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Magnets, how do they work?

Too late?

Personally I have no reason to believe most conspiracies. I do, on the other hand, have no problem believing some of the "military black project" ones like Project Aurora and such. After reading Blind Man's Bluff and learning just how much submarine tech was kept almost completely secret during the Cold War I don't see any reason why the government, at least on the military end, isn't capable of keeping black projects under wraps.

As far as aliens/UFOs, I honestly don't think that Earth is important enough as a planet for any alien species capable of actually getting here to care about (the level of technology you need to actually do interstellar travel reasonably basically makes us look like we're banging rocks together). So on that note I can't see any of those conspiracy theories as being anything to put stock in.

I often joke about waco stuff, i was really into the theories when i was a edgy teenager but again, i don't see much "truth" in anything apart from the Sniwden stuff (which at the back of our heads we all knew anyway). Saying 9/11 or Sandy hook was fake to ban guns is over the top though. As a poster said on this, "just so you can have a 10 year can on certian rifles". I doubt any goverment would send anyone to do such a crime. And as a Englishman, whats wrong with getting ride of guns that can get into the hands of madmen like that? If you honestly must have your rifles, why can't they be limited to certian households or families?

 d-usa wrote:
I'm amazed at the people I know that are able to consolidate the belief that the government is completely incompetent and unable to do even the most simple thing right and that the government is able to create elaborate schemes and execute them without anybody catching on to them.

That for me is the crux of why most conspiracy theories are so difficult to believe

Some have asked how the government can maintain secrets as well and as long as they have and do.

Just an example:

A week or so ago I was talking with one of our local officers. Known the guy for close to 10 years. Knew he was in the navy and did some work on subs.

So we were talking and I asked him what subs and kinds he had been on. He said a few names (Los Angeles among them) and then said "And a couple others I can't talk about".

He's been out of the navy for 20+years....and yet still maintains the secrecy.

Those are the types of people the government and military seek out, train, etc.

 TheMeanDM wrote:
Some have asked how the government can maintain secrets as well and as long as they have and do.

Just an example:

A week or so ago I was talking with one of our local officers. Known the guy for close to 10 years. Knew he was in the navy and did some work on subs.

So we were talking and I asked him what subs and kinds he had been on. He said a few names (Los Angeles among them) and then said "And a couple others I can't talk about".

He's been out od rhe navy for 20+years....and yet still maintains the secrecy.

Those are the types of people the government and military seek out, train, etc.

That's because whenever you are read on to anything of that level You sign your life away, unable to disclose anything for the next 70 years, or have your life ruined.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Information

Good video on the moon landing stuff.

I believe some theories, other not.
The arrest of Colonel Khabarov was definitely orchestrated by Serdyukov and co. because Khabarov was too critical of of Serdyukov's reforms. I have a hard time believing Khabarov was actually plotting to stage a coup in the Ural, and so far I haven't seen the slightest evidence for it. The whole charge is just copypasted from the 1930's.
There are many more of this kind of conspiracy theories that I believe. You can never be sure with all the intrigue and scheming in politics and espionage.
I also believe the West played a large role in the overthrow of Yanukovich in the Ukraine, and Putin might have a hand in it as well.
Maybe it was all orchestrated by Putin so he could have an excuse for annexing Crimea and Eastern Ukraine? Who knows?

Than there are of course other, more weird conspiracy theories that I absolutely do not believe. I do not believe Zionists are controlling or trying to control the world, I do not believe in most UFO stories or that 'ancient aliens' nonsense, I do not believe the US faked the moonlanding and I do not believe the US government was behind 9/11 (though I do believe they could have seen it coming if they had paid more attention.)

 Bromsy wrote:
Good video on the moon landing stuff.

Spoiler:

That was a good video. The technical breakdown of how to it would have been impossible to fake the landings just on film alone was pretty great. The end when he describes the kind of thinking that believe in conspiracies like this requires was spot on.

People also fail to realize that NASA accounted for, in writing, every single second of every lunar mission... and it is all a matter of public record.

Well the writing is the one part that could have been faked.

 Grey Templar wrote:
Well the writing is the one part that could have been faked.

