pacman

I like your summary of how big business runs America JD, well written. I am interested in how you don't see it as a conspiracy because it's TRUE but when you don't have ALL the facts, it can't be a conspiracy because with only grainy video footage to go by & a lack of witnesses, it falls into some unexplained grey area. But whatever it is, it can't be a conspiracy, why? Because you don't believe in them! What I can't understand is you suggest there might be a conspiracy with the death of Michael Hastings but even the very notion of such a thing goes completely against your belief system. (And I am not pretending to know your beliefs, I am basing that on what you keep banging on about) I don't know anyone who doesn't think there are things we have been lied to about & feel sure there's a conspiracy of silence in such cases. But your stance is so starkly at odds with that thinking. Do you accept there are some things that can only be explained by the presence of a conspiracy to keep us in the dark? Here's a conspiracy that no one can deny. On the TV here this evening the author of a new book on Lance Armstrong was being interviewed. He referred to the whole debacle as a "GIANT CONSPIRACY" stretching back to the 1990's involving 100's of competitors, sponsors & officials. The list of people who were in on it & who all knew what was going on for nearly 20 years is absolutely staggering. And yet, if I had written such a thing, either here or in a letter to the newspaper, I would have been shouted down as an idiot. Further proof that we don't know the half of what is going on around us. I think it is good to have a healthy suspicion about strange events that defy logic. I don't believe in jumping to ridiculous conclusions but neither do I dismiss the possibilities. I imagine most intelligent people think similarly & I include JD in that group. Yet despite the conspiracies we know about, he steadfastly insists the big issues can't possibly be. I say on the balance of probabilities some of them must be.

A couple of the 36 points have been written about in the media here, not with the level of drama in Lefty's posts but certainly sounding quite alarming. And I have been reading about homeless people in Japan being rounded up to go & work there because no one else is prepared to do it. I haven't seen any article coming out saying it's an exaggeration & that there's nothing to worry about. No one is suggesting that a couple of journalists with an agenda are stirring up trouble, it does appear that Fukushima is a fully blown disaster. Pardon the pun. I suspect I accidentally pointed to the reason for the US media's portrayal of this as some benign event when I mentioned Abe-economics. If there is a consumer backlash against Japan & people were to stop buying Toyotas Hondas, Nissans, Yamahas, Kawasakis, Canons, Nikons, Panasonics, Citizens, Seikos, Casios, etc, etc, then what I predicted would definitely happen a damn sight faster than it otherwise would. The US Fed does not want Abe-economics to fail. Whether the government has blocked information or done a deal with the media companies I have no idea but Americans are not being told how severe this is simply because if Japan goes down, so do the rest of us.

I can claim the same thing. No one gets the right to claim they are right & everyone else is wrong. We all hold strong opinions on the issue but that's what they are - our personal studied opinion on what we believe to be true. Anyone who can say with surety they are correct to the exclusion of all other claims in the case of something that divides public opinion, is over reaching. That is a complete red herring! So what! Past performance is no indicator of future success. That comment is simply designed to mislead & reassure those who reject any idea of a conspiracy. The story of the world is littered with conspiracies. Every criminal operating on the big stage relies on a conspiracy of silence. Wars require people to keep secrets, sometimes 1000's of people. Conspiracies do happen but when it is suggested that a few people who died at a time when it was convenient for some for them to do so & they may, just may have been bumped off by those with vested interests, scorn is turned on them for daring to suggest such a thing. I have made my feelings known about the ones under discussion & I am not rushing to allege they were all CIA plots but having familiarised myself with the contentious issues, it is a bolder man than I who can say hand on heart, there's no way they were anything other than the work of a nutter. Play the ball & not the man. I'm always reminded of Voltaire's quote: I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. Everything is fine Sam. No one has invoked Godwin's Law yet, that's when it goes to hell. Godwin's Law for those who don't know it: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches "

Here in Australia we are just now hearing stories in the mainstream media that something is up. There hasn't been a declaration of just how bad the impact has been yet but as this story gains momentum & credibility, it is going to be THE news item of 2014. And probably 2015, 2016, etc, etc. The environmental movement here is very strong & they already hate Japan over their whaling program. They will want to extract some sort of revenge on Japan but exactly what retribution they would consider suitable I don't know. Given that Abe-economics is looking like it is going to be a gigantic failure, I think Japan is in for a terrible time. I can speculate endlessly about the possibilities but I will leave comment to the 100's of scientists who very soon will all have something to say about this. And none it will be favourable to Japan. What a disaster!

