction. Taking away the articulate negro, now desiring to replace them with organized institutions to keep them away from self improvement. So we find in the same period, as the founding of the Boule', the founding of the 4 black male (Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, and Phi Beta Sigma) and 4 black female (Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, and Sigma Gamma Rho) college-based fraternities and sororities...We also find the founding of the NAACP and Urban League."" The name Boule' is a greek term, meaning "advisor's to the king". The question is, who's the king?! The king that they advise, or protect, are the white secret societies responsible for white supremacy: the first white greek fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, the Illuminati, Rhodes/Rothschild secret society, Skull & Bones, the Masons, the Round Table Group, The New World Order, One World Government, the Carnegie, Mellon, Rhodes, Milner's Kindergarten, The Rhodes Crown, Times Crown, All Souls Group, Clevedine Sect, and numerous other wealthy family organizations (all are simply alias' and go by many names, but consist of same members and ideology). These white beasts have raped, murdered & colonized our people for hundreds of years and their children continue the genocide against people of color around the globe.

The Knights of the Golden Circle Famous Members ------John Wilkes Booth, Jesse James , Franklin Pierce

The Knights of the Golden Circle was a secret society that flourished in the U.S. during the American Civil War. In the 3838

beginning, the group sought to encourage the annexation of Mexico and the West Indies, which they believed would help the waning slave trade to once again flourish. But once the Civil War started, the group switched its focus from colonialism to fervent support of the newly established Confederate government. The Knights soon had thousands of followers, many of whom formed guerilla armies and began raiding Union strongholds in the West. In the Northern states, the mysterious order had an even bigger impact. Many newspapers and public figures engaged in witch-hunts where they accused supposed Southern sympathizers, including President Franklin Pierce, of being members of the Knights of the Golden Circle.

Unlike most secret societies, the Golden Circle didn‘t just concern itself with clandestine meetings and mysterious plans. Instead, the group often formed renegade armies and bands of bushwhackers in order to forward their agenda by force. In 1860, a group of the Knights made a failed attempt to invade Mexico. During the war, they robbed stagecoaches and attempted a blockade of the harbor in San Francisco, and a group of them even managed to briefly take control of southern New Mexico.

The FREEMASON'S

Although they are less influential and secretive today than they once were, the Freemasons remain one of the most famous fraternal organizations in the world, with a membership somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 million. The group was officially founded in 1717, but documents relating to its existence date back to the 1300s. One practice that has remained constant is the method for induction. Initiates must be recommended to the group by someone who is already a Mason, and once a member they must pass through three different degrees of standing before reaching the level of ―Master Mason.‖ Members also have certain prescribed modes of greeting one another, including handshakes, gestures, and passwords, and non-masons are always banned from attending meetings. 3939 ISLAMIC SECRET SOCIETIES

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013..Emir ( Amīr), sometimes transliterated Amir, Amier or Ameer, is a title of high office used in a variety of places in the Muslim world.. Literally it means commander, general, or prince. The feminine form is emira (Amīrah). When translated as prince, the word "emirate" is analogous to a sovereign principali ty..The House of Thani (Al Thani) is the ruling family of Qatar, whose origins can be traced back to the Banu Tamim tribe..The Banu Tamim tribe , also known as the Bani Tamim tribe, are one of the main tribes of Arabia. Tamim, the ancestor of the tribe, is a direct descendant of Adnan and is thus considered an Ishmaelite tribe descending from Ishmael son of Abraham..Today, descendants from the tribe live in the Arabian Peninsula and neighboring countries such as, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon & the Palestinian.. The word Tamim in Arabic means strong and solid...

Hamad seized power in a bloodless palace coup d'état in 1995.. During his 18-year rule, Qatar's natural gas production reached 77 million tonnes, making Qatar the richest country in the world per capita with the average income in the country US$86,440 a year per person. During his reign several sports and diplomatic events took place in Qatar, including 2006 Asian Games, 2012 UN Climate Change Conference, Doha Agreement, Hamas – – Fatah Doha agreement and it was decided that the 2022 FIFA World Cup is to be held in the country. He established the Qatar Investment Authority; by 2013 it had invested over $100 billion around the world, most prominently in The Shard, Barclays Bank, Heathrow Airport, Harrods, Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Volkswagen, Siemens and Royal Dutch Shell..During Hamad 's rule, Qatar hosted two US military bases. It also remained close with Hamas and Iran. He supported and funded rebel movements, particularly in Libya and Syria during the Arab Spring while maintaining political stability at home. The Sheikh founded news media group Al Jazeera, through which he maintained his influence over the Arab World. He also played a part in negotiations between US and the Taliban.. In June 2013 Hamad in his brief televised address announced that he would hand power to his 34-year-old son, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani... 4040

