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your-iron-lung · 6 years ago

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The Unsolved Chapter

aka, the crossover absolutely no one asked for; also available to read on AO3

Story Synopsis: While investigating what remains of the infamous Léry’s Memorial Institute for their popular channel, two Youtube celebrity ghost hunters go missing overnight, vanishing in a freak occurrence that has decided to lay claim to their souls.

While the world they were abruptly taken from grieves their absences and tries to figure out what befell the beloved comical duo, Ryan and Shane struggle to make sense of the new, terrible and violent reality they've woken up in. Drawn to a campfire that never seems to burn out, they meet others who have been condemned to the same, eternal fate and are forcibly taught how to survive in an attempt to keep their collective hope and souls alive.

Part 1 of 5

Chapter Word Count: 6031

Pairings: None; just a genfic

Genre: Survival Horror/Supernatural/Angst-y

Next Chapter: Part Two

Notes: uhh yep, here it is, a buzzfeed unsolved/dead by daylight crossover fic bc once i started to think about it, i couldnt stop. there will be temporary character death, lil bits of gore, and a fair amount of blood and violence in the story, just not in this installment. careful if you click the embedded link, as it might be loud

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‘Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters.’ Stephen King, The Shining

Léry’s Memorial Institute was probably the filthiest building Shane had ever stepped foot in, which, when you took into account just how many foul, decrepit locations he’d been to in the past, was really saying something. The building itself was beautiful in its own haunting way, as most older buildings often were, but Léry’s took the definition of ruined to a new extreme he’d yet to see before now. It was an architectural thing of beauty to be sure, but the grit and grime that covered the entirety of the stonework did manage to dampen his enthusiasm for exploring the dilapidated structure.

And he had been excited for it, originally; a chance to fly back to Illinois to shoot the season finale of Unsolved on his home turf had been generally appealing, even if he hadn’t heard of Michaelstown or Léry’s before. But then they’d all gotten their first look at the Institute, looming horribly tall over the long horizon of pines as they drove up to it from the bumpy dirt road, and he felt all his excitement leave his body in an instant, evaporating like a cold drop of water on hot asphalt.

The silhouette had been menacing and boxy, regal in an old fashioned way that modern constructions had abandoned in favor of more modern designs. It was, perhaps, one of the most imposing feats of architecture he’d ever laid eyes on; it certainly ranked up there with Waverly in his mind, and perhaps that was why he felt so inexplicably nervous as he’d looked at it. Rather than dwell on it, he compartmentalized his anxiety away in his brain and turned to make a comment about how spooky the hospital was to Ryan, but whatever effects looking at the building had had on him appeared to have hit his co-host three times as hard; Ryan’s brain already looked like it was melting, an expression of mute terror written plainly across his face.

Shane couldn’t fault him for that, considering his own momentary scare, and was actually grateful for his silence. If Ryan had pressed him for a comment on whether or not he thought Léry’s was haunted in that moment, then Shane might’ve reluctantly admitted that, in the event that ghosts were real, he wouldn’t be surprised to find a few here, but Ryan had been too horror-stricken to ask. In all actuality, no one on the team had been up for much conversation after that first initial glimpse, an uneasy vibe settling into all of them as they parked. They had all taken a moment to appreciate how terribly ominous it looked against the backdrop of a sunset red sky before TJ ushered them into their usual business routine, unpacking their equipment and getting their bodycams set up.

“Man, I feel like Jack Torrance walking into the Overlook here. This building feels downright predatory, man,” Ryan said, voice already shaking with nervousness.

Evening was falling fast upon them as they shuffled around in the entrance hall, carefully avoiding the large panes of broken glass and other debris that littered the floor. The layer of dust on the ground was so thick, distinct footprints could be seen as clear as though they’d been walking through snow, their tracks leading around in circles as they got their first look at the interior.

Shane hummed a noncommittal response as he shined his camera light around, disgusted by the amount of dust on the floor and in the air; if he were an asthmatic, he’d probably have run through several inhalers just from walking in.

“So tell me what I’m looking at here, Ryan; what’s the history behind this magnificent pile of rubble?” Shane asked as he nudged a thick piece of wood with the toe of his boot.

They would cover most of the history of Léry’s Memorial Institute in the voice over, but that wouldn’t be done until they got back to California and Ryan had yet to tell him much about the place. Keeping Shane in the dark about the past of some the places they went to was a good way to get genuine reactions out of him, but he felt that if they didn’t start bantering soon then Ryan would lose whatever was left of his poor, impressionable mind.

“I feel really weird,” Ryan said instead of answering, glancing around the area with wide, uncertain eyes. “There’s like, some kind of an energy in the air in here; do you feel it?”

“No,” Shane replied calmly, though that wasn’t entirely true. He could feel something akin to static in the air around them, but he didn’t register that as a supernatural phenomenon. The air felt charged in a way that reminded him more of an impending thunderstorm getting ready to unburden itself than it did of something unearthly. “It is a little chilly, though; probably should’ve worn more layers.”

“Good Christ, I hate it here already.” Ryan shuddered and rubbed at one of his arms as he turned to look down the dark hallway that lead further in. “Right, so. Léry’s. I couldn’t find any information on who the original owners were, or who built it, but I did find out that the original building was built sometime in the 1800’s.”

“This isn’t the original?”

Ryan shook his head and reluctantly took the lead in guiding them down the long, narrow hallway, adjusting the straps of his bodycam rig subconsciously as he went.

“Well, yes and no,” he said, stopping every few steps to shine his light and camera into any rooms they happened to pass. “The original building was just a really big mansion the owners lived in before they donated their land to the government; all this hospital space was added onto it during the Korean War to help rehab returning vets.”