The mission logs and technical details of every single piece of hardware and activity are also corroborated by the thousands and thousands of pictures and the hours of film that were also used to document the missions.

Like the guy in the video explained, in 1969 it was far easier to actually go the Moon than to fake the entire thing.

I don't think it was faked, but if anything could have been faked, it would have been the writing. Not the pictures or film.

 Grey Templar wrote:
I don't think it was faked, but if anything could have been faked, it would have been the writing. Not the pictures or film.

I understand where you are coming from, but the level of detail in the mission preplanning combined with the notes and observations made by the astronauts during the mission are a prime example of solid evidence, even more so when you add it to the photographic evidence, video evidence, audio evidence, and physical evidence of the landings.

Plus, why bother to go through all the trouble to fake every detail every minute of every mission and on top of that add additional input from the astronauts just to have all of that information get filed away in some NASA warehouse? The time and effort wouldn't have been worth it.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
I don't think it was faked, but if anything could have been faked, it would have been the writing. Not the pictures or film.

I understand where you are coming from, but the level of detail in the mission preplanning combined with the notes and observations made by the astronauts during the mission are a prime example of solid evidence, even more so when you add it to the photographic evidence, video evidence, audio evidence, and physical evidence of the landings.

Plus, why bother to go through all the trouble to fake every detail every minute of every mission and on top of that add additional input from the astronauts just to have all of that information get filed away in some NASA warehouse? The time and effort wouldn't have been worth it.

Maybe, it was to prove to the Russians we weren't weak.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
Hey Curran. Area51 perfect example for you. We all can see it but no idea what's really in it.

And THIS is the real outrage. I'm incredibly offended that the government is spending my tax dollars on awesome new planes and not letting me fly them, or even know what they are.

Oh, man. You don't even want to know.

You see things, when you're flying 'round Nellis. Stuff over in the Box. Stuff that should not be, yet is.

 Seaward wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
Hey Curran. Area51 perfect example for you. We all can see it but no idea what's really in it.

And THIS is the real outrage. I'm incredibly offended that the government is spending my tax dollars on awesome new planes and not letting me fly them, or even know what they are.

Oh, man. You don't even want to know.

You see things, when you're flying 'round Nellis. Stuff over in the Box. Stuff that should not be, yet is.

I once saw "UFOs" northwest of Nellis when I lived in Las Vegas in the 90s. Never once did I suspect that it was "aliens" or other such nonsense; it was clearly something of ours that we didn't (probably still don't) know about and was most likely terribly awesome... but to me, for all intents and purposes, it was merely an unidentified flying object.

I also remember when employees of a contractor sued the USAF because they got sick from burning hazardous chemicals in open pits at Groom Lake. The suite was thrown out after the President issued a Presidential Determination stating that the "Air Force's Operating Location Near Groom Lake, NV" didn't have to follow EPA environmental disclosure guidelines. It was all the local news talked about for a long time.

 poppa G wrote:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
I don't think it was faked, but if anything could have been faked, it would have been the writing. Not the pictures or film.

I understand where you are coming from, but the level of detail in the mission preplanning combined with the notes and observations made by the astronauts during the mission are a prime example of solid evidence, even more so when you add it to the photographic evidence, video evidence, audio evidence, and physical evidence of the landings.

Plus, why bother to go through all the trouble to fake every detail every minute of every mission and on top of that add additional input from the astronauts just to have all of that information get filed away in some NASA warehouse? The time and effort wouldn't have been worth it.

Maybe, it was to prove to the Russians we weren't weak.

Hardly.

The Soviets independently tracked the progress of every lunar mission. If they could have proven that we didn't do it, as our largest geopolitical and technological rival, they would have come forward and let the world know. It would have been a massive gain for them just from the propaganda that they could have produced from it.

Good point. Alrighty, I can now check that off my list of things to look into.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I once saw "UFOs" northwest of Nellis when I lived in Las Vegas in the 90s. Never once did I suspect that it was "aliens" or other such nonsense; it was clearly something of ours that we didn't (probably still don't) know about and was most likely terribly awesome... but to me, for all intents and purposes, it was merely an unidentified flying object.

Oh, it's definitely not aliens.


