Conspiracy

All posts tagged Conspiracy

Via The Soap Box

Conspiracies 901_250pxThis may odd by what I’m about about to say here, but not all conspiracy theorists are conspiracy theorists.

At least they’re not all true conspiracy theorists per se …

When I think of a conspiracy theorist, I think about a person who not only believes in conspiracy theories, but also refuses to, and out right rejects any evidence that contradicts a conspiracy theory. In time this rejection of the evidence for what they consider “the truth” can lead them down a dark path, one in which causes them to think irrationally and illogically, and become hostile towards those who do not believe them, which can ultimately end up affecting their lives in a negative manner, and causes them to surround themselves with people who think like them.

This is what I typically think of when I think of a conspiracy theorist, due to the result of past encounters with actually conspiracy theorists on the internet. The problem with this is that not all of them are like this.

Not all people who believe in certain conspiracy theories are irrational and hostile people who reject evidence debunking the conspiracy theory they believe in. They might continue to believe in the conspiracy theory regardless of the evidence, but at least they don’t out right reject the evidence without reason. Also, the belief in these conspiracy theories does not effect their lives in a negative manner, and they don’t try to push their theories onto others (which is also something that conspiracy theorists tend to do), and they don’t hang out with other people wo also believe what they believe.

This is why I believe a different term should be used for these people, and not the general term “conspiracy theorist” because, lets all face it, the term “conspiracy theorist” has become a pretty negative term as of late, and I also believe the term is inaccurate for some people as well.

I believe the term that should be used instead for such people should be called “conspiracy believer”.

MORE . . .

By Mason I. Bilderberg via iLLumiNuTTi.com

One of my regular debate topics on the forums i visit has to do with the chemtrail conspiracy theory.

Is there something sinister in airplane contrails?

Is there something sinister in airplane contrails?

Chemtrail conspiracists believe “some trails left by aircraft are chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for purposes undisclosed to the general public in clandestine programs directed by various government officials.” (source | source)

Depending on which conspiracist you talk to, the substance(s) being sprayed ranges from barium and aluminum to uranium, radioactive cesium, radioactive thorium, human red blood cells or a slew of other dangerous substances. (source)

Then again, some conspiracists admit they don’t have the slightest clue what is being sprayed – all they know is, it’s really, really bad.

Depending on who you ask, “they” (the infamous “they”) have been spraying us for at least 15 years. In all these years, thousands of chemtrail videos, documentaries, books, lectures, radio programs and every other conceivable form of “proof” has been put out there in an attempt to convince the world chemtrails exist. Documentary makers and radio personalities are making millions peddling the chemtrail nonsense.

anecdote_200pxYet all the evidence chemtrail conspiracists have remains anecdotal and pure speculation – lacking any direct link proving aircraft contrails are anything other than ice crystals and/or normal aircraft engine exhaust. They simply haven’t established a direct link between their claimed “symptoms” and the contrails and/or clouds in the sky.

Well, dear conspiracist, i’m here to help. Do you want to know how to prove once and for all chemtrails exist? How about directly sampling and testing the suspected clouds, contrails or jet fuel?

All these years of crying wolf and nobody thinks to sample those naughty clouds, contrails or jet fuel? Weird. Wouldn’t such lab results answer the chemtrail question once and for all? But maybe that’s the problem. Maybe the people making millions of dollars peddling this theory don’t want this mystery solved. Funny how some things become conspicuous (and suspicious) by their absence.

But lately i’ve been running into a new argument conspiracists are using as “proof” we’re being sprayed by the aircraft flying across our skies. Conspiracists are pushing the theory that chemtrails are geoengineering and there are patents for geoengineering, therefore chemtrails ARE REAL.

Question: What is a patent?

Answer: It is a property right for an invention granted by a government to the inventor. A United States patent gives inventors the right “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention throughout the United States or importing their invention into the United States” for a limited time. (source)

This is a fallacious argument. Why? Because whether geoengineering is occurring or not is completely irrelevant. Conspiracists still have the burden of proving the contrails above our head are anything more than ice crystals or contain anything other than normal aircraft engine exhaust.

Patents are not evidence of usage or existence. Geoengineering patents are not evidence that the aircraft trails and fluffy white things in the sky are anything other than contrails and clouds.

Patents are ideas. These ideas may or may not exist in the real world. A patent doesn’t mean or guarantee an idea works, exists or is currently in use.

To make my point, let’s have some fun and play in the conspiracts’ world of make believe and pretend patents really are proof of an existing, functioning, tangible technology or ability. If it’s patented it’s real!

Are you ready?

matteopugliese00First, let’s have some fun walking through walls!!! Yes, you read correctly – we’re going to walk through walls! People really can walk through walls! Didn’t you know that? What is my proof? My proof is a patent! There is a patent called “Walking Through Walls Training System and Method” (U.S. Published Patent No. 2006/0014125) that allows (note the present tense “allows”) us to learn how to walk through walls! Is this awesome or what? This might explain a lot of burglaries.

There’s no need to fear death anymore because death is a thing of the past. It has been a thing of the past since 2005 with the publishing of the “Resurrection Burial Tomb” patent (U.S. Published Patent No. 2005/0027316). This tomb allows you to bring the dead back to life ala Dr. Frankenstein! Talk about saving on health care costs! Who needs ObamaCare now? Is this amazing or what?

But wait! There’s more!

antigravity_250px

Don’t wait! Get your antigravity craft today!

Need an antigravity craft that can travel at speeds approaching the speed of light? Well stinky, this is your lucky day!

Antigravity craft have been here for almost 8 years, ever since U.S. Patent No. 6,960,975 was published in 2005. For all you motorheads, check out this wicked description of your new toy: “A cooled hollow superconductive shield is energized by an electromagnetic field resulting in the quantized vortices of lattice ions projecting a gravitomagnetic field that forms a spacetime curvature anomaly outside the space vehicle. The spacetime curvature imbalance, the spacetime curvature being the same as gravity, provides for the space vehicle’s propulsion. The space vehicle, surrounded by the spacetime anomaly, may move at a speed approaching the light-speed characteristic for the modified locale.”

I think you get the point. Chemtrails are patently ridiculous! :)

Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB)

Also See: Debunked: ChemTrails and ChemClouds (video) (illuminutti.com)

As i travel the dark corridors of the conspiratorial world i have found HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) to be one of the most often cited causes of everything not understood. Was there an earthquake? Blame HAARP! What about that hurricane? Blame HAARP! Is your neighbor acting weird? HAARP is controlling his mind!!!

quick noteFrom the Alaska Dispatch (September 20, 2011):

Earthquakes

Could HAARP antennas be generating earthquakes? Eric Dubay, a conspiracy blogger and American ex-pat that lives in Thailand, is part of the crowd that believes the U.S. used HAARP to cause the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked northern Japan in March 2011, leading to the devastating Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear meltdown.

The gist of the argument from Dubay and others is that waves generated by HAARP antennas are focused on a specific part of the ionosphere with enough force to make the entire thing buckle into space; the ionosphere snaps back toward the ground with enough precision to cause a massive earthquake that devastates a strategic target that furthers American economic and defense interests.

Others claim the U.S., for bizarre reasons mostly unsubstantiated, caused the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The best guess anyone has come up with is that Haiti was the perfect place for a test run of sorts, which is among 13 reasons included in a post on Godlike Productions that argues the U.S. should be suspected for causing the quake in Port au Prince. A column by another conspiracy theorist on UFO-Blogger.com goes a step further in trying to predict what will be hit next: “Most likely the next target will be the New Madrid fault line in the South- Midwestern United States.”

Kansans can rest easy, though: Pervez Hoodbhoy, a Pakistani nuclear physicist, tears the earthquake theory to shreds in response to an Islamist group that blamed HAARP for devastating floods in Punjab.

Hurricanes

There’s a storied tradition of blaming devastating hurricanes on HAARP. That trend hit a fever pitch in 2005: first it was Katrina, then Rita, then Wilma.

[ . . . ]

“This is absolute hogwash,” Stanford professor Umran Inan told Popular Science. “There’s absolutely nothing we can do to disturb the earth’s [weather] systems. Even though the power HAARP radiates is very large, it’s miniscule compared with the power of a lightning flash — and there are 50 to 100 lightning flashes every second. HAARP’s intensity is very small.”

