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Title: Ridicule of Conspiracy Theories Focuses On Diffusing Criticism of the Powerful
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URL Source: http://www.georgewashington2.blogsp ... nspiracy-theories-focuses.html
Published: Feb 12, 2010
Author: Washington's Blog
Post Date: 2010-02-12 06:41:06 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 1344
Comments: 112
The label "conspiracy theory" is commonly used to try to discredit criticism of the powerful in government or business. For example, just this week - after Tony Blair was confronted by the Iraq Inquiry with evidence that he had used lies to sell the Iraq war - Blair dismissed the entire Iraq Inquiry as simply being part of Britain's "obsession with conspiracy theories". (Not only did Blair know that Saddam possessed no WMDs, but the French this week accused Blair of using of ‘Soviet-style' propaganda in run-up to the Iraq war). Of course, the American government has been busted in the last couple of years in numerous conspiracies. For example, William K. Black - professor of economics and law, and the senior regulator during the S & L crisis - says that that the government's entire strategy now - as during the S&L crisis - is to cover up how bad things are ("the entire strategy is to keep people from getting the facts").Similarly , 7 out of the 8 giant, money center banks went bankrupt in the 1980's during the "Latin American Crisis", and the government's response was to cover up their insolvency. And the government spied on American citizens (even before 9/11 ... confirmed here and here), while saying "we don't spy". The government tortured prisoners in Iraq, but said "we don't torture". In other words, high-level government officials have conspired to cover up the truth. And Tom Brokaw notes: All wars on based on propaganda. A concerted effort to produce propaganda is a conspiracy. Acceptable Versus Unacceptable Conspiracy Theories Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme was a conspiracy. The heads of Enron were found guilty of conspiracy, as was the head of Adelphia. Numerous lower-level government officials have been found guilty of conspiracy. See this, this, this, this and this. Time Magazine's financial columnist Justin Fox writes: Some financial market conspiracies are real ... Most good investigative reporters are conspiracy theorists, by the way. Indeed, conspiracies are so common that judges are trained to look at conspiracy allegations as just another legal claim to be disproven or proven by the evidence. But - while people might admit that corporate executives and low-level government officials might have engaged in conspiracies - they may be strongly opposed to considering that the wealthiest or most powerful might possibly have done so. Indeed, those who most loudly attempt to ridicule and discredit conspiracy theories tend to focus on defending against criticism involving the powerful. This may be partly due to psychology: it is scary for people to admit that those who are supposed to be their "leaders" protecting them may in fact be human beings with complicated motives who may not always have their best interests in mind. And see this. For example, Obama's current head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs - and a favored pick for the Supreme Court (Cass Sunstein) - previously: Defined a conspiracy theory as "an effort to explain some event or practice by reference to the machinations of powerful people, who have also managed to conceal their role." He has called for the use of state power to crush conspiracy allegations of state wrongdoing. See this, this and this. Similarly: Michael Kelly, a Washington Post journalist and neoconservative critic of anti-war movements on both the left and right, coined the term "fusion paranoia" to refer to a political convergence of left-wing and right-wing activists around anti-war issues and civil liberties, which he claimed were motivated by a shared belief in conspiracism or anti-government views. In other words, prominent neocon writer Kelly believes that everyone who is not a booster for government power and war is a crazy conspiracy theorist. Similarly, psychologists who serve the government eagerly label anyone "taking a cynical stance toward politics, mistrusting authority, endorsing democratic practices, ... and displaying an inquisitive, imaginative outlook" as crazy conspiracy theorists. This is not really new. In Stalinist Russia, anyone who criticized the government was labeled crazy, and many were sent to insane asylums. Using the Power of the State to Crush Criticism of the Government The bottom line is that the power of the state is used to crush criticism of major government policies and actions (or failures to act) and high-level government officials. Pay attention, and you'll notice that criticism of "conspiracy theories" is usually aimed at attempting to protect the state and key government players. The power of the state is seldom used to crush conspiracy theories regarding people who are not powerful . . . at least to the extent that they are not important to the government.
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#17. To: Critter, Mister Clean (#13)
There is a lot more evidence supporting the above than there is supporting the Official Conspiracy Theory. You are right, MC, there is no PROOF that many things occured or did not occur on the day of this tragedy. There is no PROOF because many pieces of evidence have not been probed in an open forum of inquiry, and I submit that there is no PROOF because mountains of evidence are held in SECRET. There is no PROOF, for example that there were any Arabs on those planes. I invite you to PROVE it.
and why doesnt anyone have any answers to those questions? surely not because the evidence was shipped to japan, melted down and turned into toyotas before your PNAC buddies finally condescended to submit to a sham investigation.