Not anymore.

 TheMeanDM wrote:
Some have asked how the government can maintain secrets as well and as long as they have and do.

Just an example:

A week or so ago I was talking with one of our local officers. Known the guy for close to 10 years. Knew he was in the navy and did some work on subs.

So we were talking and I asked him what subs and kinds he had been on. He said a few names (Los Angeles among them) and then said "And a couple others I can't talk about".

He's been out of the navy for 20+years....and yet still maintains the secrecy.

Those are the types of people the government and military seek out, train, etc.

"I can't tell you where I served." "I can't tell you what my job in the military was." "I'd love to tell you this story, but it's still classified."

Guys love to make themselves seem more important than they really are. It's been my general experience that people who REALLY served in situations that they can't talk about don't tell you that they can't talk about it. People who make a point of telling you about their 'secret' past are usually full of it.

Surprised I haven't seen more talk about the Kennedy assassination. If ever there was a more widespread dissemination of a conspiracy theory that people actually believe in, I can't think of it.

 Jimsolo wrote:
"I can't tell you where I served." "I can't tell you what my job in the military was." "I'd love to tell you this story, but it's still classified."

Guys love to make themselves seem more important than they really are. It's been my general experience that people who REALLY served in situations that they can't talk about don't tell you that they can't talk about it. People who make a point of telling you about their 'secret' past are usually full of it.

Yeah, I'm usually pretty weary of people that make claims like that.

However, my uncle has worked for the CIA for some 25 years, but he would just tell people that he "worked for the government." He let the family know who he worked for when he retired (we had always assumed it was the CIA) and while he has never exactly said what he did, I assume he was a field officer because he carried a firearm (most CIA employees do not). He has since gone back to work for the government; this time in Norfolk (so he says) and we assume it is with the Agency again, but he hasn't confirmed that. I do know he does some kind of firearms training, which is pretty awesome. He also met Yasser Arafat at least once during his career.

Surprised I haven't seen more talk about the Kennedy assassination. If ever there was a more widespread dissemination of a conspiracy theory that people actually believe in, I can't think of it.

Yeah I agree, that's usually a pretty popular one. It is kind of funny though, I think a lot of people don't even see it as a "conspiracy theory" any more; they just accept that what they were told isn't what actually happened.

If you snoop around enough, you can find "inconsistencies" in the official story but I feel like the are easier to find because people want to find them. Personally, I believe Lee Harvey Oswald was solely responsible for the assassination and that there is more than enough evidence to prove it.

Just found an interesting one that I had never heard of. The Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed by Aliens.

Just let that sink in...

Think that's one of the weirder alien based ones I've heard.

 Seaward wrote:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I once saw "UFOs" northwest of Nellis when I lived in Las Vegas in the 90s. Never once did I suspect that it was "aliens" or other such nonsense; it was clearly something of ours that we didn't (probably still don't) know about and was most likely terribly awesome... but to me, for all intents and purposes, it was merely an unidentified flying object.

Oh, it's definitely not aliens.


Not anymore.

Sounds like the last bit of intro dialogue just before the X-files titles run

We saw some UFOs once during a trip along Route 66 and were driving pretty close to the Arizona/California border. I don't think they were any kind of alien, but they were pretty weird:

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/michael_kesler/3767915739/

They hung around for a very long time. We were thinking that they might have been some sort of flare, but they kept moving in different directions (including up, which made us question if they were flares). The exposure was a couple minutes long, so you can kind of see the path they took. At some point one of the lights went out, and then another one showed up somewhere behind us.

I'm sure that there is a pretty innocent explanation for these (I think there is a military base somewhere near), but when you run into something like this at 2 AM you get a little freaked out.

Nice! Looks like it's lifted straight from Close Encounters!

Multiple UAV testing maybe?

 insaniak wrote:

 LordofHats wrote:
... Tice ran screaming straight to the New York Times about how the American government was invading the privacy of its citizens. They're reading your emails! They're listening in on your phone conversations!...

The thing I find amusing about this is that all the complaints I've heard about it are stuck on the incredible damage done to civil liberty that results from some government lackey listening in on somebody's wife telling them to buy milk on the way home, rather than focusing on just what a massive waste of money it is to be monitoring that conversation in the first place...