Mind Control

Of all the conspiracies floating around about HAARP, this is perhaps the most entertaining, and scientifically farfetched.

The government is using the shortwave radio communication generated in Gakona, so the story goes, to control the minds of unsuspecting Americans.

More from the Alaska Dispatch . . .

So before i forget, let me point you to a great resource for debunking all the HAARP myths. Go to one of my favorite discussion forums and read – you needn’t join, sign up or participate.

Here is the link: HAARP Debunked and Explained.

metabunk_LOGO

Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB)

Also See: HAARP Home Page

The government's mind control machine called HAARP! If you don't believe this is

If you don’t believe HAARP can control your mind that’s because the government is using
HAARP to control your mind – so you won’t believe HAARP can control your mind.

whyintheworld-tn

Just a quick note.

quick noteI recently got into an online discussion with a conspiracist regarding the ChemTrail movie “Why In The World Are They Spraying.”

I told him the movie is fiction, filled with either unproven assertions or simple, flat-out factual errors. He was stuck neck-deep in the rabbit hole and refused to even discuss the issue. Typical conspiracist. Ask them to to provide evidence supporting their alternate reality and they scamper away screaming “Troll! Trollllll!”

Mission accomplished. Anyway . . .

So i thought to myself, there may be other skeptics out there in need of a great source of information to discuss the bullcrap in “Why In The World Are They Spraying.” Here is a great discussion forum with all the information you’ll need.

You needn’t join or participate. Just reading the discussion is a great education. Unlike conspiracists, the good people at MetaBunk go to great lengths to justify their assertions.

Here is the link: Factual Errors in “Why In The World Are They Spraying”.

metabunk_LOGO

Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB)

This is How the New World Order Works

logo 02_200pxHello initiates and welcome to module one of the Illumicorp video training course. I would like to officially welcome you as a member of the team.

You’ve joined our organization at perhaps the most exciting point in our long history. Our founders shared a passionate dream. To transform this country, and eventually the whole world to one cohesive organization.

This presentation is designed to enlighten you about our organization’s goals and achievements. As your guide, I will help to answer some basic questions you might have about Illumicorp, and familiarize you with the valuable role you will play in helping us reach our prime objective. So please, take a tour with me as we march together towards an exciting new world.

Start this video to continue your training:

Click the image to download the official course booklet (PDF) containing very important additional information.

books

Click the image to download the official course booklet (PDF) containing very important additional information.

via The Soap Box

Conspiracies 901_300pxConspiracy theories are all over the internet it seems these days, and there are a lot of things I have noticed about many of these conspiracy theories, but there is one thing that seems to be an absolute constant about conspiracy theories:

Conspiracy theories create more conspiracy theories.

Take the 9/11 conspiracy theories for example. What was probably the original conspiracy theory concerning that act of terror was the accusation that the Bush administration allowed it to happen, then it eventually progressed into the belief that the government made it happen, then into the belief that the towers were brought down by explosives, then into the belief that the towers were hit by drones, until finally you get to the really bizarre ones that claim that no planes hit the the World Trade Center towers at all.

Originally it would take years for a conspiracy theory to get to it’s most bizarre levels (as the 9/11 conspiracy theories did) but now it takes no time at all.

The Sandy Hook conspiracy theories for example took very little time to go from your basic false flag attack conspiracy theory, to the truly bizarre theory that it didn’t happen and that all the grieving parents of the children that were killed were just actors, and that all the children that were killed either were not killed, or never even existed.

That progression took less than a week.

And the conspiracy theories concerning the recent bombing of the Boston Marathon went from being an alleged false flag attack, to being an outright staged hoax in less than a day…

MORE . . . .

via The Soap Box

Ever hear of the term “Counter conspiracy theory” (which is in a conspiracy theory that is meant to counter another conspiracy theory)? Probably not, but you have probably read of a few of them (mostly when someone is having an argument with someone promoting a conspiracy theory).

So, I have decided to play Devil’e Advocate here and have listed ten counter conspiracy theories:

10. 9/11 conspiracy theories were invented by Al-Qaeda.

911outside-jobEver since the 9/11 conspiracy theories started to show up, some people have made accusations that Al-Qaeda itself actually invented many of the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and even bribed certain people within the 9/11 Truth movement to spread these conspiracy theories.

The problem with this is that Al-Qaeda admits to committing the 9/11 attacks, and even criticized Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for saying that the United States government did it.

9. “Shape shifting reptilian aliens” is a code word for “Jews”.

Icke - Remember what you are_250pxMany have accused David Icke‘s primary conspiracy theory, that “Shape shifting reptilian aliens” control the Earth and impersonate leaders of the world, as being nothing more than a re-hashing of old Jewish conspiracy theories, and that “Shape shifting reptilian aliens” is actually a code word for “Jews”.

While it is possible that “Shape shifting reptilian aliens” is a code word for “Jews”, most antisemitic conspiracy theorists don’t bother to use such code words. Plus, David Icke is pretty much crazy as hell, so it’s actually possible that he really does mean “Shape shifting reptilian aliens”.

8. Alex Jones is a fraud.

AlexJonesMoron_200pxWhile many negative things have been said about Alex Jones and the conspiracy theories that he promotes (which also usually gets debunked) one of the claims that is made against him is that he is just a fraud, and that he doesn’t even believe what he says, and that he is just making up conspiracy theories to make money from his followers.

It’s true that Alex Jones has made a lot of money from promoting conspiracy theories, and there is proof that he is very manipulative, the problem is that there is no 100% proof that he doesn’t believe in the conspiracy theories he promotes.

7. Police State conspiracy theories is made up propaganda.

While there is quite a number of “Police State” conspiracy theories (i.e. FEMA camps, false flag attacks, martial law, etc.) some people have accused these conspiracy theories of being nothing more than propaganda made up by extreme right wing groups as a way to help recruit, or at least attempt to justify their own actions.

While it is true that, like with most other conspiracy theories, police state conspiracy theories are made up, and are sometimes used as propaganda, with the exception of a few people, it can be pretty hard to tell if a person making such claims are doing so for propaganda purposes, or if they really do believe what they are saying.

6. “The invasion of Iraq was for oil” claims is nothing more than propaganda.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories - Debunking the Myths - World Trade Center - Pentagon - Flight 93 - Popular MechanicsEven before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, there were claims that the invasion was for nothing more than to get that country’s oil, and almost immediately there were counter claims that these accusations were actually being made up by those opposed the invasions, and even was created as a form of political propaganda (most of those accusations tend to be towards the Democrats and the former Iraqi government, but other groups are accused as well).

While it is true that many people who opposed the invasion also claim that it was for Iraq’s oil, the problem is that they are also very sincere in their beliefs, and most politicians (even those who opposed the invasion) tend not to make those claims either.

MORE . . . .

via crispian-jago.blogspot.com

Had enough government rhetoric? Tired of following the sheeple? Fed up with believing what THEY want you to believe? Maybe it’s time to branch out and discover THE TRUTH.

If you’re new to the exciting world of conspiracy theories and just can’t decide which paranoid delusion best suits you, then why not use this handy flowchart to find your ideal conspiracy theory. Then you too can go and stick it to THE MAN.

StickyPost
vacationOkay everybody, it’s that time of year for my long awaited VACATION!

I’m taking two weeks off to enjoy the conspiracy-filled world of chemtrails, false flags, secret societies, men in black and reptilian aliens!

I will do my best to make the occasional post, but just in case i’m a little less attentive than usual or a little slower with the posts, you’ll know why. I wouldn’t want you to think i was abducted by aliens or anything. ;)

I’ll be back in action right about May 4th!!!!

In the mean time, feel free to use the iLLumiNuTTi facebook page as a place to post new stories and leave comments.

:)

Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB)

Well, you had to know it was only a matter of time before some loon would come forward and make his claim to fame as the genius who figured out why and how a sinkhole in Florida is really a secret government false flag operation. That’s right. The government decided (again) to round up a bunch of actors and patsies to fake the existence of a sinkhole in Florida. Why? Isn’t it obvious? Come on, get with the program. Okay, okay – i admit, i don’t have a freakin’ clue why the government would want to fake a sinkhole, but does it matter? This is just pure, crazy fun!!!