There is none. Just as there is no proof that Cheney was behind it.
Including the Official Conspiracy Theory?
I invite you to PROVE it. Ticketing information, surveillance footage, reports from the flight crew and cockpit voice recordings serve as proof.
would you mind explaining why the experts from the israeli american media were blaming bin laden before the towers even fell? what evidence were they basing their judgment on? you and your whole project reek... and now the project has degenerated into looting america as it collapses, the biggest looting caper in history. i hope you, as a faithful footsoldier, are getting your cut of the loot.
It proves conspiracy to commit, which typically carries the same or harsher punishment whether or not they actually carried out the crime.
No, it's a pejorative term. Conspiracies happen all the time. It's no theory. Here is a list of conspiracy "theories" that are true: www.newworldorderreport.c...y-Person-Should-Know.aspx We didn't get the proof from the 9/11 Commission. So only those involved know what happened. We just have pieces of the puzzle and even those we argue over. Follow the money. You can't just focus on the attack, but on what came before it as well as what came after. Like the Unocal pipeline and the failed negotiations with the Taliban. I think that is why it happened.
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files Alex Jones is the Robert Tilton of the conspiracy world. ~Mister Clean Live free or How about we try just three questions... Do you believe the planes were piloted remotely? If so, what is your evidence? Do you believe a missile hit the Pentagon? If so, what is your evidence? Do you believe that individuals within the US government were involved in carrying out 9/11? If so, what is your evidence?
I can't explain their motivation for blaming bin Laden other than to say it seemed like the logical choice.
No it doesn't PROVE anything. If they had written about their plans to carry out such attacks, then you would have a point.
how can there be evidence of anything when there was such a concerted effort by the most powerful people in america to destroy evidence, thwart investigations, and propagandize people into submission to the official conspiracy theory? what was the function of the anthrax attacks, if not to send a message: "get with the program or get a nasty letter"
Without proof, a conspiracy remains a conspiracy theory. If a conspiracy theory is proven it's no longer a conspiracy theory! None of the items on the list you linked to are conspiracy theories precisely because they've been proven. Every 9/11 conspiracy theory, however, remains just that.
In other words you have no evidence, only theories. You prove my point.
so then you'll have to admit that the official story of 9/11 is nothing more than a conspiracy theory... ...seeing as how the government has been unable to come up with proof. Results 1 - 10 of about 230,000 for FBI "no evidence" bin laden good enough
...seeing as how the government has been unable to come up with proof. There is plenty of proof that Muslim radicals were behind 9/11. There is no proof that the planes were remotely piloted or that the Twin Towers were destroyed by explosives or that a missile hit the Pentagon or that Flight 93 was shot down.
...after those muslim radicals were waterboarded into providing the "proof".
I believe that something other than Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. I submit as my evidence, the NTSB's Flight 77 FDR analysis and animation included in this video by Pilots for 9/11 Truth: If something other than Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, then the Official Conspiracy Theory falls apart and proves that a conspiracy and coverup exist at the highest levels of the US government.
The Muslim radicals who hijacked the planes were not waterboarded. I'd still like to know whether you believe the planes were remotely piloted or not?
pretty successful operation, wasnt it? but how can you miss when you've got the media, the congress, the president and exxon behind you? how can you miss when you can parlay 50 years of holyhoax propaganda into support for the israelis and israeli americans who most likely dreamed this shit up? why did netanyahu think 9/11 was such a good deal?
why did PNAC say they needed "a new pearl harbor"?
Why would the conspirators attack the Pentagon with something other than one of the hijacked airplanes?
Gee, it must be because they were planning 9/11 and they wanted to telegraph their nefarious plot to the world!
No way - its obvious that the 777 jetliner went through the 10 foot diameter hole in the pentagon - only a American hating KOOK would think otherwise. Besides that's what the government said happened and they are always up front with us and would NEVER twist the facts to cover up their failures. Only a KOOK would think otherwise. And they need to be water bordered to come to their senses.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" In other words, you admit you have no proof to support your theories. But I already knew that.
and you still wont admit that the official version of 9/11 is, according to your own definition of "conspiracy theory", a conspiracy theory, huh? why is that?
I not sure. I can't read the minds of psychopaths. Maybe there was a specific target in the Pentagon that needed to be hit, like an auditing department, that could not be sufficiently damaged by a plane, therefore requiring the use of a missile? Are you conceding that the FDR data does not support 77 hitting the Pentagon?
