The 25th US Space Shuttle mission vehicle "Challenger" explodes a few seconds after take off.

The Reagan Administration sells arms to Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran and uses money illegally [i.e., contrary to the so-called Boland Amendment] to fund military operations in Nicaragua.

Eugene Hasenfus - Nicaragua shoots down a C-123 transport plane carrying military supplies to the Contras. The lone survivor, Eugene Hasenfus, turns out to be a CIA employee, as are the two dead pilots. The airplane belongs to Southern Air Transport, a CIA front. The incident makes a mockery of President Reagan's claims that the CIA is not illegally arming the Contras.

Iran/Contra Scandal - Although the details have long been known, the Iran/Contra scandal finally captures the media's attention in 1986. Congress holds hearings, and several key figures (like Oliver North) lie under oath to protect the intelligence community. CIA Director William Casey dies of brain cancer before Congress can question him. All reforms enacted by Congress after the scandal are purely cosmetic.

Attorney General's Conference on Less Than Lethal Weapons. Reviews current weapons available, most date back to 1972: the Taser, the Nova XR-5000 Stun Gun (can interrupt a pacemaker); the Talon, a glove with an electrical pulse generator; the Source, a flashlight with electrodes at the base. These devices are useful only at close range, except for the Taser, and are generally restricted to correctional institutions. Photic driving strobe lights tested by one conference delegate on 100 subjects, produced discomfort. Closed eyelids do not block the effect. Evidence that ELF produces nausea and disorientation. Suggestion to develop fast acting electrosleep inducing EM weapon. Discusses problem of testing weapons on animals and human "volunteers". (From "Report on the Attorney General's Conference on Less Than Lethal Weapons", by Sherry Sweetman, March 1987, prepared for the National Institute of Justice. Research by Harlan Girard.)

"The Electromagnetic Spectrum in Low-Intensity Conflict" by Captain Paul Tyler, MC, USN quotes the above passage and further elaborates on the theme. (Published in Low Intensity Conflict and Modern Technology, Lt. Col. David J. Dean, USAF, ed., Air University Press, Maxwell AFB, AL. Research by Harlan Girard.)

On 2/10/86, Cleve Backster's lab was visited by National Research Council's Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance. The NRC was evaluating enhancement and parapsychological studies conducted for the Army, so it is likely that Backster's research was involved with the government. (National Research Council, Enhancing Human Performance, National Academy of Sciences, 1988, pg 193-8)

Haiti - Rising popular revolt in Haiti means that "Baby Doc" Duvalier will remain "President for Life" only if he has a short one. The U.S., which hates instability in a puppet country, flies the despotic Duvalier to the South of France for a comfortable retirement. The CIA then rigs the upcoming elections in favor of another right-wing military strongman. However, violence keeps the country in political turmoil for another four years. The CIA tries to strengthen the military by creating the National Intelligence Service (SIN), which suppresses popular revolt through torture and assassination.

Mighty Oaks

In April 1986, just before the Chernobyl disaster, the US had a failed hydrogen test at the Nevada Test Site called Mighty Oaks. This test, conducted far underground, consisted of a hydrogen bomb explosion in one chamber, with a leaded steel door to the chamber, two meters thick, closing within milliseconds of the blast. The door was to allow only the first radioactive beam to escape into the "control room" in which expensive instrumentation was located. The radiation was to be captured as a weapon beam. The door failed to close as quickly as planned, causing the radioactive gases and debris to fill the control room, destroying millions of dollars worth of equipment. The experiment was part of a program to develop X-ray and particle beam weapons. The radioactive releases from Mighty Oaks were vented, under a "licensed venting" and were likely responsible for many of the North American nuclear fallout reports in May 1986, which were attributed to the Chernobyl disaster.

According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (83:4007-4011), HIV and VISNA are highly similar and share all structural elements, except for a small segment which is nearly identical to HTLV. This leads to speculation that HTLV and VISNA may have been linked to produce a new retrovirus to which no natural immunity exists.

A report to Congress reveals that the U.S. Government's current generation of biological agents includes: modified viruses, naturally occurring toxins, and agents that are altered through genetic engineering to change immunological character and prevent treatment by all existing vaccines.

On Oct 19th the US Stock Market lost 508 points. Note: the percentage loss was great enough to cause the date to be remembered as "Black Tuesday" i.e., reminiscent of the 1929 stock market crash date remembered as "Black Thursday."