I was only able to get 3 minutes into the video at the end of this post. It was just too painful and pathetic – like listening to a patient in a mental ward trying to make sense to the outside world.

Grab the popcorn and enjoy the Looney Tunes!! :)



Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB)
(H/T: Thomas J. Proffit)

False Flag Claimed!

via kevingilmour.net

Sinkhole01The recent Florida sinkhole tragedy has now spawned its own conspiracy theory with some claiming it as, a false flag event.

A video has recently appeared on youtube user LogicBeforeAuthority’s channel making some startling claims surrounding the appearance of the sinkhole.

Many of the claims made by the video author are frankly astonishing, with him at one point even trying to compare this event with the Sandy Hook shooting.

The main thrust of this video claims its author is to divert attention away from the Louisiana sinkhole.

The video also claims the victims brother to be a “Sandy Hook” type actor put in place for the benefit of mainstream news media and that the 911 audio tapes to be “produced in Hollywood”

Another claim is that the rescue workers are in fact making no serious attempt to rescue the victim and then goes on to claim the rescue services are lying about the reasons to enter the house.

The most startling claim made is that “they” are “gonna blow up Louisiana sinkhole” he then elaborates that March 22nd is the suspected date of the event.

An associated article has also appeared on the alternative news website beforeitsnews.com listing the reasons and “facts” backing up the conspiracy theory.

The beforeitsnews article lays out the following observations:

  • 30 ft sinkhole no one can see…. the house is not even a big house.
  • No apparent structural damage to house.
  • Conditioning the public to accept sinkholes as act of nature, which many are, but not all.
  • Diane Sawyer gets in on it?…. prestitute extraordinaire!
  • No footage of bedroom…. what about using drones?
  • How does a sinkhole suck someone through a rebar reinforced floor?

Watch the video below and make your own mind up. What do you think? Conspiracy theory? False Flag? Does this guy need a psychological evaluation? Leave your comment below.

FL. SINK HOLE : The Real Truth

MORE (Before Its News Article) . . .

via urban75.org

A look into the mind of conspiraloons, nutjobs and tin foil hatters

1. Arrogance. They are always fact-seekers, questioners, people who are trying to discover the truth: sceptics are always “sheep”, patsies for Messrs Bush and Blair etc.

tin foil hat_250px2. Relentlessness. They will always go on and on about a conspiracy no matter how little evidence they have to go on or how much of what they have is simply discredited. (Moreover, as per 1. above, even if you listen to them ninety-eight times, the ninety-ninth time, when you say “no thanks”, you’ll be called a “sheep” again.) Additionally, they have no capacity for precis whatsoever. They go on and on at enormous length.

3. Inability to answer questions. For people who loudly advertise their determination to the principle of questioning everything, they’re pretty poor at answering direct questions from sceptics about the claims that they make.

4. Fondness for certain stock phrases. These include Cicero’scui bono?” (of which it can be said that Cicero understood the importance of having evidence to back it up) and Conan Doyle‘s “once we have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however unlikely, must be the truth”. What these phrases have in common is that they are attempts to absolve themselves from any responsibility to produce positive, hard evidence themselves: you simply “eliminate the impossible” (i.e. say the official account can’t stand scrutiny) which means that the wild allegation of your choice, based on “cui bono?” (which is always the government) is therefore the truth.

5. Inability to employ or understand Occam’s Razor. Aided by the principle in 4. above, conspiracy theorists never notice that the small inconsistencies in the accounts which they reject are dwarfed by the enormous, gaping holes in logic, likelihood and evidence in any alternative account.

AlexJonesMoron_200px6. Inability to tell good evidence from bad. Conspiracy theorists have no place for peer-review, for scientific knowledge, for the respectability of sources. The fact that a claim has been made by anybody, anywhere, is enough for them to reproduce it and demand that the questions it raises be answered, as if intellectual enquiry were a matter of responding to every rumour. While they do this, of course, they will claim to have “open minds” and abuse the sceptics for apparently lacking same.

7. Inability to withdraw. It’s a rare day indeed when a conspiracy theorist admits that a claim they have made has turned out to be without foundation, whether it be the overall claim itself or any of the evidence produced to support it. Moreover they have a liking (see 3. above) for the technique of avoiding discussion of their claims by “swamping” – piling on a whole lot more material rather than respond to the objections sceptics make to the previous lot.

MORE . . .

via The Soap Box

Skeptic_160pxThere are a lot of stereotypes that conspiracy theorists believe about skeptics, and for the most part they’re just not true. Most of the time these beliefs are either the result of manipulation, or just misunderstandings.

Here are some of the most common claims that conspiracy theorists have against skeptic, and why these claims are not true:

• All skeptics work for the government.

conspiracies02One of the most common claims by conspiracy theorists about skeptics is that skeptics work for, or at least are being paid by the government, or to a lesser extent, private companies, to run debunking websites (they’re usually referred to by conspiracy theorists as “dis-information agents”). Usually these accusations are followed up with a joke by a skeptic, usually something like, “I’m still waiting for my check.”

The reality is that most skeptics don’t work for the government, and most likely never would. Those that do work for the government are not being paid by the government to run these skeptic websites, and they are doing what they do on their own free will.

• Skeptics believe whatever the government or media says.

No they don’t. In fact skeptics are highly critical of both the government and the media.

Skeptics know that the government lies to the public all the time to try to make itself not look as bad, and that the media tends to report things way to early, or sensationalizes stuff, so bad information gets to the public, rather then correct information.

• Skeptics don’t believe in conspiracies.

conspiracies05Skeptics actually do believe in conspiracies. The difference is between skeptics and conspiracy theorists is that the conspiracies that skeptics believe in either have been proven to be true, or has enough evidence (real evidence, not made up evidence) to prove the conspiracy to be true, or at least likely to be true.

• All skeptics are alike.

One of the biggest misconceptions about skeptics in general is that we are all alike, and that we have similar beliefs and education, and that we all see things exactly the same, but in reality this is not true at all.

We all debunk things differently, and we sometimes come to different conclusions on things, and there are fights within the skeptics community.

MORE . . . .

2011_quackery
via The Skeptic’s Dictionary – Skepdic.com

How to create your own pseudoscience:

pulver2_300px1. Appeal to something that most people fear or desire, things like suffering and death, or sex and longevity.

2. Make big promises about having scientific proof that you can relieve any physical illness or emotional pain, or that you can deliver “fantastic” sex or “help” people live for hundreds of years.

3. Use a lot of jargon and weasel words. Throw in words like “quantum” and “energy field” frequently. Make your product sound enormously complex, but couch all your promises with vague expressions like “may help.”

4. To ward off critics who might actually know something about science, lace your promotions with references to government and business conspiracies that are keeping the truth from the general public. Make sure you remind everybody that “science doesn’t know everything” and “science has been wrong before.”

5. Don’t be afraid to make stuff up and lie like a government leader. Even if you are prosecuted for fraud, you’ll just get a lot of valuable publicity for free. The odds of you being made to suffer by a big fine or jail term are near zero. If you do have to pay a fine, change the name of your product and start over again with a few tweaks here and there in your language. You can keep doing this forever, given the kinds of things our law enforcement agencies focus on. And don’t worry about the media investigating you and exposing you for a fraud. They won’t bother you until you’ve been arrested. Even then, they’ll just report that you’ve been charged with an “alleged” crime, which you will deny and turn in your favor by playing the persecution card.

6. Don’t be cheap. Charge an exorbitant amount of money for your product. The more you charge, the more likely people, especially government procurement officers, are going to think that your product is genuine.

quack-doctor7. The ideal pseudoscientific product should be a hand-held device that promises eternal life, perfect health (it should detect and cure all diseases), astounding sex (by enhancing your immune system and your personal energy flow), and can also detect bombs or golf balls with the flip of a switch.

8. Make sure you claim that you have discovered a “secret” that every other scientist in the history of the world has missed. If you’re feeling especially daring, claim to have discovered a new law of nature that has scared the scientific community into trying to silence you.

9. Lace your commercials with testimonials from athletes, washed-up celebrities, and psychics. If you can get Sylvia Browne on board, do so. She has written over twenty books that have made it to The New York Times bestseller list. She’ll be expensive, though, so if you can find someone who looks and sounds like her and will work for scale, do it.