Agreed. Why people feel their private conversations are so important bewilders me (I had the same response to the EA Origin thing). That the government wastes money listening isn't as surprising to me. It's just kind of disappointing.

I think the thing for Tice though is that at the time, he sounded completely looney. Conspiracy theory nut no one should listen to. And look what happened. Same thing happened to Earnest Hemingway. He was convinced the FBI was spying on him but everyone said he was crazy. Turns out the FBI really was spying on him, orders from Hoover himself.

Not that I think conspiracy theories should be given credence, most are completely bonkers on their face, but some paranoid nonsense often times turns out to be true.

 Jimsolo wrote:


"I can't tell you where I served." "I can't tell you what my job in the military was." "I'd love to tell you this story, but it's still classified."

Guys love to make themselves seem more important than they really are. It's been my general experience that people who REALLY served in situations that they can't talk about don't tell you that they can't talk about it. People who make a point of telling you about their 'secret' past are usually full of it.

What are you talking about? I have met several people (who may or may not be crazy) who said they worked as assassins in the army in the first Iraq war . Top secret stuff that they tell to everyone they meet.

"I can't tell you where I served." "I can't tell you what my job in the military was." "I'd love to tell you this story, but it's still classified."

Guys love to make themselves seem more important than they really are. It's been my general experience that people who REALLY served in situations that they can't talk about don't tell you that they can't talk about it. People who make a point of telling you about their 'secret' past are usually full of it."

I had the unfortunate experience of giving an old man on his death bed company a few years ago.

Spent his whole life in the military, was an MI6 agent for a while, and went all over the world. When I first met him he just sat there reading military books and talked, but as he started deteriorating he muttered some awful stories. I mean this guy was made to kill children and some of the things he cried about in his sleep etc made me break down sometimes. Seriously messed up stuff. He would hardly talk about it when he was his normal self though.

Whats worse is this guy got nothing from the military in his final years. Yes he was in a different country (MI6 was british) but he spent his life in service for his government only to die alone, slowly in an old person home.

Just to be clear he was (apparently) involved in a lot British military branches etc, since he hardly spoke of it in his normal state im not too sure on the details. And im glad I dont know.

But anyways back to the point, im sure this guy wasnt making these up. Yes he could be insane or deranged but I feel the stuff that came from his mouth were true. I dont believe in conspiracies as such, but I do think there are many, many things that very few people will ever know. And even if they do hear about them, they will be like me, unsure if its true or not.

Its better, to simply not dwell on it. I mean, at the end of the day there are real problems to look at.

Coincidence is always over looked on conspiracy theories too which annoys me. Like its some huge deal that something happened to happen when it did to them. Im sure the coincidences where looked into a lot by those investigating. Those people just need to accept that not every little detail happens for a reason. Some things just happen.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
He let the family know who he worked for when he retired (we had always assumed it was the CIA) and while he has never exactly said what he did, I assume he was a field officer because he carried a firearm (most CIA employees do not).

Field officers don't, either.

A lot of soldiers have probably done 'classified' stuff but the Army at least classifies everything under the sun (They Also Love to Capitalize ).

Funny Example; I was doing a research project senior year and needed to request the Allgemeine SS handbook which for some baffling reasons was a classified document at MHI. The people who worked there didn't even know why it was classified. We just assume it was put that way at some point and no one ever bothered to change it.

Point being, classified isn't as special as Hollywood makes it sound.

 LordofHats wrote:
A lot of soldiers have probably done 'classified' stuff but the Army at least classifies everything under the sun (They Also Love to Capitalize ).

Funny Example; I was doing a research project senior year and needed to request the Allgemeine SS handbook which for some baffling reasons was a classified document at MHI. The people who worked there didn't even know why it was classified. We just assume it was put that way at some point and no one ever bothered to change it.

Point being, classified isn't as special as Hollywood makes it sound.

This is true as well. Im sure there are heaps of files etc that where declared classified as a precaution then never changed when the precaution was no longer necessary. Im sure most classified documents and so on are boring as hell too.

I'm sure toilet maintenance is classified somewhere.