By it's very nature 9/11 was a conspiracy. Where we may part company is in who the conspirators were. That is the "theory" part. Look at the actual strikes. You had some real fuckwits what could not walk and chew gum at the same time do some pretty good flying in multi-engine planes at very high speeds. IMO one of the weakest links is related to that. It's the Pentagram hit. Do you know what "ground effect" is, and how speed and altitude directly affects it? Then there's Bldg 7 and it's collapse. There's enough out there that I know the official story is bullshit, and I don't need all the answers to be able to say that because they could just as easily have blamed the fucking tooth fairy as being behind it all, and it would be as believable. I would like to know what really happened.
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files Alex Jones is the Robert Tilton of the conspiracy world. ~Mister Clean Live free or Were the planes remotely piloted?
post mortem waterboarding? yeah, that'd be kinda unproductive, wouldnt it, if you needed defendants for your show trials.
how do i know? the evidence was screwed with before a proper investigation could be mounted... and the last thing in the world the most powerful people in america wanted was a proper investigation, anyhow. the fact remains: there are plenty of technologies available to have steered those planes into those buildings, without pilots.
Not at all. I am asking why the conspirators would go through the trouble of executing a plot in which 4 planes were hijacked but only two planes were used as weapons. Why, when they had a plane to use, would the conspirators shoot a missile into the Pentagon? There is no explanation for this from the conspiracy believers.
Yes and allegations that people within the US government were behind it is where the "theory" part comes in.
how do i know? Exactly. You don't know. Thanks!
...and the official conspiracy theory of 9/11 is still a conspiracy theory, because, as you have pointed out, there's no proof bin laden did it.
Ticketing information, surveillance footage, reports from the flight crew and cockpit voice recordings serve as proof. Sir, you have none of these to offer in evidence. 1. There is no documented record of the purported 9-11 terrorists making a plane reservation. If so, there would be a “record locator,” complete with details. 2. There is no documented record of the purported 9-11 terrorists buying or using a ticket. (IDs required) 3. There is no hard-copy of a printed ticket ‘copy.’ 4. There is no record of the purported 9-11 terrorists on any of the passenger manifests, with all legitimate passengers being accounted for. 5. There is no record of the purported 9-11 terrorists in the autopsies. 6. There is not as much as a suggestion that the purported 9-11 terrorists had the needed pilot skills - but rather the contrary. 7. At least seven of the purported 9-11 terrorists are known to be still alive - with no questions being asked. 8. There is no documentation (per the FBI [Mueller] to link the purported 9- 11 terrorists to the events of the day! 9. The presented pictures of the 9-11 hijackers don't match the purported terrorists.
of course, it we boil the whole thing down to traditional methods of compiling a suspect list... "motive, means, and opportunity"... then we've got to go with the PNAC people, dont we? they said they needed a new pearl harbor, which is indication of motive. they had all the means in the world, once they were installed into their positions after the florida election recount, which was looked after by a PNAC member and the president-elect's brother. opportunities abounded, seeing as how these people had been set up in some of the most powerful positions in america.
Sir, you are free to reject reality with as much gusto as you can muster.
33 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True, What Every Person Should Know...
if we add a couple parameters to the "motive, means, opportunity" method of compiling a suspect list, then what? how bout if we add "character" and "prior convictions"... seeing as how this seems to have been a joint israeli/israeli american/oil company project, we can look at israel's character and prior convictions. israel was founded in terror, and it's no stretch to imagine they'd use terror in an attempt to preserve themselves... that's their "character". then we come to "prior convictions"... proven false flag attacks, by israel, on their supposed friends in attempts to manipulate those friends into doing the bleeding for them.
Here's one: The Pentagon mysteriously lost over a trillion dollars and there was an investigation trying to find it. According to some, the area of the Pentagon hit on 9/11 was the same area where the accounting records were kept, and that it was a recently renovated and reinforced section of the building. To destroy it blatantly with a missile would not work out so well, so the missile strike had to happen under the cover story of a hijacked plane hitting the building. But, once again, I am not a psychopath, and have trouble thinking like one. All I know for sure is that the the Official Conspiracy Theory (OCT) is a coverup of what actually happened that day. The EVIDENCE of it being an inside job far outweighs the evidence supporting the OCT. The actual flight data recorder data shows the plane on a different flight path and a much higher altitude than required to hit the light poles and the Pentagon as claimed by the OCT.
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestThere is no PROOF of the various conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11.
