14 Jan 2011, 3:42 pm
14 Jan 2011, 3:44 pm
Kraichgauer wrote:
Read my last post to Inyasha concerning how not all conservatives are bigots.
Am I to understand you take me for European? I'm actually American, thank you very much.
Am I to understand you take me for European? I'm actually American, thank you very much.
I am European. My point was that I've met quite a few European conservatives in the past, most of whom can't take American neoconservatism seriously. They respect American paleocons but neocons are a joke in their opinion.
Personally, I would describe myself as neither liberal nor conservative. Some of my views fall in one category, some in the other. I don't adhere to any particular ideology nor to any particular religion. I prefer to think out of the box
With regards to bigotry..... many people confuse discussions about biology, psychology and multiculturalism with bigotry because the media has indoctrinated to do so. If we want to have an honest discussion, it's important to make that distinction. Just because someone rejects the notion of ethnic egalitarianism or multiculturalism, that doesn't make one a bigot. Just because someone doesn't regard homosexuality as equally "normal" or "natural" as heterosexuality, that doesn't make one a bigot. A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices and there are just as many bigots (if not more) among those who defend racial egalitarianism, gay marriage and/or multiculturalism.
Kraichgauer
Veteran
Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 47,798
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.
14 Jan 2011, 3:48 pm
Salonfilosoof wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
Read my last post to Inyasha concerning how not all conservatives are bigots.
Am I to understand you take me for European? I'm actually American, thank you very much.
Am I to understand you take me for European? I'm actually American, thank you very much.
I am European. My point was that I've met quite a few European conservatives in the past, most of whom can't take American neoconservatism seriously. They respect American paleocons but neocons are a joke in their opinion.
Personally, I would describe myself as neither liberal nor conservative. Some of my views fall in one category, some in the other. I don't adhere to any particular ideology nor to any particular religion. I prefer to think out of the box
With regards to bigotry..... many people confuse discussions about biology, psychology and multiculturalism with bigotry because the media has indoctrinated to do so. If we want to have an honest discussion, it's important to make that distinction. Just because someone rejects the notion of ethnic egalitarianism or multiculturalism, that doesn't make one a bigot. Just because someone doesn't regard homosexuality as equally "normal" or "natural" as heterosexuality, that doesn't make one a bigot. A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices and there are just as many bigots (if not more) among those who defend racial egalitarianism, gay marriage and/or multiculturalism.
Touche, Solonfilosoof.
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
14 Jan 2011, 6:40 pm
Salonfilosoof wrote:
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say on conspiracies :
Those mentioned above are just a handful of commonly accepted conspiracies. It does not include eg. the murder on Caesar or revolutions (eg. the French revolution, American revolution, Russian revolution, ...) and many other events that were the consequence of a conspiracy.
So the questions I ask are these....... if conspiracies are common throughout history, how to distinguish a "conspiracy theory" from an actual conspiracy? Is it because the media and self-proclaimed experts reject a theory that it much generally be rejected as nonsense? How do we know we can trust these people? During the '30s, the people in Germany were told the Jews wanted to take over the world and many volumes were written on the topic in an attempt to prove it. This was the mainstream belief. Does that make it an actual conspiracy or is this just a "conspiracy theory"? If the people couldn't trust the Hitler regime, why can we trust our own leaders? Are we sure they aren't lying to us?
It really amazes me that people don't question the claim that the Nazis conspired to kill 6 million people using gas chambers among other means or that a bunch of Muslem fundamentalists conspired to demolish the WTC towers using airplanes alone just because it's told by the media and the mainstream history books, whereas they just as easily dismiss any claim that is less fantastic and actually easier to prove just because the history books and mainstream media don't mention it.