Sam, the thread veered off topic a while back. And a star chamber couldn't exist without a conspiracy of silence among its members. I have no evidence they operate but if I want to be provocative I can equally say I have no evidence they don't. The idea of such a group is an attractive notion for those who despair of the imbalance of justice in the world. Providing they are operating in OUR interests, not for those other bastards. A group that allegedly wields more power than any star chamber & whose existence is undeniable is the Bilderberg Group. Once their meetings were in secret, today their annual meetings are a media event. It is arguably the most powerful bunch of individuals in the world, many ex-Presidents & Prime Ministers, many of the banking world elite, some of the richest guys on the planet, all people of power & influence. And nothing they discuss is ever reported on. Many world events have allegedly been "arranged" at these meetings, things like the sacking of leaders, the overthrow of governments, the destabilising of economies or the reverse, so many accusations & not one piece of evidence to support it. I love how wherever they meet they insist on a no fly zone above their meeting place. One time in Europe they were told it was impossible, 1000's of flights would need to be diverted, it simply couldn't be done. They got their no fly zone, apparently it couldn't be done for normal people, these folks are way beyond normal.

Cheers Stro'. That's so much better than my comment that every covered-up crime by a bunch of criminals involves a conspiracy or that major operations carried out during WW2 relied on a conspiracy of silence that have carried on till today. I still find myself amazed when someone can blurt out "I don't believe in conspiracies". What? So the ratings agencies didn't conspire when they colluded to sell increasingly worthless CDO's which in turn crashed the US economy just to name one . How does one account for the other unexplained things, some of which may be conspiracies, many of which are definitely not, but most certainly there are those that are. Thanks for mentioning the moon landing story because that is the perfect theory with which to tar all theorists with the brush of insanity. Why on earth would anyone who suspects foul play in the JFK story ever be imagined as to accepting that silly nonsense? Unless of course it is so necessary to the non-believers self esteem to discredit anyone who won't toe the official line. Exactly! While debating theories on the forum, those who wished to deny them only had this to fall back on. JaiDee used it most effectively, he couldn't present new evidence, he could only reiterate what we have all been told is the truth & attack other possibilities as beyond belief. Without having to say I was "foolish", he made the case very well. JaiDee & I have taken opposite sides & the more I argued the more entrenched he became. I'm fine with that. I have never considered if he wins I lose or vice versa. I am more fascinated by how the human condition will make us either suspicious or will bring us to rally around the flag. I wonder how much JaiDee's position is motivated by patriotism. To accept malfeasance is to accept the unthinkable, i.e. your government has lied to you. And all those conspiracy loving commies are traitors who must be denied. Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Again.

For those outside the US who were so disappointed with Bush, Obama was the best thing that could have happened. He was the circuit breaker who resurrected the office of President. I can't overstate just how much his election was seen as a wonderful thing. However..... he's a bit like the curates egg.. good in parts. I don't disagree with Archie that he has proven to be something of a disappointment. I know much of it isn't his fault, the Republicans doing everything to undermine & block him at every turn is the most unedifying spectacle. But he is a fence sitter when the world needs somebody making big decisions when it comes to the Middle East, China, Russia & the other hot spots. Putin is making him look weak & ineffectual & I don't know whether Obama even has a foreign policy plan. If he has he is sure keeping it to himself. He has a couple of years to redeem himself. The world can't wait till the next election, I just hope Barack doesn't spend all his time on the golf course.

Well done to Azza. One very smart maths whiz. I'm humbled again.