10. Never forget that most people trust celebrities more than they trust scientists, physicians, or government agencies. Use this knowledge to your advantage.

11. Claim that the reason your work has not been published in peer-reviewed journals is because of a conspiracy to keep you silent or that the development of your product has taken all your time and money, so you haven’t had the time or been able to get the funding (because of the conspiracy) to do the studies.

MORE . . .

«You simply cannot invent any conspiracy theory so ridiculous and obviously satirical that some people somewhere don’t already believe it.»Robert Anton Wilson

Here are some conspiracy photos so crazy, conspiracists will think they are real!!! (Maybe as a joke i’ll forward one of these to a conspiracist i know to get his “take”) Baaa haaa haaa! :)

More photos are linked below the slideshow.

(click any image to begin viewing)

via The Soap Box

alexjones_animated_3Up until a couple of weeks ago I use to believe that most conspiracy theorists were just a bit nutty, and perhaps hostile online towards skeptics and people who debunked conspiracy theories, but were relatively harmless, except for those who are violently mentally disturbed (example: Jared Lee Loughner), and that at the most were more likely to alienate themselves from friends and family then anything else, and thus do more harm to themselves then to others.

I no longer believe this.

The reason I no longer believe this is because of the massive amount of illegal harassment being done by conspiracy theorists towards the parents of the children who died in the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, and towards the heros who’s efforts helped saved the lives of many more children.

man in trashcanWhile the claims made by conspiracy theorists that the attack was staged, or didn’t even occur in the first place, wasn’t something that fellow skeptics and debunkers like myself were not expecting (in fact, due to the predictability of conspiracy theorists we would have been more surprised if these claims were not made at all) what did surprise us was the sheer amount of slander and harassment (bordering on outright stalking) that has begun to occur.

Because of the actions of some conspiracy theorists in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre I feel that I have been forced to re-examine my view of conspiracy theorists and their behavior, and that view is even more negative then it once was.

It appears that over the last few years as more and more conspiracy theories get debunked, the hostility of conspiracy theorists who continue to hold on to the beliefs continues to rise.

MORE . . .

This video is a bit lengthy (about 18 minutes) but it’s a very good debunking of the vile Sandy Hook conspiracy theories. Definitely worth viewing. Be forewarned though, there is a bit of salty language throughout the video – not a lot, but enough that i felt a warning was warranted.  :)

HT: Thomas J. Proffit

Video description via YouTube:

The Sandy Hook Shooting was a tragedy, but America’s growing conspiracy theorist movement has turned it into a farce.

The video I’m responding to:


Special thanks to the invaluable research of the reddit user, Preggit.

http://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/16lkhq/this_sandy_hook_conspiracy_vi…

All the quack sites have picked up on this UFO video posted on YouTube January 22, 2013:

What is it? Aliens? Annunaki? The end of the world? Another government conspiracy?

Click here to get the answer to this mystery (MetaBunk discussion).

via The Soap Box

conspiracies02Watergate and Iran-Contra. They were perhaps two of the biggest conspiracies to come out of the later half of the 20th century, and because they are so well known many conspiracy theorists often times cite these two proven conspiracies in an attempt to prove that the government conspiracy theories that they believe in are real, or at the very least show that the government is capable of covering up a conspiracy.

While Watergate and Iran-Contra are in fact two very good examples that shows that high ranking officials in the government are capable of criminal conspiracies, the reality is that it does not prove that the government is capable of covering up a conspiracy so well that no one knows about and/or no one can find any evidence that actually proves that the conspiracy is real. If anything, it proves the exact opposite, because of:

1. These two conspiracies have been proven in courts of law.

2. People went to prison because of their involvement in these conspiracies, and one presidency ended, while another was tarnished (in fact 70 people were convicted as a result of the Watergate scandal).

3. These two conspiracies involved a lot less people then many of the unproven and/or disproved (and much larger) government conspiracy theories that are being floated around, and still got found out.

4. The evidence of these conspiracies were exposed by people who were apart of the conspiracy, or worked for the government and managed to get a hold of documents proving the existence of these conspiracies.

Now there are some real and proven conspiracies that are often also cited by conspiracy theorists that are a little bit better examples to cite in terms of government cover-ups . . . more . . .

You know a conspiracy theory is in big trouble when even Jesse Ventura doesn’t buy it! :)

By Jesse Ventura

Jesse-Ventura-TruTV_250pxI dont see enough evidence to think Sandy Hook was a false flag operation. This is more of a tragic event turned into political opportunity than it is a staged event. Was there investigative bungling and the sensationalist media reporting unverified stories? Yes. Was there confusion and were facts lost and gained in that confusion? Yes. Are there people, even witnesses, looking for their 30 seconds in the spotlight? Yes. Are there individuals and institutions using and shaping this event for their own political agendas? Yes, and we must keep a very watchful eye on those institutions to keep them from twisting the facts of this event. Sadly, everything I mentioned above can, when taken out of context, make one think manipulation is afoot. Most chaotic events can come across that way. In examining the event, I don’t see government hands at work mainly because they would have covered their tracks better. We can’t expect them to pull off elaborately planned hoaxes while at the same time leaving behind so many easy “smoking guns” for us to find. It took years for independent investigators to uncover JFK. It took years for us to begin scratching out the truth about 9/11. Those of us who study real history, not state sanctioned history, can very easily become just as close minded and biased for conspiracy as those who stand in our way and refuse to accept the truth about our government and the people running it. It’s very easy to fall into that trap, especially when knowing how much of our history and world events are not what they appear to be. So please, do not immediately jump up and yell “Fire!” just because someone makes a youtube video. Research, research, research. You only hurt our cause by promoting false conspiracies and crackpot agendas. Much like the Birther conspiracy, I am starting to think that a lot of the so called “evidence” of conspiracy coming out about Sandy Hook is designed and fabricated to make us “conspiracy theorists”, us truth seekers, look foolish. Why? So that when good people argue against the destruction of our Second Amendment they can easily be painted with the “crackpot” brush.

View a screen shot of this facebook post..

by Joachim I. Krueger, Ph.D. via Psychology Today

TheTruthIsNotThere_05_400pxConspiracy theories thrive at the fringes of polite discourse. They have the smell of paranoia if they get out of hand. Some conspiracy theories are true and being on one’s guard is a good idea. Caesar dismissed warnings about Cassius and Brutus plotting and paid with his life. Other conspiracy theories are so far-flung that the question of whether they are true is not even meaningful. These theories are not testable. They are deaf to the sound of evidence—at least on the disconfirmatory side. In a German-language paper, I explored what I call The Grand Conspiracy Theory (Krueger, 2010). The GCT suggests that a small group of individuals controls every aspect of the world that matters: the economy, the media, war and peace, what have you. The governments and their representatives that we see are not really in charge; they are front pieces of darker and stronger forces that remain out of view, and they may not even know it. With a bit of googling you can find examples of this sort of thinking. Amazon is not above selling books on the matter. Try Illuminati as a key word.

According to the GCT, there are no accidents in world affairs. Everything that happens is part of a grand design to put and keep the masses in material and spiritual bondage, and to further increase the power of the cabal (This idea is problematic because if their power were already as great as claimed, there would be no room for further increases—but I digress). Believers in the GCT claim that they are on to the cabal—that is a necessary part of the theory itself. They further claim that the conspiracy might fail, and that indeed such a collapse may be imminent, if only enough people awakened to the stark facts. This basic arrangement can go on and on over many generations, with the presumed identity of the conspirators changing with the times (Templars, Jews, Freemasons, aliens, and reptiles being favorites).

Looking at conspiracy theories, and the grand one in particular, I noticed certain similarities with judeo-christian ideation. There is the idea of the all—or at least very—powerful force that is hidden, that has a plan, and that moves the world toward a cataclysmic end. The major differences are that the god of monotheism has no one with whom to conspire and that the human-based GCT has fewer good things to say about the power that be.

Given the similarities in the psychological pattern, I felt that mundane conspiracy theories might be derivatives of religious belief. This is not a new idea. Sir Karl Popper suggested that “The conspiracy theory of society…comes from abandoning God and then asking: What is in his place?” Umberto Eco noted . . .

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via The Soap Box

tmgornWhile there are a lot of strange conspiracy theories out there, perhaps one of the most bizarre conspiracy theories out there is one that the primary promoter of is David Icke: that the leaders of the world (and just about anyone who is famous) are actually shape-shifting aliens.