I encourage everyone to watch ALL of the folowing videos in the order I post them, read my questions again and think about them for a while. That's all I have to say for now....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbp6umQT58A[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FRQyG1bQqQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwQQYw-NgK8[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzPT4GFA2YY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N--ecIbbTpY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6hCe6CBwko[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLB8DfhnJD0[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYyNc5O2Hs[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwyOhP6ogF4[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47xf0W5-2CQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkaQqzumMGE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnShHYyCFWY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s827nmMx5-Q[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYrpaPNAqiA[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx5f2e7Zn7g[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SFWCExaZ9k[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz_uEGQIsGU&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf_1qunspZY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgt2J54iZOQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn5nez8NFUk[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgSoEbC3UWU[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isUSnmOGg08[/youtube]
Wikipedia wrote:
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination.
A conspiracy is to be contrasted with a cabal. The two are similar but have quite different connotations; in contrast to a cabal, a conspiracy usually looks to overthrow a fixed power instead of usurping it from within.
Notable political conspiracies
* The Catiline conspiracies in the 1st century BC.
* A group of Roman senators, calling itself the Liberatores, hoped to restore the Roman Republic by killing Julius Caesar in 44 BC.
* The Pisonian conspiracy AD 65.
* The Pazzi conspiracy, which included the Pope, of the late 15th century.
* The Babington Plot, as the event which most directly led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. This was a second major plot against Elizabeth I of England after the Ridolfi plot. It was named after the chief conspirator Sir Anthony Babington (1561–1586), a young Catholic nobleman from Derbyshire.
* The Throckmorton Plot, was an attempt by English Roman Catholics in 1583 to murder Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot is named after the key conspirator, Sir Francis Throckmorton, a catholic nobleman, who confessed to the plot under torture.
* The Main Plot of 1603, was a conspiracy by English Catholics, allegedly led by catholic noblemen Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham, Sir George Brooke and Thomas Grey, 15th Baron Grey de Wilton, to remove King James I from the English throne, replacing him by aid of Spain with his cousin Arabella (or Arbella) Stuart.
* The Bye Plot of 1603, led to the execution of Sir George Brooke
* The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholic Noblemen and Gentry led by Sir Robert Catesby. The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605, the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed as the Catholic head of state. Catesby may have embarked on the scheme after hopes of securing greater religious tolerance under King James had faded, leaving many English Catholics disappointed. His fellow plotters included Thomas Wintour, Robert Wintour, John Wright, Christopher Wright, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, John Grant, Lord of the Manor, Sir Thomas Percy, Sir Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, Sir Francis Tresham and Thomas Bates
* The Anjala conspiracy of 1788
* The conspiracy of 1865 to assassinate U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and members of his cabinet
* The French government's attempted cover-up following Émile Zola's accusations in the Dreyfus Affair, starting in 1894.
* The 1903 efforts by the Tsar's secret police to foment anti-Semitism by presenting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as an authentic text.[1]
* The 1933 Business Plot - Fascists Coup d'état attempt in USA
* The 1939 Operation Himmler and its Gleiwitz incident - False Flag Terrorism by Nazi Germany in order to get a pretext for Invasion of Poland
* The 1939 Shelling of Mainila, False Flag Terrorism by USSR in order to get a pretext for Winter War
* CIA Operation Mockingbird, from 1948. In 1976, then CIA director George H. W. Bush ordered that paid media recruiting would be prohibited.
* The 1942 Wannsee Conference, 3rd Reich Nazis related to Final Solution.
* The 1945 OSS Operation Paperclip, the extraction of top Nazi scientists (incl. SS nazi Party members).
* CIA MKULTRA mind control program, from 1953 and continuing.
* The 1954 'Lavon affair'- Operation Susannah; False Flag Terrorism by Mossad
* The 1962 CIA Operation Northwoods
* CIA Project Cherry, United States non-stop attempt to assassinate Norodom Sihanouk
* The 1969 Manson Family murders
* The 1972 Watergate burglary and cover-up scandals
* The 1980 October surprise
* The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
* The 1987 Iran-Contra Affair
* The supposed plot of Caucasians to regain control of and take over Washington, D.C.