He graduated from the British Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in 1971 and commissioned as a lieutenant colonel.. After graduation he was made commander of a mobile brigade, which later became a force called "Hamad Brigade".. In 1972 Hamad had the rank of general, and became army chief of staff.. Next he was appointed commander-in-chief of Qatar's armed forces with the rank of major general.. In 1977 he was named minister of defense..A sportsman and an accomplished diver, Hamad has played an active role in promoting and developing athletics in Qatar.. His activism has enhanced the country's involvement and performance in a number of international competitions, including: winning an Olympic medal in track and field; hosting a wide variety of international sporting events such as the 15th Asian Games, GCC, Asian and World Youth soccer championships; and initiating the Qatar Open Tennis Championship which has grown to become one of two premier tennis competitions in the Middle East..Under his rule the Qatari government helped to fund the Al Jazeera news network by an emiri decree.. In an analysis of Al Jazeera, Hugh Miles said that diplomats from other countries know that the Emir is the real power behind Al Jazeera , but he also quotes a network spokesman denying 'countless times' this accusation, adding that many independent news sources also have subsidies from their respective governments without this implying editorial dabbling and explaining that trying to coerce the kind of journalists Al Jazeera has would be like trying to 'herd cats'.... Sheik Hamad is a distant cousin of the network chairman, Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, who was previously Minister of Information in the Emir Al-Thani government...

Under his reign, the country won the right to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, the first event of its kind to occur in the Middle East.. Under the patronage of Hamad and his wife Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Misnad, several world-class academic institutions have opened campuses in Doha, including Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Northwestern University, Texas A&M University and Weill Cornell Medical College..In 2005, under the direction of Hamad and the former Prime minister of QatarSheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the Qatar Investment Authority was established, a sovereign wealth fund to manage the country's oil and natural gas surpluses.. The Qatar Investment Authority and its subsidiaries have acquired many businesses abroad, including London's iconic department store Harrods from entrepreneur Mohammed Al-Fayed, Paris based department store Printemps, French football club Paris Saint-Germain F.C.,a former 10% stake in Porsche, a 75% stake in film studio Miramax which they 4141

acquired from Disney, a 2% stake in media conglomerate and Universal Music Group parent company Vivendi, a $100 million USD investment in Chernin Group – – whose founder Peter Chernin was COO of News Corp and President of Fox, a 1% stake in luxury goods manufacturer Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a 6% stake in Credit Suisse, a 12.6% stake in Barclays and several other major companies. They also backed Glencore's $31 billion USD takeover bid for Xstrata.. Qatar is the largest property owner in London with their holdings including Europe's tallest building The Shard, Olympic Village and Park Lane's InterContinental Hotel.. They also own several hotels in Cannes including the Majestic Hotel, Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez and Carlton Hotel.. QIA was considered to have one of the leading bids in the sales of both Anschutz Entertainment Groupand Hulu..As of May 2013, it was reported the Investment Authority is in talks to purchase Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman...

The Emir made a $100 million donation for the relief of New Orleans following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.. He was a key person in the cease fire during the 2006 Lebanon War and contributed majorly in the relief of damaged areas. In 2012, the Emir proposed deploying Arab troops to reduce killings in the Syrian civil war.. He provided two military bases for foreign troops, Al Udeid Air Base and Camp As Sayliyah..Despite the prevalence of anti-Israel sentiment within the Arab world, he had previously maintained friendly relations with Israel. He met Foreign Minister of Israel Tzipi Livni (25 September 2007) in New York City. This marked the first real attempt by any leader in the Persian Gulf to pursue dialogue with Israel.. However, Qatar severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 2009 in response to Israel's actions during the Gaza War.. The emir has also expressed his objection to Israeli settlement policy, especially the Judaization of Jerusalem...In December 2012, The New York Times accused the Qatari government of funding the Al- Nusra Front, a U.S. government designated terrorist organization. Others have noted the Emir's visit to Gaza and meeting with Hamas, which houses a militant wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.. In January 2013, French politicians again accused the Emir's government of giving material support to Islamist groups in Mali and the French newspaper Le Canard enchaîné quoted an unnamed source in French military intelligence saying that "The MNLA, al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine and MUJAO have all received cash from Doha"..Sheikh Hamad has 3 wives and twenty-four children, eleven sons and 13 daughters... 4242

"We are conducting a vast toxicological experiment in which our children and our children's children are the experimental subjects." Dr. Herbert Needleman

The Disappearing Male is about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system.

The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer.

At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette's syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.

The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world.

Found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products, carpet, cosmetics and baby bottles, they are called "hormone mimicking" or "endocrine disrupting" chemicals and they may be starting to damage the most basic building blocks of human development.

Factsheet: Male Infertility

* There are more than 20 heavily industrialized nations where the birth of baby boys has declined every year for the past 30 years - amounting to 3 million fewer baby boys. * The number of boys born with penis abnormalities and genital defects has increased by 200% in the past two decades. * Boys have a higher incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, Tourett's syndrome, 4343

cerebral palsy and dyslexia. * Boys are four times as likely to be autistic. * The average sperm count of a North American college student today is less than half of what it was 50 years ago. * The quality of sperm is declining. Eighty-five per cent of the sperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged. * Damaged sperm have been linked to a 300% increase in testicular cancer - a form of cancer that affects young men in their 20s and 30s. * The chemical industry has developed more than 90,000 man-made chemicals in the last sixty years. Eighty-five percent of them have never undergone testing for their impact on the human body.