Archie, he didn't say, he didn't have to say. If the law wasn't interested then one must assume they were above the law. As for Bush, the reason he comes in for so much criticism from those outside the US can best be illustrated by conversations I had with a friend of mine over many years. He lives in Manhattan & watches as many of the nightly news reports as reasonably possible. I started out asking him what he thought of some silly thing Bush did that was on every TV station here in Australia. He didn't know what I was talking about. This then became part of our regular conversation. There were more than a few times there were reports of Bush mangling his speech or walking into something or whatever on our evening news which he never saw. There were exceptions but as he said to me on more than one occasion, if it wasn't for me pointing this stuff out he would never know about it. And his colleagues were just as incredulous. There is a real disconnect between what you think about Bush & what non-Americans think of the man. We have both been fed different versions. You got the sanitised version, we were served up every last detail the news rooms could squeeze out. The sanctimonious grins of the talking heads did nothing to help either.

What?? She was sticking it ya ear? Blimey, you are a kinky one Azza.

Likewise.

I have commented enough on the other stuff... for now... so I will respond to your final point. Those hard hitting reporters are out there, because they are not on your radar doesn't mean they aren't probing. The biographer Donald Spoto is one. I read his book on Marilyn, an excellent précis of her life full of information. I thought it odd how he ended it without answering the question about her death. He came to Australia on a book tour & was interviewed by a local journalist. It's a long interview where he completely drops his guard. I was listening to it in my car when the journalist pins him with the question "so did she commit suicide or not?" He ummed & ahhed before finally saying he couldn't address the question in the States because he would be immediately in trouble. But as he was outside their jurisdiction he thought he was safe to answer. OMG, I can remember the feeling I had knowing the relevance of what he was about to say. He went on & told the journo that Marilyn had enough sedative in her system to put the entire population of LA to sleep. It had been forcibly inserted anally by men who arrived & left in the middle of the night. Now if Dr Ralph Greenson had done it, he would have been arrested. Marilyn's housekeeper Mrs Murray was present, she witnessed the whole thing, even washing the sheets afterwards. But nothing was done at all except for a finding of suicide. I will let you draw your own conclusions. I am not as familiar with the efforts of other journalists but the prospect of making money, lots of money plus the fame is sure to be keeping them busy. There's an entire industry dedicated to titillating the public with various conspiracy theories. Every time another book is published someone is making money. And every theory that contradicts the last one only makes the cynics more cynical. I am also a cynic but I love the melodrama surrounding a good theory. I read them for the visceral thrill not because I can't wait to buy into them & swallow the story hook, line & sinker. I enjoy the exercise of following the author's logic (or lack of it) & seeing how he/she arrives at their conclusion. Conspiracy theories challenge how we think, they can exist because we live in democracies where people can still speculate freely. Rather than attacking someone for thinking outside the orthodoxy, they should be looked at with healthy suspicion & an invitation for the author to convince us. That's all I want. Show me, prove it, don't tell me it happened because you said so, I will listen to your story & make up my own mind. As for the *big one* JFK, there is hope we might get the full story in our lifetimes. I wonder what information Edward Snowden has among the millions of files he has. After all, one senior figure has said "those files contain the keys to the kingdom". Does that mean he has the dirt on all the activities of the FBI & the CIA over the years? Sure sounds like it to me. Whatever your feelings are about Mr Snowden I really hope he blesses us with some of this stuff. It would be wonderful to read what really happened.

I second that emotion Sam. Once these threads stoop to the personal they become toxic & no right minded person wants to get involved. All these presumptions about what people are thinking, it's stupid & unfair. It also overlooks the individual's capacity to change their mind. I mean we do change it occasionally, don't we? Anybody? Hello...