* Breakup of Yugoslavia - To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia, Verso, 2000, ISBN 1859847765
* The Enron manipulation of the California Electricity Market during the California electricity crisis
* The Mafia
* Various CIA involvements in overseas coups d'état
* The 1991 Testimony of Nayirah before the U.S. Congress to rally the support of the U.S. public to launch the Gulf War
* The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male[2]
* The General Motors streetcar conspiracy[3]
* The plot by some gaullists of the French Secret Service to destabilise future president Georges Pompidou, known as the Markovic affair
* The series of incidents in Italy connected to the so called "strategy of tension"
* CIA Operation Gladio, a NATO 'stay-behind' Operation
* The 2000 CIA Operation Merlin
* 9/11 in 2001
* The 2002 Downing Street Memo
* The 2002 September Dossier UK and USA Governments Lies and Forgeries to Justify invasion of Iraq
* The 2002 Yellowcake forgery
* The 2003 Iraq and weapons of mass destruction reports in order to get a United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 pretext to Iraq War
A conspiracy is to be contrasted with a cabal. The two are similar but have quite different connotations; in contrast to a cabal, a conspiracy usually looks to overthrow a fixed power instead of usurping it from within.
Notable political conspiracies
* The Catiline conspiracies in the 1st century BC.
* A group of Roman senators, calling itself the Liberatores, hoped to restore the Roman Republic by killing Julius Caesar in 44 BC.
* The Pisonian conspiracy AD 65.
* The Pazzi conspiracy, which included the Pope, of the late 15th century.
* The Babington Plot, as the event which most directly led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. This was a second major plot against Elizabeth I of England after the Ridolfi plot. It was named after the chief conspirator Sir Anthony Babington (1561–1586), a young Catholic nobleman from Derbyshire.
* The Throckmorton Plot, was an attempt by English Roman Catholics in 1583 to murder Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot is named after the key conspirator, Sir Francis Throckmorton, a catholic nobleman, who confessed to the plot under torture.
* The Main Plot of 1603, was a conspiracy by English Catholics, allegedly led by catholic noblemen Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham, Sir George Brooke and Thomas Grey, 15th Baron Grey de Wilton, to remove King James I from the English throne, replacing him by aid of Spain with his cousin Arabella (or Arbella) Stuart.
* The Bye Plot of 1603, led to the execution of Sir George Brooke
* The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholic Noblemen and Gentry led by Sir Robert Catesby. The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605, the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed as the Catholic head of state. Catesby may have embarked on the scheme after hopes of securing greater religious tolerance under King James had faded, leaving many English Catholics disappointed. His fellow plotters included Thomas Wintour, Robert Wintour, John Wright, Christopher Wright, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, John Grant, Lord of the Manor, Sir Thomas Percy, Sir Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, Sir Francis Tresham and Thomas Bates
* The Anjala conspiracy of 1788
* The conspiracy of 1865 to assassinate U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and members of his cabinet
* The French government's attempted cover-up following Émile Zola's accusations in the Dreyfus Affair, starting in 1894.
* The 1903 efforts by the Tsar's secret police to foment anti-Semitism by presenting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as an authentic text.[1]
* The 1933 Business Plot - Fascists Coup d'état attempt in USA
* The 1939 Operation Himmler and its Gleiwitz incident - False Flag Terrorism by Nazi Germany in order to get a pretext for Invasion of Poland
* The 1939 Shelling of Mainila, False Flag Terrorism by USSR in order to get a pretext for Winter War
* CIA Operation Mockingbird, from 1948. In 1976, then CIA director George H. W. Bush ordered that paid media recruiting would be prohibited.
* The 1942 Wannsee Conference, 3rd Reich Nazis related to Final Solution.
* The 1945 OSS Operation Paperclip, the extraction of top Nazi scientists (incl. SS nazi Party members).
* CIA MKULTRA mind control program, from 1953 and continuing.
* The 1954 'Lavon affair'- Operation Susannah; False Flag Terrorism by Mossad
* The 1962 CIA Operation Northwoods
* CIA Project Cherry, United States non-stop attempt to assassinate Norodom Sihanouk
* The 1969 Manson Family murders
* The 1972 Watergate burglary and cover-up scandals
* The 1980 October surprise
* The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
* The 1987 Iran-Contra Affair
* The supposed plot of Caucasians to regain control of and take over Washington, D.C.