The aliens are often times described as being humanoid reptilians that are from either another planet or universe (although some claim that they are actually the offspring of alien-human hybrids from thousands of years ago) and have actually been in control for thousands of years, and are using their technology to take on a human form and secretly control the human race.

There are several videos on the internet that claim to show some famous person or politician showing some type of reptilian features for a split second, and the reality is that they do not. Many of these videos allegedly shows a person “revealing” some kind of reptilian features are actually the result of camera angle and light reflection, or even or even natural human bodily actions, such as pupil dilation, and just licking lips with one’s tongue. Some of these video are even the result of some special effects put in to the video by someone who wants to prove that shape-shifting aliens are real.

Taking into account the wide scope that many conspiracy theorists believe this to be, many people have been accused of being a shape-shifting alien (this includes David Icke as well, and possible even myself). There are even people who actually claim to be one of these aliens. Of course they never actually turn into an alien, they just act very strange when they are in what they claim to be in their transformation. These “transformations” seem more like acting, or psychosis.

MORE . . .

via The Soap Box

illuminatiOne of the big conspiracy theories going around the internet (especially Youtube) is that the music industry is controlled by the Illuminati (mind you of course there is no proof that the Illuminati even exists in the first place).

One of the key pieces of “evidence” that many conspiracy theorists claims is “proof” that the Illuminati is in control of the music industry is that many musical artists tend to use hand gestures and symbols (along also with certain lyrics) that many conspiracy theorists believe contain pro-Illuminati messages, or is being used as some type of brain washing techniques.

Now besides the fact that a very secretive group (such as the allegedly existing Illuminati) probably wouldn’t be so bluntly giving away their existence by having a bunch of musical artists basically giving their audience a bunch of little subtle hints of that group’s existence, it would kind of defeats the purpose of a secretive group being a secret to the public at large if they gave away their existence so openly.

iLLumiNuTTi_Seal_250pxMusical artists can be a weird kind of bunch. They constantly “reinvent” themselves or evolve in there tastes for two main purpose: To express themselves artistically, and to stay relevant so they can make money from teenagers and young adults, because that is where a large part of where music sales come from. There is even speculation that some musical artist that are accused of working for the Illuminati are actually intentionally using what is considered Illuminati symbols in their acts and lyrics in their music in order to generate controversy, and thus publicity.

There are also other claims by people who claim to have worked in (or currently are working in) the music industry, and that they have actually “witnessed” either what they consider to be Illuminati or other occult type ceremonies occur in private with some of these musical artists. These claims tend to be few and far between, and could be simply the result of . . .

MORE . . .

via Mysterious Universe

There can be very few people – if, indeed, any – with an interest in UFOs, conspiracies, cover-ups, and strange and sinister goings-on of a distinctly weird nature who have not heard of the so-called “black helicopters” or “phantom helicopters” that seem to play an integral – albeit admittedly unclear – role in perceived UFO-connected events. And one of the biggest misconceptions about this deeply weird phenomenon is that those same mysterious helicopters are lacking in official documentation. Actually not so at all. In fact, exactly the opposite. If you know where to go looking…

The FBI’s now-declassified files on cattle-mutilations in 1970s USA make for fascinating reading and demonstrate the Bureau had a deep awareness of the presence of the enigmatic helicopters in affairs of the mute kind. On 29 August 1975, Floyd K. Haskell, Senator for the State of Colorado, wrote an impassioned letter to Theodore P. Rosack, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI at Denver, Colorado, imploring the FBI to make a full investigation into the cattle mutilations, in an attempt to resolve the matter once and for all.

He said: “For several months my office has been receiving reports of cattle mutilations throughout Colorado and other western states. At least 130 cases in Colorado alone have been reported to local officials and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI); the CBI has verified that the incidents have occurred for the last two years in nine states. The ranchers and rural residents of Colorado are concerned and frightened by these incidents. The bizarre mutilations are frightening in themselves: in virtually all the cases, the left ear, rectum and sex organ of each animal has been cut away and the blood drained from the carcass, but with no traces of blood left on the ground and no footprints.”

And there was an unmarked helicopter out in force in Colorado too, as Senator Haskell was only too well aware: “In Colorado’s Morgan County area there has [sic] also been reports that a helicopter was used by those who mutilated the carcasses of the cattle, and several persons have reported being chased by a similar helicopter. Because I am gravely concerned by this situation, I am asking that the Federal Bureau of Investigation enter the case. Although the CBI has been investigating the incidents, and local officials also have been involved, the lack of a central unified direction has frustrated the investigation.”

He continued: “It seems to have progressed little, except for the recognition at long last that the incidents must be taken seriously. Now it appears that ranchers are arming themselves to protect their livestock, as well as their families and themselves, because they are frustrated by the unsuccessful investigation. Clearly something must be done before someone gets hurt.”

The loss of livestock in at least 21 states under similar circumstances suggested that an interstate operation was being coordinated.

MORE . . .

Embarrassing Conspiracy Theory Follow up

via The Soap Box

Note: Special thanks to Autistic Skeptic for sending me some information on this and then putting this into movie form.

In a previous Embarrassing Conspiracy Theory article I talked about how many conspiracy theorists believe that the government is going to declare martial law and place dissenters into large prison camps run by FEMA, often times called FEMA camps. These conspiracy theorist also believe that the government is stock-piling plastic burial vaults in order to place large amounts of bodies in what is suppose to be the mass killing of millions of citizens via biological weapons, or some other more violent means.

There are multiple photos floating around the internet showing thousands of these plastic burial vaults in highly visible, outdoor storage facilities. Some of these vaults are along major roads and highways, and are very easy to find and access. Many of these facilities don’t even have fences around them, and would allow anyone who wanted to, to go up to one of these places and have a look around.

It seems a tad bit odd the government would have them out in the open like this if they were going to be used in a massive conspiracy to kill millions. This leads to the question that if this was part of some huge conspiracy to kill off millions of people, then why would they be out in the open like they are?

Also, if the government was planning to murder millions, then why would they bother to put the bodies in plastic burial vaults in the first place, when it would be easier and cheaper to bury the bodies without a burial vault?

The only purpose for burial vaults is to protect the casket and the body inside from the dirt outside of it, which would also explain why these vaults are so large and look like they could hold three or four people. So it makes no sense that the government is willing to protect the bodies of millions of people that it’s going to allegedly murder.

MORE . . .

via skeptoid.com

We usually dismiss conspiracy theorists as crazy people; but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Skeptoid #264
Podcast transcript | Listen | Subscribe

Today we’re going to descend into the darkest depths of the human mind to learn what makes a conspiracy theorist tick; or, as some would put it, to learn why his tick seems just a bit off. Is there anything we can learn from the conspiratorial mind, and is there a method to its apparent madness?

The human brain evolved in such a way as to keep itself alive to the best of its ability. For the past few million years, our ancestors faced a relatively straightforward daily life. Their job was simply to stay alive. Like us, they had different personalities, different aptitudes, different attitudes. This was borne out in many ways, but the classic example that’s often used is that something would rustle in the tall grass. Some of our ancestors weren’t too concerned, and figured it was merely the wind; but others were more cautious, suspected a panther, and jumped for the nearest tree. Over the eons, and hundreds of thousands of generations, the nonchalant ancestors were wrong (and got eaten) just often enough that eventually, more survivors were those who tended toward caution, and even paranoia. In evolution, it pays to err on the side of caution. The brains most likely to survive were those who saw a panther in every breath of wind, an angry god in every storm cloud, a malevolent purpose in every piece of random noise. We are alive today as a race, in part, because our brains piece random events together into a pattern that adds up to a threat that may or may not be real. As a result, we are afraid of the dark even though there’s rarely a monster; thunder frightens us even though lightning is scarcely a credible threat; and we perceive the menace of malevolent conspiracies in the acts of others, despite the individual unlikelihood of any one given example.

Conspiratorial thinking is not a brain malfunction. It’s our brain working properly, and doing exactly what it evolved to do.

So then, why aren’t we all conspiracy theorists? Why don’t we all see conspiracies all day long? It’s because we also have an intellect, and enough experience with living in our world that we are usually able to correctly analyze the facts and fit them into the way we have learned things really work. It is, exactly as it sounds, a competition between two forces in our head. One is the native, instinctive impulse to see everything as a threat, and the other is our rational, conscious thought that takes that input and judges it.