There's more than enough intolerance in this thread already. I resent the depiction of the "insane conspiracy nonsense" because someone chooses not to accept it. I have no quarrel with anyone exercising their freedom to decide what they want to believe but it has to cut both ways. And I don't like the idea that someone who entertains a conspiracy theory is to be considered so irrational that they must believe in every other conspiracy going with all the implications regarding their intelligence that goes with it. This has moved on from debating a theory on its merits to trying to destroy the credibility of anyone who dares suggest such things might be possible. That meets my definition of intolerant but I will carry on despite the naysayers. For the record, I don't deny that Oswald was shooting at JFK. How could I? All I believe is that he was part of a bigger plan because we have been lied to about nearly aspect of the whole sorry tale. If Oswald was the lone gunman why was 6 seconds removed from the Zapruder film? Why do some of those appointed to the Warren Commission complain they were being used as part of a cover-up? Why do the witness accounts vary? Someone isn't telling the truth but why? If Oswald did it, what's the big secret? Anyway, that's been flogged to death & apart from Lefty, all the Americans on this board are laughing themselves silly. I wish one of them would offer some sort of explanation to any of those questions. They won't because they can't. They just KNOW that they have the truth & that other stuff? Well, it's too hard to argue against all the conflicting evidence so label all the dissenters as crazy. I don't subscribe to any theory about MLK, I just think it's plausible that James Ray was part of something bigger. I didn't always think so but when he wants to recant his confession & isn't allowed, the cynical part of my brain demands to know what is that all about. But stories of 8 man sniper teams, sorry, that sounds ridiculous when only one bullet was fired. RFK? Again, I don't follow any theory about him, it's a romantic notion that if they killed his brother than surely they would want to knock him off. But where's the chink in the official story? Where's the smoking gun that provides the seed of truth from which any good conspiracy theory grows? I am not even interested to look. If there's ever new information, sure, I would be curious as to what it said but naah, nothing to see here folks. Marilyn Monroe's death? I shouldn't have even mentioned it but as she was part of a huge cover-up, it all points to a pattern of behaviour. And as she didn't commit suicide, why wasn't her death investigated? Because they knew who did it & the suicide story was the perfect cover. It doesn't matter that everyone who knew her claimed she had no reason to do it, why she was getting married again in the next month or so, the fix was in & that was that. And then there's John Lennon. The details of how Mark Chapman finished up outside his apartment with a loaded gun are very disturbing. Nixon & Hoover hated the guy, Lennon that is, not Chapman. That was enough for me. I loved Lennon & hated those other two so it pleases me to carry a grudge. I should be allowed my opinion & when there are documentaries & websites all supporting it, I have no interest in looking any further. Blind prejudice? You betcha! Finally there's Ronald Reagan. That incident doesn't belong here. If there was something to it, where's all the smoke indicating fire? JaiDee is being very disingenuous by raising Reagan's assassination attempt. Throw the idiots another bone, watch them get excited about another shooting. I have zero interest in taking the bait. Very few conspiracy theories stand up to any sort of scrutiny. I have just detailed how only two of the above stories are strong enough to appeal to my logical brain. That hardly qualifies me as a conspiracy theorist. And as for Lennon, his story is different. There hasn't been the forensic analysis of his death like the other two but I don't care. I get to choose my own opinion about what happened to him & I choose the one described above.

Smartphones are no good if you don't have the girls number. And looking for their contact details is possible on some of the sites but many of us like to meet in person. We all know how misleading pictures can be. But that's only part of the issue, the bars win because that's where the alcohol is served. The presence of the girls combined with the effects of alcohol & there's no contest. No one ever picked up their phone, looked at a picture of a 5 out of 10 & thought "yeah, she looks nice, I think I'll spend a few thousand baht on her because there are no options at 2 in the morning". But they do that every night in the bars.

One CLEAR answer? Hmmm... Here's my effort - 40

OMG Stool, you even write with an accent! The correct expression is "fair dinkum". Fair said with an Aussie accent does sound like fear. For those who might not know how strong our accent can be, here's my favourite example: Son: "Mother, I came home to die". Mother: "Don't be silly dear, you came home yesterday".

Here's the documentary I was referencing, I haven't watched the whole thing, they play it so late at night here that I fell asleep both times I tried. Plus there are books on the subject & even a website dedicated to it. Whether I'm serious or not isn't the point, I get to have an opinion the same as everyone else but you can be sure the people making the allegations are serious. http://youtu.be/rMIDvIpPPpA

Everything helps but as JaiDee said in the OP, just speak slower & enunciate the words. If they can hear properly pronounced words, they can usually understand them. It's the same with me & French. Street talk leaves me lost but slow pronunciation of words I am familiar with & it all comes back to me. Voila!