* Breakup of Yugoslavia - To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia, Verso, 2000, ISBN 1859847765
* The Enron manipulation of the California Electricity Market during the California electricity crisis
* The Mafia
* Various CIA involvements in overseas coups d'état
* The 1991 Testimony of Nayirah before the U.S. Congress to rally the support of the U.S. public to launch the Gulf War
* The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male[2]
* The General Motors streetcar conspiracy[3]
* The plot by some gaullists of the French Secret Service to destabilise future president Georges Pompidou, known as the Markovic affair
* The series of incidents in Italy connected to the so called "strategy of tension"
* CIA Operation Gladio, a NATO 'stay-behind' Operation
* The 2000 CIA Operation Merlin
* 9/11 in 2001
* The 2002 Downing Street Memo
* The 2002 September Dossier UK and USA Governments Lies and Forgeries to Justify invasion of Iraq
* The 2002 Yellowcake forgery
* The 2003 Iraq and weapons of mass destruction reports in order to get a United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 pretext to Iraq War
Those mentioned above are just a handful of commonly accepted conspiracies. It does not include eg. the murder on Caesar or revolutions (eg. the French revolution, American revolution, Russian revolution, ...) and many other events that were the consequence of a conspiracy.
So the questions I ask are these....... if conspiracies are common throughout history, how to distinguish a "conspiracy theory" from an actual conspiracy? Is it because the media and self-proclaimed experts reject a theory that it much generally be rejected as nonsense? How do we know we can trust these people? During the '30s, the people in Germany were told the Jews wanted to take over the world and many volumes were written on the topic in an attempt to prove it. This was the mainstream belief. Does that make it an actual conspiracy or is this just a "conspiracy theory"? If the people couldn't trust the Hitler regime, why can we trust our own leaders? Are we sure they aren't lying to us?
It really amazes me that people don't question the claim that the Nazis conspired to kill 6 million people using gas chambers among other means or that a bunch of Muslem fundamentalists conspired to demolish the WTC towers using airplanes alone just because it's told by the media and the mainstream history books, whereas they just as easily dismiss any claim that is less fantastic and actually easier to prove just because the history books and mainstream media don't mention it.
I encourage everyone to watch ALL of the folowing videos in the order I post them, read my questions again and think about them for a while. That's all I have to say for now....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbp6umQT58A[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FRQyG1bQqQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwQQYw-NgK8[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzPT4GFA2YY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N--ecIbbTpY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6hCe6CBwko[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLB8DfhnJD0[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYyNc5O2Hs[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwyOhP6ogF4[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47xf0W5-2CQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkaQqzumMGE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnShHYyCFWY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s827nmMx5-Q[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYrpaPNAqiA[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx5f2e7Zn7g[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SFWCExaZ9k[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz_uEGQIsGU&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf_1qunspZY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgt2J54iZOQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn5nez8NFUk[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgSoEbC3UWU[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isUSnmOGg08[/youtube]
Seen a couple of those vids. Going to watch some soon. Cheers for posting.
_________________
<Insert meaningful signature here>
14 Jan 2011, 7:01 pm
Time to continue the "fantasy" legacy....
In case it interests on here is a wee collection of past conspiracies that eventually turned out to be true.
http://www.newworldorderreport.com/News ... -Know.aspx
Quote:
After reading the article released by Cracked.com, I decided to update and revise their work. The article gave me a chuckle because it lacked many famous and much larger conspiracy theories that became known. Their article had only listed seven. I can name 33 and I am about to release a revised list soon with 75. The article I read at cracked can be viewed here, but don't waste your time, all of that is in this article and more.
Most people can't resist getting the details on the latest conspiracy theories, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. At the same time, many people quickly denounce any conspiracy theory as untrue ... and sometimes as unpatriotic or just plain ridiculous. Lets not forget all of the thousands of conspiracies out of Wall Street like Bernie Madoff and many others to commit fraud and extortion, among many crimes of conspiracy. USA Today reports that over 75% of personal ads in the paper and on craigslist are married couples posing as single for a one night affair. When someone knocks on your door to sell you a set of knives or phone cards, anything for that matter, do they have a profit motive? What is conspiracy other than just a scary way of saying “alternative agenda”? When 2 friends go to a bar and begin to plan their wingman approach on 2 girls they see at the bar, how often are they planning on lying to those girls?“ I own a small business and am in town for a short while.Oh yeah, you look beautiful.”
Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy. However, it has come almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning. To conspire means "to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end. "The term "conspiracy theory" is frequently used by scholars and in popular culture to identify secret military, banking, or political actions aimed at stealing power, money, or freedom, from "the people".
To many, conspiracy theories are just human nature. Not all people in this world are honest, hard working and forthcoming about their intentions.Certainly we can all agree on this.So how did the term “conspiracy theory” get grouped in with fiction, fantasy and folklore? Maybe that’s a conspiracy, just kidding. Or am I?
Skeptics are important in achieving an objective view of reality, however, skeptism is not the same as reinforcing the official storyline. In fact, a conspiracy theory can be argued as an alternative to the official or “mainstream” story of events. Therefore, when skeptics attempt to ridicule a conspiracy theory by using the official story as a means of proving the conspiracy wrong, in effect, they are just reinforcing the original “mainstream” view of history, and actually not being skeptical. This is not skeptism, it is just a convenient way for the establishment view of things to be seen as the correct version, all the time, every time. In fact, it is common for "hit pieces" or "debunking articles" to pick extremely fringe and not very populated conspiracy theories. This in turn makes all conspiracies on a subject matter look crazy. Skeptics magazine and Popular Mechanics, among many others, did this with 9/11. They referred to less than 10% of the many different conspiracy theories about 9/11 and picked the less popular ones, in fact, they picked the fringe, highly improbable points that only a few people make. This was used as the "final investigation" for looking into the conspiracy theories. Convenient, huh?
In fact, if one were to look into conspiracy theories, they will largely find that thinking about a conspiracy is associated with lunacy and paranoia. Some websites suggest it as an illness. It is also not surprising to see so many people on the internet writing about conspiracy theories in a condescending tone, usually with the words "kool-aid," "crack pot," or "nut job" in their articulation. This must be obvious to anyone that emotionally writing about such serious matter insults the reader more than the conspiracy theorist because there is no need to resort to this kind of behavior. It is employed often with an "expert" who will say something along the lines of, "for these conspiracies to be true, you would need hundreds if not thousands of people to be involved. It's just not conceivable."
I find it extremely odd that the assumption is on thousands of participants in a conspiracy. I, for one, find it hard to believe any conspiracy involving more than a handful of people but the fact remains that there have been conspiracies in our world, proven and not made up, that involved many hundreds of people. It's not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact.
One more thing to consider, have you noticed that if the conspiracy is involving powerful interests with the ability to bribe, threaten or manipulate major institutions (like the mafia, big corporations or government) then don't you find it odd when people use one of those as the "credible" counter-argument? What I mean is, if you are discussing a conspiracy about the mafia, and someone hands you a debunking article that was written by the Mafia, it doesn't seem like it would take rocket science to look at that with serious criticism and credibility. This is the case with many conspiracies. In fact, I am handed debunking pieces all the time written in many cases by the conspirators in question. Doesn't this seem odd to anybody else but me?
While intelligent cynicism certainly can be healthy, though, some of the greatest discoveries of all time were initially received (often with great vitriol) as blasphemous conspiracy theories -- think of the revelation that the earth was not the center of the universe, or that the world was not flat but actually round.
What follows are some of these most shocking modern conspiracy theories that turned out true after thorough investigation by our society. Some through congressional hearings, others through investigative journalism. Many of these, however, were just admitted to by those involved. These are just 33 of them, and I still had a long list of others to add. There are a total of 33 in this article. Many of these are listed with original and credible news clips on the matter, as well as documentaries.