Let’s look at two examples that illustrate the ends of the spectrum. David Icke is a British conspiracy theorist best known for his claim that most world leaders are actually reptilian aliens wearing electronic disguises. When you pause a video, he points to the compression artifacting and asserts that it’s a glitch in the electronic disguise. However, he’s out in the world, he tours, he writes books, he has a family and is a member of his community. He’s not locked in an asylum as we might expect from hearing his theory.

MORE . . .

via The Soap Box

It has been 11 years since terrorists attacked this country and murdered almost 3,000 people, and almost over night conspiracy theorists began accusing the government of committing this massive attack. These people eventually became known the “9/11 Truth Movement“, or, as they are more commonly called, “Truthers”.

So, what exactly has this 9/11 Truth Movement done?

Well, besides promoting a conspiracy theory that has been completely and totally dis-credited and debunked (even though they try make it appear that their theories are still creditable) all they have really done is nothing at all.

Well… nothing positive at least.

The 9/11 Truth Movement has done nothing but promote ideas that sometimes makes gullible people paranoid, and paranoid people more paranoid.

It has given liars and frauds a chance to exploit these gullible and paranoid people, and basically make money off of them through sales of their books and videos, and people paying to see them and hear them speak.

It has left some people so paranoid that they think that anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs is either a sheep or a dis-information agent. This includes everyone from people over the internet whom they have never met, and conclude that they must be working for the government, or are just stupid, simply because they disagree with them, to close friends and family members whom are concerned about them because their belief in the conspiracy theory is affecting their life. This paranoia can even lead to a person in the Truth movement to isolate themselves from those close to them, or from society in general, because they just don’t feel they can trust anyone that do not believe what they believe.

(MORE . . . )

via The Soap Box

There are a lot of conspiracy theorists who every year make claims that the New World Order (or the NWO for short) is going to take over the country, and then the world.

Here is how they tend to come up with these dates:

First, they find a date where something important happens.

Alternatively they just make up a date and claim that it is when the NWO is going to take over. The reason usually behind this is that they believe that the date has some significant importance with the occult and Satanic beliefs.

Second, they make a claim of a “triggering event”. It’s usually something that is very destructive and would force the government to declare martial law, such as a massive terrorist attack, a nuclear explosion, a pandemic, etc.

Alternatively, they will claim that the United Nations will take over, or the European Union, or some other foreign body.

Third, when the prediction fails, they will usually forget about the prediction, and never mention it again. They will then most likely go on and make a new prediction.

Alternatively they will claim that because of their “warning” people became more alert, so the New World Order scrubbed their plans and set a new date.

Now many of you are probably thinking that this is kind of simplified, but in reality this is how many of these date specific predictions (not just New World Order predictions) work: Make a best guess date, claim what the trigger will be, nothing happens, repeat the process.

A recent example of this would be the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. (more . . .)

by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Ph.D. via Psychology Today

Personality and Conspiracy Theories: What Your Beliefs Say About You | Psychology TodayImagine that everything we think we understand about how the world works is, in fact, an elaborate hoax. Democracy is a sham designed to fool us into believing we are in control. That a small group of unknown, unaccountable elites is actually pulling the strings and pretty much deciding the course of history; everything from the world economy and the conduct of nations to the media and pop culture is under their complete control. Anyone who says otherwise has either been fooled by the conspiracy or is an agent of disinformation.

Does this seem plausible to you? Our latest test is designed to assess your belief in conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories are now a firm feature of popular culture – the recent furore around Wiki-leaks provided compelling evidence for this. But the popularity of conspiracy theorising dates back to the shocking assassination of American President J.F.K. in broad daylight and in front of dozens of onlookers on November 22nd, 1963. Immediately, many people claimed that there was more than one gunman, and conspiracy theories arose implicating everyone from the CIA to the communists. More recently, films like Oliver Stone’s JFK and T.V. shows like The X-Files brought conspiratorial themes further into the mainstream. The terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 have become perhaps the most widely debated events of the current generation. Many people doubt the ‘official’ story, believing instead that the events were the result of a conspiracy.

So, what has psychological research told us about belief in conspiracy theories? Not much. Indeed, so far only a handful of studies have looked at the personality of conspiracy theory believers. This research has found that believers tend to be lacking in trust and higher in levels of anomie – the feeling that things are generally getting worse – when compared to people with low levels of conspiracy beliefs. However, these findings show correlation, not causation. On the one hand, it may indicate that people’s conspiratorial beliefs are a result of their underlying lack of trust; people who see conspiracies behind everything are simply be projecting their own jaded view of the world onto events. Alternatively, lack of trust may follow from the perception of a conspiracy, reflecting a rational response to the reality of living in a world of conspiracy.

Read More: Personality and Conspiracy Theories: What Your Beliefs Say About You | Psychology Today.

By Hany Farid via Fourandsix Technologies

Ever since the assassination of President Kennedy, numerous theories have circulated claiming that Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin, acted as part of a larger criminal conspiracy. It has been suggested, for example, that incriminating photographs of Oswald were manipulated and hence evidence of a broader plot. I have never been particularly interested in these conspiracy theories. I do, however, like that at least one aspect of the theory was testable – were the shadows in the Oswald backyard photo physically plausible or not?

A portion of the argument for photo tampering goes something like this. Consider the shadow cast from Oswald’s body onto the ground. The orientation and length of the shadow suggest that the sun is to Oswald’s left and relatively low on the horizon. The long straight shadow under Oswald’s nose, however, suggests that the sun is directly above him. These seemingly incongruous shadows have led to speculation that Oswald’s head was pasted into the scene. In fact, Oswald himself claimed that the photo was a fake and had been altered to falsely implicate him.

I thought that there was a chance that the photo was fake because it does seem at first glance that the shadows in this photo are inconsistent with one another. I also know, however, that our visual system can be spectacularly bad at judging such things as lighting and shadows in a photo.

In order to reason about the shadows in this scene we need a three dimensional model of the scene (Oswald’s head/body and the ground plane) and the three dimensional location of the sun. In general, determining three dimensional information from a single two dimensional image is an under-determined and difficult problem. Estimating three-dimensional models of a person’s head, however, is relatively easy because of the somewhat constrained and well understood geometry of human heads.

A frontal and profile view are required to build a 3-D model of a person’s head – Oswald’s mugshots were perfect for this.

Keep Reading: … Photo Forensics Software | Fourandsix Technologies – Blog – Lee Harvey Oswald.

When even it’s critics feel it’s pointless to continue criticizing it.

via The Soap Box

Cults usually have two ways of dieing. Usually it’s either in some way that most, if not all of it’s members die, or, no one gives a damn about them anymore, including it’s critics, because there is just not enough members left to give a damn about the group, and even the members that remain don’t seem to give a damn about it anymore either.

The Zeitgeist Movement, a group that that many of it’s critics consider to be a cult, and promotes conspiracy theories, an unrealistic and highly flawed economic system called the “resource based economy”, an unrealistic belief that no one will ever have to work anymore, that machines will do all of our work for us, and reeducating people (hinting that reeducation could be forced) to change the way they think, has essentially gone out with a fizzle, instead of a boom.

It’s Z-day events around the world has gotten smaller and smaller every year, and it’s recent “Zeitgeist Media Festival” was a complete failure. Hardly anyone showed up at all. In addition to this, it’s New (Age) World Fair was also a failure.

What’s left of it’s leadership appears to be losing it due to the lose of membership and plain interest in the group. One of the Zeitgeist Movement’s leaders, VTV, is so desperate for attention that he has now resorted to trolling internet blogs and forums with sock puppets. The creator of TZM, Peter Joseph Merola, has been begging people to interview him, even trying to get conspiracy theory promoter Alex Jones to interview him.

No group that might share even miniscule amounts of similarity with them want’s anything to do with them either.