An 8 man sniper team? That does seem excessive, were they expecting Dr King's entourage to return fire? I always thought the story of James Ray & his great need to kill MLK sounded unconvincing. Once he decided to recant his confession & the authorities wouldn't allow it I felt sure something was up. There's also a question mark over the death of RFK but I don't know what question needs to be asked. If Sirhan was doing the bidding of others why was he allowed to live? Or is he locked up that tight no one can ever get near him? I am not saying RFK is another conspiracy but it sure was a convenient assassination at the most convenient time. I do know Marilyn Monroe was knocked off, she had enough sedative shoved up her ass to put all of LA to sleep. Was it her shrink or was it another conspiracy? Dr Ralph Greenson was obsessed with his star patient & literally took over her life but was that enough reason to kill her just because she left his care? I have no idea. One theory I do accept is the killing of John Lennon by J. Edgar Hoover. Lennon was the leading voice against the Vietnam war & was making life very difficult for Nixon. I wouldn't put anything past that pair & there's a belief that Mark Chapman was delivered to the Dakotas & shown what entrance to wait by. As he was prone to psychotic episodes how hard would it be to convince him Lennon should be shot? Slip a handgun into his bag & the jobs as good as done. It's funny how these political assassinations stopped once Hoover retired. Or is that another coincidence?

I agree with your entire post but especially the advice to avoid slang. And you don't need to go to LOS to see locals confusing the hell out of visitors from non-English speaking countries. Australians talk slang a lot, we understand it perfectly but I have friends, well educated friends in some cases, who insist on talking to Asian waitresses in slang so thick it should be called a dialect. They leave the recipient utterly confused by what they have asked for & then complain in total bewilderment as to why they couldn't be understood. Case in point - I was at an Asian restaurant before Xmas when the owner came over & my friend asked him: "ya gearin' up for Xmas?" The poor guy couldn't even understand he was being asked a question. I said to him "you have no idea what he just said, have you". He shook his head which only caused my friend to repeat what he said only this time he shouted it. He then started to yell the word "gearing" at the same time he was waving his arms about like he imagines gears to move. I looked at the owner & said "he's asking you if you are ready for Xmas". The guy nodded & must have thought - all that fuss for a rhetorical question.

What a handy site TC. I was only thinking this morning: "I wish I knew the mass of the earth multiplied by the mass of the sun". As to the question at hand, I go with 16. Any other answer requires a more detailed question. If we are allowed to surmise unknown factors we can come up with a whole range of numbers for the answer.

While I am on the subject, the three obscure movies I most "enjoyed" are: Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai The Stoning of Soyara M A Separation I don't know if I could sit through the first two again, they were very harrowing. The word "enjoyed" is in inverted commas because I was using the word in an ironic sense. I was profoundly moved by both those films but they are entertainment only in the loosest sense of the word. A Separation was simply a revelation. How can an Iranian director with no budget, no props, no special effects, just a cast of unknowns filmed in several modest locations make something so perfectly executed? And the subject cuts to the very heart of the dilemma faced by devout Muslims when their religion impacts on their daily life. With no other plot device I was totally absorbed in the machinations of how Iranian society gets around the problems their religion presents them on what must be a daily occurence. The film is so well done I kept thinking I was watching one of those documentaries where they hide a camera to eavesdrop on the protagonists. It really puts some of the highly lauded stuff out of Hollywood into perspective.

Gravity is most definitely NOT your standard Sandra Bullock movie. A light weight chick flick it is not. Plus she must have put in some hours in the gym, when she strips down to shorts, she looks fantastic. I posted her pic on page 54, post number 481, I won't post it again but she must have the best legs & arse of any 49 year old female anywhere. She really does a good job even if I wasn't rapt in all the dialogue. Thinking about it, I can't think of any big name female actor who could have done better. You may have misunderstood my post, I didn't say I didn't like Inception, I said it was convoluted but it was a decent romp that I was glad to see. I will only watch it again if it gets a run on TV & I don't have anything else to do. That's not a criticism, that's how I feel about most movies these days.

I watched Mullholland Drive on TV, no idea what it was about. The action stuff was simple enough but the underlying twist, dunno, I knew something was going on but what? Not a clue. Inception I saw at the cinema, that was all about travelling back through dreams to change people's memory, or something like that. That wasn't so hard albeit it was very convoluted. I don't mind complicated plots as long as the denouement is clearly laid out & I don't leave the theatre only half sure what happened. Plus at the cinema I am focused, on TV I get distracted.