The book's title refers to a bizarre set of experiments allegedly conducted in the decommissioned "Goat Lab" at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. According to Ronson’s research, which was initially presented in the Channel 4 documentary series Crazy Rulers of the World , Special Forces soldiers were tasked with staring at goats in an attempt to stop their hearts using only the power of their minds. While the idea sounds like the plot of a science-fiction B-movie, Ronson claims to have spoken with an ex-Army employee who asserted that he successfully killed a goat, and even his pet hamster, simply by staring at them for prolonged periods.
The book opens with a startling declaration: “This is a true story.” As one Guardian review put it, “It is hard to shift the impact of those five small words from your mind. It would be far, far better for all of us, you can’t help thinking, if it turned out that Jon Ronson had actually made up his entire, wonderful investigation”. But he didn’t. Everything he unearthed—from General Stubblebine’s attempts to walk through walls to the secret “Goat Lab” at Fort Bragg—was based on real events and real people.
Play sounds of baby crying or discordant music to disorient enemies.
Funded by the DIA and CIA and operated out of Fort Meade, Maryland, Project Stargate employed individuals who claimed to possess psychic abilities. These viewers were placed in isolated rooms, given geographic coordinates, and asked to sketch or describe what was at that location. The Men Who Stare At Goats
Most importantly, Channon believed in "Remote Viewing" and "psychic driving." He envisioned battalions of silent, meditating men who could project themselves into the Kremlin, read the minds of enemy generals, and shut down tanks by staring at their ignition coils.
However, the government’s own commissioned review eventually concluded what most scientists had suspected all along. In 1995, the CIA released a report stating that while statistically significant effects were observed in some laboratory experiments, the information provided by remote viewing was generally vague, irrelevant, or erroneous, and was never useful in any intelligence operation. The Stargate Project was declassified and terminated that same year.
When asked why he kept it up, Stubblebine told Ronson: "Because I knew it was possible. The atoms are mostly empty space. I just had to convince my atoms to slip through the gaps in their atoms." The book's title refers to a bizarre set
In the late 1970s, Channon compiled his radical ideas into the First Earth Battalion Operations Manual , a 125-page graphic field guide that reads like a blend of The Whole Earth Catalog and a military handbook. This manual served as the blueprint for turning American troops into psychic supersoldiers and was embraced by a small group of true believers within Army intelligence.
Clooney’s character, Lyn Cassady, is a composite of real-life figures like Glenn Wheaton and Guy Savelli. Jeff Bridges’ character, Bill Django, is directly modeled after Jim Channon.
Directed by Grant Heslov and produced by Smokehouse Pictures , this satirical black comedy is a fictionalized version of Ronson's research. DN LFF09: The Men who Stare at Goats - Grant Heslov The book opens with a startling declaration: “This
The 2009 film directed by Grant Heslov—starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, and Kevin Spacey—turns this true story into a surreal road-trip comedy 0.5.2.
Attempting to move through solid matter.