Read more: The Soap Box: How do you know a cult is dead? When even it’s critics feel it’s pointless to continue criticizing it..

via The Soap Box

(Disclaimer: I considered not posting this because it is a very sensitive subject, but I also felt it needed to be posted as a way to help getting people who do “believe” in this to finally admit they are wrong)

The Holocaust was the most horrendous acts of mass murder in human history. It killed six million European Jews, and maybe just as many people in other ethnic groups and religions as well. Despite all of the imagines of this horror that has been burned into our minds through photos, videos, testimony from survivors, the soldiers rescued them, and even members of the SS, there are still a group of people who don’t believe, or at least they claim they don’t believe, the Holocaust happened.

Of all the conspiracy theories there are, Holocaust denial is one of the most disgusting and bigoted conspiracy theories in the world. This conspiracy theory is so offensive, it is illegal to promote in 17 countries, including Germany, and people have gone to prison because they promoted it in those countries.

More: The Soap Box: Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: Holocaust Denial.

I’d like to take this moment to thank everybody for their continued support of iLLumiNuTTi.com. Since we first opened our doors in April we have had a fantastic growth in the number of visitors. Thank you! Keep telling your friends about us and don’t forget to “Like” us on FaceBook and we’ll continue to bring you the weird, wacky and fun stuff!

Have fun and feel free to comment your ideas and suggestions. :)

Mason I. Bilderberg

via The Soap Box

One of the most common claims by conspiracy theorists is that there are dis-information agents all over the place. Normally these accusations of being a dis-information agent are made against skeptics and debunkers, since skeptics and debunkers are the people who show just how faulty conspiracy theories really are. But sometimes, claims of being a dis-information agent are made by conspiracy theorists, against other conspiracy theorists.

In fact, it’s actually quite common for some conspiracy theorists to accuse other conspiracy theorists of being dis-information agents, especially if those who are being accused, promote conspiracy theories that are either so radical, or so strange, that other conspiracy theorists actually debunk them. Sometime it doesn’t even have to be really weird, just very different from what another conspiracy theorist believes.

Because of this, and other actions, such as spamming the comments section on conspiracy theorists web sites, blogs,  message boards, and skeptics and debunker web sites and blogs, with their extremely strange conspiracy theories, many “mainstream” conspiracy theorists have “concluded” that these people who promote these extremely strange conspiracy theories must be dis-information agents because… who else would promote such insane conspiracy theories.

Read More: The Soap Box: Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: Radical Conspiracy Theorist = Dis-information Agent.
See also: The Soap Box: Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: Debunker Bloggers = Dis-information Agent.

via The Soap Box

There are probably more then a dozen or so conspiracy theories involving the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, and I admit, I think every one of those theories are ridiculous and false. But, there is one conspiracy theory that is so ridiculous that most 9/11 conspiracy theorists don’t talk about.

This is the theory that no planes hit the World Trade Center towers.

It is considered the craziest of all the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and talk about it has been banned from many conspiracy theorist websites. Some people who advocate these theories are even accused of being dis-information agent, and have even been threaten with violence.

There are actually two different versions this theory.

The first one is that what we all saw on TV were not planes, but computer generated images, and that every video that showed the planes hitting the towers are fakes.

Besides the fact that this claim sounds insane, it would also have to mean that every eye witness to the attack, including people who were standing in the street, and people who were actually in the buildings themselves and watched the planes hit, are lying…

Keep Reading: The Soap Box: Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: No Planes hit the World Trade Center.

If anyone has ever encountered a conspiracy theorist on the internet, then you know that some of them can be quite intense people, even to the point where you might believe that they are mentally disturbed.
So here now is a list of six ways to tell if a conspiracy theorist that you see posting on the internet might be mentally disturbed:

(Author’s note: it should be noted that there is a difference between being mentally ill and mentally disturbed. Mental illness is actually far more common then most people might think. In fact, one-in-four people in the United States has some type of mental illness. You might even know someone who has a mental illness and not even know it. What mental illness is, is something that happens to a person’s mind or brain to cause them to act and think irrationally, and they can usually recognize the negative impact it is having on them and their life. As for someone who is mentally disturbed, they also might think and act irrationally, but their irrationality would be in a much more volatile and disturbing manner, and they might be so far gone that they do not realize this.

Also, just because person’s posts might indicate that they are mentally disturbed, it doesn’t mean that they are in fact mentally disturbed, they could just be a troll, but even a troll can still be mentally disturbed.)

6. Incoherence

Basically speaking, whatever messages they post either barely make any sense, or makes no sense what so ever. This can be a gradual thing, where if you’re having an argument with the conspiracy theorist, over time they can begin making less and less sense as they grow more frustrated and angry because you’re not agreeing with them, or they’re just incoherent out right.

5. Volatile & Vileness

Some conspiracy theorists, especially those who might be mentally disturbed, can become extremely angry in a second, especially when confronted with evidence that the conspiracy theories that they believe in are in fact false. It’s quite common for people who are like this to post messages that are best described as either being threatening, insulting, and at the very least, disturbing. Sometimes they’ll even make threats against public officials and institutions, or just the people they’re arguing with.

Keep Reading: The Soap Box: 6 Ways to tell if a Conspiracy Theorist posting on the Internet is Mentally Disturbed.

If conspiracists truly believe in their cause(s), why is it they must lie about, or distort, the truth?

via hoax-slayer.com

Detailed Analysis

This image depicts a large group of airline pilots marching in full uniform at an unidentified street protest. Each pilot in the picture is holding a placard that features a photograph apparently meant to illustrate “chemtrails” in the sky. The scene depicted in the image implies that the pilots are protesting against these supposed “chemtrails”.

The picture shows a real protest along with real marching pilots. However, they are certainly not protesting “chemtrails” nor in any way endorsing the absurd conspiracy theories surrounding the supposed existence and causes of such chemtrails. In fact, as the following source image illustrates, the pilots were protesting much more down-to-earth issues such as pilot pay and working conditions.

A September 29, 2011 Forbes article about the protest notes:

Hundreds of uniformed pilots, standing in stark contrast to the youthful Occupy Wall Street protesters, staged their own protest outside of Wall Street over the past couple of days, holding signs with the picture of the Hudson river crash asking “What’s a Pilot Worth” and others declaring “Management is Destroying Our Airline.” This comes after pilots at United asked a federal judge to halt the merger with Continental, arguing that the whole thing is proceeding too quickly.

The original picture can be seen in a 28 September 2011 Daily Mail article along with following caption

United: Over 700 Continental and United pilots, joined by additional pilots from other Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) carriers, demonstrate in front of Wall Street on Tuesday

The altered picture apparently originated from image website Dees Illustration Studio, which features a Political Satire section that hosts a number of similarly altered images, including other chemtrail pictures. It is unclear how or by who’s hand the image escaped from this original context and began circulating online.

Some readers might be wondering what the supposed “chemtrails” shown on the fake placards actually are. According to various paranoid conspiracy theorists, chemtrails are visible evidence that governments or big companies are secretly and deliberately dumping poisons into the earth’s atmosphere for their own nefarious purposes. Some theorists claim the poisons are dumped to make sure that citizens are chronically ill and therefore more easily controlled by governments or more likely to have need of expensive pharmaceutical products. Other suggest that the chem dumping is a clandestine operation to delay global warming. Several other, equally wacky, conspiracy theories have been suggested as possible causes of the trails.

In reality, the supposed chemtrails are just contrails. Contrails are condensation trails that form behind jet aircraft when they burn fuel in the upper troposphere. An in depth discussion about chemtrail conspiracy theories is available on the Skeptic’s Dictionary website.

Read More: Faux Image – Pilots Protesting Chemtrails


Debunked: ChemTrails and ChemClouds

A very high quality copy of this video and a link to the 1905 book “Cloud Studies” is available at:
http://tinyurl.com/7ezxt5n
. Feel free to download the video and re-post on video sharing websites.

via The Soap Box

What are four things that Alex Jones, David Icke, and Jesse Venture all have in common?

  1. All three are considered three to be among the top conspiracy theorists in the world.
  2. All three have used the media and the internet to promote conspiracy theories.
  3. All three have made millions from promoting conspiracy theories.
  4. All three are still alive.

For many years conspiracy theorists have been claiming that the government, or some shadowy NWO type of groups, are murdering conspiracy theorists, either to keep them from continuing to promote conspiracy theories, or to prevent them from “revealing” certain information.

It doesn’t matter how the person died. They could have died of natural causes, or they could have committed suicide, but to conspiracy theorists, the fact that another conspiracy theorist is dead, especially a top conspiracy theorist, makes many fellow conspiracy theorists suspicious.

