Skull & Bones - The New World Order?

In the plush grounds of the prestigious Yale University in Connecticut a grim, grey building known as "the tomb" sits amid the affluence and elegance of America's most illustrious law school.What lurks behind the imposing entrance to the spooky cavern is a mystery to all but the chosen few who are initiated each year into the ultra-secretive Skull & Bones society.The fraternity, established in the early 1830s and modelled on German university sects, counts myriad Senators, CIA staff and state department diplomats amongst its membership.It has also nurtured three US Presidents, William Taft, George Bush Snr and George W Bush, as well as the current President's 2004 democratic opponent John Kerry.To all intents and purposes the society is an "old boys' club", a harmless gathering of promising young men where they can share stories, jokes and a few beers.But over the years Skull & Bones has earned a more mysterious reputation as a secret power base for the elites, who covertly control everything from politics to the stock market. While gathered in their sandstone Yale bunker, these hugely influential men are said to carry out satanic rituals and indulge in bizarre sex ceremonies.Conspiracy theorists say these men have banded together to create a New World Order and divide power over our lives among themselves. So could these hugely influential men be involved in a dastardly plot to dominate the earth, or are they just a bunch of spoiled rich kids messing around in a dank, creepy clubhouse?

It is the complete lack of any official story that started tongues wagging about the group in the first place.When probed about their involvement with the society both George W Bush and John Kerry have refused to discuss their time with the organisation. The rules of the covert club instruct members to leave the room when anyone mentions the words Skull & Bones.However, some information about their shadowy practices has leaked out.In 2001 a team of Yale students secretly filmed the courtyard of "the tomb" and observed "pledges" to the fraternity, being forced to kiss a human skull and act out a mock murder.As part of the macabre ceremony of initiation, senior members of the group dress as the devil, Don Quixote and the Pope before shrieking at the new "bonesman" as he cowers on the stone floors. The new member is then tapped on the shoulder with a sword, thus finalising his arrival into the sect.Only 15 new bonesmen are admitted to the fraternity each year, and those members have gone on to form the nucleus of America's power elite.Officially, these leaders are saying nothing about Skull & Bones, leaving the conspiracy theorists to fill in the gaps.More.