#18. To: Mister Clean (#14)
I could go on but there's no point since you have no answers to those questions
#19. To: Critter (#15)
What proof is there that Osama Bin Laden orchestrated 9/11?
#20. To: Mister Clean (#16)
Evidence is not proof which is why every 9/11 conspiracy theory shall remain a conspiracy theory.
The only real restraint on gummints is people who say "live free or die" ... and mean it. - Enderby
#21. To: randge (#17)
There is no PROOF, for example that there were any Arabs on those planes.
#22. To: Mister Clean (#16)
(Edited)
Evidence is not proof which is why every 9/11 conspiracy theory shall remain a conspiracy theory.
#23. To: Mister Clean (#14)
None of that proves they were behind 9/11.
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
#24. To: Mister Clean, all (#7)
The term conspiracy theory is an accurate description of allegations for which there is no proof.
die kill ~~ Me
#25. To: groundresonance (#18)
surely not because the evidence was shipped to japan, melted down and turned into toyotas before your PNAC buddies finally condescended to submit to a sham investigation.
#26. To: groundresonance (#22)
would you mind explaining why the experts from the israeli american media were blaming bin laden before the towers even fell?
#27. To: Esso (#23)
It proves conspiracy to commit,
#28. To: Mister Clean (#25)
(Edited)
what is your evidence?
#29. To: PSUSA (#24)
No, it's a pejorative term. Conspiracies happen all the time. It's no theory.
#30. To: groundresonance (#28)
how can there be evidence of anything when there was such a concerted effort by the most powerful people in america to destroy evidence, thwart investigations, and propagandize people into submission to the official conspiracy theory?
#31. To: Mister Clean (#29)
(Edited)
Without proof, a conspiracy remains a conspiracy theory.
#32. To: groundresonance (#31)
so then you'll have to admit that the official story of 9/11 is nothing more than a conspiracy theory...
#33. To: Mister Clean (#32)
There is plenty of proof that Muslim radicals were behind 9/11.
#34. To: Mister Clean (#25)
Do you believe a missile hit the Pentagon? If so, what is your evidence?
The only real restraint on gummints is people who say "live free or die" ... and mean it. - Enderby
#35. To: groundresonance (#33)
...after those muslim radicals were waterboarded into providing the "proof".
#36. To: Mister Clean (#32)
There is no proof that the planes were remotely piloted or that the Twin Towers were destroyed by explosives or that a missile hit the Pentagon or that Flight 93 was shot down.
#37. To: Mister Clean (#35)
#38. To: Critter (#34)
If something other than Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, then the Official Conspiracy Theory falls apart and proves that a conspiracy and coverup exist at the highest levels of the US government.
#39. To: groundresonance (#37)
why did PNAC say they needed "a new pearl harbor"?
#40. To: Critter (#34)
#41. To: groundresonance (#36)
but how can you miss when you've got the media, the congress, the president and exxon behind you?
#42. To: Mister Clean (#38)
#43. To: Mister Clean (#38)
Why would the conspirators attack the Pentagon with something other than one of the hijacked airplanes?
The only real restraint on gummints is people who say "live free or die" ... and mean it. - Enderby
#44. To: Mister Clean (#29)
Every 9/11 conspiracy theory, however, remains just that.
die kill ~~ Me
#45. To: groundresonance (#42)
and you still wont admit that the official version of 9/11 is, according to your own definition of "conspiracy theory", a conspiracy theory, huh?
#46. To: Mister Clean (#35)
The Muslim radicals who hijacked the planes were not waterboarded.
#47. To: Mister Clean (#45)
(Edited)
Were the planes remotely piloted?
#48. To: Critter (#43)
Are you conceding that the FDR data does not support 77 hitting the Pentagon?
#49. To: PSUSA (#44)
By it's very nature 9/11 was a conspiracy.
#50. To: groundresonance (#47)
Were the planes remotely piloted?
#51. To: Mister Clean (#49)
allegations that people within the US government were behind it is where the "theory" part comes in.
#52. To: Mister Clean (#21)
There is no PROOF, for example that there were any Arabs on those planes. I invite you to PROVE it.
#53. To: Mister Clean (#50)
#54. To: randge (#52)
Sir, you have none of these to offer in evidence.
#55. To: Mister Clean, EVERYONE ELSE (#54)
#56. To: Mister Clean (#50)
(Edited)
#57. To: Mister Clean (#48)
There is no explanation for this from the conspiracy believers.
The only real restraint on gummints is people who say "live free or die" ... and mean it. - Enderby
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