Many conspiracy theorists who have died over years due to natural causes have died because of either …

Continue Reading: Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: The Government Kills Conspiracy Theorists.

via The Soap Box

One of the most prominent conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks is that many conspiracy theorists believe that the World Trade Center towers came down as a result of explosives that were place in the building months in advanced. They base this belief on the comments and advocacy of a few engineers and demolition experts who believe that the buildings collapsed in a controlled demolition.

The major problem with this is that conspiracy theorists assume that a jumbo jet, nearly full of jet fuel, couldn’t cause enough damage to cause the buildings to collapse. They reason they believe this is because they believe these 9/11 truth engineers when they say that the steel structures of the building should not have been damaged enough in the crashes to cause them to collapse, and that the heat caused by the burning jet fuel could not have been hot enough. The problem with this theory is that it assumes that the combination of the two should not have been able to bring down the towers because neither one on their own could have brought down the towers, and what tends to not be taken into consideration by many conspiracy theorists is while one of the two might not have been enough to bring down the towers, the combination of both was enough to bring down the towers.

Also, if you watch the videos of the collapses of the towers, it clearly shows that the beginnings of the collapses began at the impact areas. If there were any explosives on those floors, they would have gone off very shortly after the impacts, if not right at the time of impact.

Keep Reading: The Soap Box: Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: 9/11 Controlled Demolition.



[Download a HD version of this video for reposting:
http://tinyurl.com/7rjrsjr
]

Let’s have a big round of applause for my favorite moron … Alex Jones!

Alex Jones Says THEY Are Going To Hunt You Down With Magic Robotic Drone Bullets – YouTube.

Reblogged from Zuma's Revenge:

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Ok… I am a bit confused by the whole “Batman Shooter Conspiracy” theory.  Correction - I am a bit confused about the reasons some people are citing as proof of a conspiracy.

I certainly don’t doubt the possibility of a conspiracy existing here.  Nor do I doubt our government’s willingness to create such a conspiracy in an attempt to use fear to convince the general public to hand over their Constitutional rights (it certainly wouldn’t be the first time).

Read more… 1,031 more words

Reblogged from The Color of Lila:

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Okay, all you the-moon landings-were-faked conspiracy nuts:  now we have photos taken from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing the flags that the Apollo astronauts left behind on their moon landings.

NASA has a nice web page explaining the science that debunks the conspiracy nuts, but a picture is worth a thousand words.  Then again, conspiracy nuts are notoriously committed to their world views…

Read more… 104 more words

I have a theory: There’s something inherent in human nature that makes people need religion. Some kind of religion. Any kind of religion. Even the most atheist people in the world still can’t fight this urge to have some kind of religious conviction.

With this I don’t mean that every single individual person in existence has religious convictions. Of course there are exceptions, ie. people who truly are neutral and skeptic in the proper sense of the word, who do not obsess about some conviction. However, these seem to be more the exception than the rule. What I mean is that no matter what group of people we are talking about, there will always be some fanatic individuals which obsess about something with religious conviction.

Even people with an atheist world view can still have hard time resisting this urge, and thus they will find some substitute.

One such substitute in the modern world are conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theory fanatics present all the symptoms of religious fanatics. Here are some of them:

  1. A conspiracy theorist has “seen the light”, so to speak. That is, he has seen the Truth, which the majority of other people haven’t.
  2. A conspiracy theorist has the absolute, irrefutable, unshakable CONVICTION that he knows the Truth, only the Truth, and nothing but the Truth. There’s absolutely no doubt in his mind that what he believes is the Truth.The conspiracy theorist will say things like “there’s NO WAY these photos are not faked” and “there’s NO WAY this is something else than controlled demolition”, etc. He is absolutely sure and certain at all possible levels that he knows the truth.
  3. There’s absolutely nothing you can say that will convince the conspiracy theorist otherwise. You can refute every single claim he makes to absolute smithereens with hard scientific easy-to-understand facts, and that will not move his conviction even a fraction of an inch. Not even a shadow of a doubt will cross his mind at any point.
  4. The doctrine which the conspiracy theorist believes is based on a series of books, web pages and “documentaries” made by some other conspiracy theorists (which are completely akin to prophets), and every single word in these works is considered the absolute Truth by the conspiracy theorist. Every single claim, no matter how small or how ridiculous, is the absolute Truth. Not a single claim is considered dubious or unimportant.
  5. The conspiracy theorist has the irresistible urge to spread the Truth to others, the lost lambs who wander in darkness and still don’t know the Truth, who haven’t seen the light, and who must be converted.Spreading the Truth is in no way limited to the Internet. Like the most vocal religious movements, also conspiracy theorists will organize protest marches and parades, where they will disturb the peace of completely unrelated events, they will get into TV shows to spread their convictions, they will preach to individuals at their workplaces and other places, etc, etc.

Keep Reading Facts about conspircy theorists and beleivers. | Autistic skeptic..

Surveillance by government of its people is, almost without question, something that does happen from time to time; perhaps more often than we think. In this age of mass-shootings and the threat potentials associated with terrorist acts, some would argue it has become a necessity; others would tell us that to believe such a philosophy amounts to “giving in,” and that doing so could constitute an unnecessary forfeit in the battle for our liberties.

But in truth, while the political argument (especially in the United States) is more recent, surveillance has been going on for quite some time. I remember the first time I was shown clumsy apparatus that my friend, Joshua Warren, had recently inherited from a family member who had worked in some official capacity. He appeared on the popular late night radio program Coast to Coast AM discussing the acquisition, which was comprised of a phoney watch that was wired with a lead connecting it to a remarkably bulky wire recorder which, in truth, was probably too large to fit in most breast pockets today. There had been recordings that accompanied the outfit, but due to rust and years that had corroded the wires, they were barely discernible.

Keep Reading: They Are Listening: Secret Surveillance and Coverty Oddities | Mysterious Universe.

I’d like to take this moment to thank everybody for their continued support of iLLumiNuTTi.com. Since we first opened our doors in April we have had a fantastic growth in the number of visitors. Thank you! Keep telling your friends about us and don’t forget to “Like” us on FaceBook and we’ll continue to bring you the weird, wacky and fun stuff!

Have fun and feel free to comment your ideas and suggestions. :)

Mason I. Bilderberg

Here i go again! Those who know me, know i can’t stand Alex Jones. This guy is a clown:


Alex Jones Says GROW UP – YouTube.

It is not to uncommon for conspiracy theorists themselves to be accused of being involved in a conspiracy of some sort. While accusations of being involved in a conspiracy are usually are usually made by other conspiracy theorists, they sometimes actually made by skeptics as well.

Here is a list of five conspiracies that conspiracy theorists are sometimes accused of:

Keep Reading: The Soap Box: 5 Conspiracies made against Conspiracy Theorists.

The picture below is a satellite view of the west coast of the United States. The question is, what are those white trails in the pacific ocean? Some would say those are contrails while the conspiracists among us are insisting those are … (wait for it) … CHEMTRAILS!!!!!!!!

But they are not contrails and they can’t be chemtrails (chemtrails don’t exist), so what are they? Click the link below the image to find out (hint: they are not created by anything airborn).

Geoengineering “Chemtrails” Over the Pacific?.

The chemtrail conspiracy theory seems to frequently misidentify ordinary contrails as “chemtrails” – some kind of secret spraying program. This theory comes in many flavors, and there’s a large number of things people bring up as “evidence” to support this theory. I’ve tried to gather all the debunks of this evidence in one place here, for easy reference. This is a work in progress, and will remain on the front page here as I expand and refine it.

While the title of this post is “How to Debunk Chemtrails”, the actual debunking depends on what version of the theory needs debunking. There’s a variety of common claims, and variations on those themes. The best approach is to debunk the individual claim (such as: contrails only last a few seconds), rather than trying to debunk the entire theory.

I’ve tried to arrange each section in the order of most useful links first.

Keep Reading: How to Debunk Chemtrails – Contrail Science » Contrail Science.

The photos below have surfaced showing the interior of a chemtrail plane! I didn’t believe in chemtrails – i didn’t believe there was evidence – but I may have to re-think my chemtrail beliefs!!!

But wait! There’s more!

Click here to find out more! ;)