Most people can't resist getting the details on the latest conspiracy theories, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. At the same time, many people quickly denounce any conspiracy theory as untrue ... and sometimes as unpatriotic or just plain ridiculous. Lets not forget all of the thousands of conspiracies out of Wall Street like Bernie Madoff and many others to commit fraud and extortion, among many crimes of conspiracy. USA Today reports that over 75% of personal ads in the paper and on craigslist are married couples posing as single for a one night affair. When someone knocks on your door to sell you a set of knives or phone cards, anything for that matter, do they have a profit motive? What is conspiracy other than just a scary way of saying “alternative agenda”? When 2 friends go to a bar and begin to plan their wingman approach on 2 girls they see at the bar, how often are they planning on lying to those girls?“ I own a small business and am in town for a short while.Oh yeah, you look beautiful.”
Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy. However, it has come almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning. To conspire means "to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end. "The term "conspiracy theory" is frequently used by scholars and in popular culture to identify secret military, banking, or political actions aimed at stealing power, money, or freedom, from "the people".
To many, conspiracy theories are just human nature. Not all people in this world are honest, hard working and forthcoming about their intentions.Certainly we can all agree on this.So how did the term “conspiracy theory” get grouped in with fiction, fantasy and folklore? Maybe that’s a conspiracy, just kidding. Or am I?
Skeptics are important in achieving an objective view of reality, however, skeptism is not the same as reinforcing the official storyline. In fact, a conspiracy theory can be argued as an alternative to the official or “mainstream” story of events. Therefore, when skeptics attempt to ridicule a conspiracy theory by using the official story as a means of proving the conspiracy wrong, in effect, they are just reinforcing the original “mainstream” view of history, and actually not being skeptical. This is not skeptism, it is just a convenient way for the establishment view of things to be seen as the correct version, all the time, every time. In fact, it is common for "hit pieces" or "debunking articles" to pick extremely fringe and not very populated conspiracy theories. This in turn makes all conspiracies on a subject matter look crazy. Skeptics magazine and Popular Mechanics, among many others, did this with 9/11. They referred to less than 10% of the many different conspiracy theories about 9/11 and picked the less popular ones, in fact, they picked the fringe, highly improbable points that only a few people make. This was used as the "final investigation" for looking into the conspiracy theories. Convenient, huh?
In fact, if one were to look into conspiracy theories, they will largely find that thinking about a conspiracy is associated with lunacy and paranoia. Some websites suggest it as an illness. It is also not surprising to see so many people on the internet writing about conspiracy theories in a condescending tone, usually with the words "kool-aid," "crack pot," or "nut job" in their articulation. This must be obvious to anyone that emotionally writing about such serious matter insults the reader more than the conspiracy theorist because there is no need to resort to this kind of behavior. It is employed often with an "expert" who will say something along the lines of, "for these conspiracies to be true, you would need hundreds if not thousands of people to be involved. It's just not conceivable."
I find it extremely odd that the assumption is on thousands of participants in a conspiracy. I, for one, find it hard to believe any conspiracy involving more than a handful of people but the fact remains that there have been conspiracies in our world, proven and not made up, that involved many hundreds of people. It's not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact.
One more thing to consider, have you noticed that if the conspiracy is involving powerful interests with the ability to bribe, threaten or manipulate major institutions (like the mafia, big corporations or government) then don't you find it odd when people use one of those as the "credible" counter-argument? What I mean is, if you are discussing a conspiracy about the mafia, and someone hands you a debunking article that was written by the Mafia, it doesn't seem like it would take rocket science to look at that with serious criticism and credibility. This is the case with many conspiracies. In fact, I am handed debunking pieces all the time written in many cases by the conspirators in question. Doesn't this seem odd to anybody else but me?
While intelligent cynicism certainly can be healthy, though, some of the greatest discoveries of all time were initially received (often with great vitriol) as blasphemous conspiracy theories -- think of the revelation that the earth was not the center of the universe, or that the world was not flat but actually round.
What follows are some of these most shocking modern conspiracy theories that turned out true after thorough investigation by our society. Some through congressional hearings, others through investigative journalism. Many of these, however, were just admitted to by those involved. These are just 33 of them, and I still had a long list of others to add. There are a total of 33 in this article. Many of these are listed with original and credible news clips on the matter, as well as documentaries.
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