interesting reading

This Tuesday my group is giving a presentation in Food Systems and World Economy. The profesor has selected topics and readings which each group will present in class over the course of the trimester. Our topic is the Skull and Bones.

Having already been aware of the Yale secret society of which both John Kerry and George W. Bush are members, this topic should be easy to present (especially because the class is in english). However, I find it interesting (disturbing, too) that this topic has only now come to light within a serious academic environment upon my arrival in a foreign country.

This organization's members are selected from Yale's undergraduate class each year with the purpose of building and consolidating power, wealth, and influence within the group above all other ends. The Skull and Bones have had considerable influence in the United States Government, the CIA, US mass media, and finance/commerce/industry. While there is a mountain of documented history on the society, conspiracey theorists have this group in virtual control over the world (as a little brother of the illuminati).

Though the extent of the Skull & Bones' goals and actual endeavours is not completely known, the idea of power seeking secret societies in general seems to come in direct conflict with actualizing a democratic world. Looking forward to discussing this in class.

A smaller, and much more insignificant secret society, known as Michigauma, exists at the University of Michigan. This year there was some controversy over several "activist/progressive" types who accepted membership to the group. In my opinion, the situation shows the dire state of campus politics in Ann Arbor. Something SPLIF (Students for Peace, Liberty, Independence, and Freedom) could have had a lot of fun with.