“This is one hell of a remodeling job; the Property Brothers would be proud with how many square feet they managed to pump into this thing,” Shane remarked, grinning a little when Ryan let out a slight laugh. “So, army hospital?”

“Yep, up until the CIA took possession of it in the 60’s, and that’s where all my research brought me to dead ends. I couldn’t find what they wanted it for or what they did with it after they got it, but boy, the conspiracy theories run wild with this one.” He turned to flash Shane a conspiratory grin.

“Are you gonna use the voice on me?” Shane asked with a roll of his eyes. “Don’t lay it on too thick now; save some for the voice over.”

“Some say that the CIA turned Léry’s into a black site in order to perfect ‘information gathering’ techniques they’d wanted to put into practice during the war,” Ryan began, easily slipping into the professional tone of voice he used for narrations. The familiarity with which he spoke seemed to restore some of his confidence as they continued down the hall, as he no longer seemed to shrink away from the darkness surrounding them. “They reportedly hired a large number of staff to run the medical facility, but no records of anyone working here exist- at least to the public-, though there are rumors of one particular doctor who was well known for his sadistic use of electro-convulsive shock ‘treatments’.”

“Torture, you mean,” Shane said, shining his light into a room of indeterminate purpose. Ahead of him, Ryan nodded in affirmation. “Great, a secret torture hospital. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of angry, resentful ghosts to talk to here.”

Ignoring his comment, Ryan continued his monologue, clearly having spent time rehearsing it. “Supposedly. As the rumors go, they began implementing experimental interrogation methods on American citizens first before moving on to actual spies, and oh- oh my god, that’s a fucking big rat,” Ryan sputtered, his Unsolved voice breaking as he skipped back down the hall and almost knocked into Shane, who barely managed to sidestep his panicked retreat.

He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as he put an arm to Ryan’s shoulder to steady him before stepping ahead of him, shining his camera light into what looked to be a large reception area. It was wide and spacious, full of dark corners with plenty of dust and run down furniture covered in graffiti. The rat Ryan had stumbled upon was underneath one of the waiting room benches, turned over on its side and very clearly dead, though it was exceptionally large.

They stared at it together contemplatively for a moment before Shane said, “I gotta tell you, Ry, that I am not at all thrilled about spending the night here. I think I might ask my mom to call your mom to tell you I can’t come to your little sleepover.”

From behind, they could hear Mark laugh before stepping into the room, aiming the lens of his camera at the rat for a dramatic close-up they could potentially use to promote the episode.

“That’s disgusting, don’t film that,” Devon said, clicking her tongue in disapproval as she placed her hand in front of the camera lens until Mark lowered it off his shoulder. “This place is foul; I can’t say I envy you boys for staying here one bit.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Ryan muttered. “Hell, I might cancel the sleepover myself, no moms involved.”

“You can’t, you already walked out of one overnight this season,” TJ cut in, to which Ryan responded with a quietly spoken ‘fuck’ under his breath. “Let’s just start filming, yeah? The sooner we get this done, the sooner morning will come, the sooner you can leave. Now, where do you think you’re gonna want the static cams set up?” TJ asked as Mark held up the bags he’d carried in with them.

Against Devon’s wishes, they decided to film the intro for the episode in the lobby with the dead rat, the compromise being that Shane and Ryan had to sit on opposite sides of the hallway that lead back the way they’d come so that the rodent’s body wouldn’t make it into the final shot. This was agreeable to all of them, but as Shane sat there, waiting for the camera to start rolling, he couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering back to its corpse occasionally, trying to deduce what it could have died from.

They tried to film with what little natural light they had left, but the sun had already been sinking when they’d arrived. Whatever light it managed to provide ended up fading away too fast for them to effectively use, eventually prompting TJ to insist on bringing in big, bright lights so they weren’t stuck filming in the dark. As Shane squinted into the newfound light source, his eyes adjusting poorly to the brightness, he managed to get a better look at the room they were set up in.

Based on his own opinion and how little he actually knew about Léry’s, it certainly didn’t look like the kind of place run by a malicious, CIA sanctioned group of sadists; to him, it looked like a hospital, plain and simple. The white paint along the walls was cracked and peeling, revealing discoloured splotches of drywall that furthered the eerie, run-down atmosphere the building had as a whole. Regardless of that and the dead rat, there was nothing in the general vicinity that implied Léry’s might have been used for something as sinister as torture- they even had what looked to be remnants of vintage motivational posters decaying behind the reception desk. Despite how foreboding the building had looked from the outside, inside it both looked and felt normal, which made him wonder again about where his original discomfort upon viewing the building might have derived from.

“This week on the season finale of Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural, we’re investigating Léry’s Memorial Institute in Michaelstown, Illinois as a part of our ongoing investigation into the question, are ghosts real?”

Hearing Ryan’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. Unaware that they’d begun the segment, Shane turned to look at the camera Mark was holding and shook his head curtly on cue. The motion was well-practiced and concise, even if he was still squinting because of the lights.

He waited patiently as Ryan spoke of what he knew about Léry’s alleged history, repeating a lot of what he’d already mentioned to Shane earlier for the official intro. He went more in depth as he talked about the history of the building to the camera than he did with Shane, adding on some embellishments about the various conspiracy theories he’d dug up that involved what the staff at Léry’s might’ve been up to, and none of it sounded good.

“Léry’s was condemned and abandoned in 1983, and was even rumored to have been burnt down, but as you can see, since we are currently sitting inside the building, that clearly isn’t the case,” Ryan recited, shooting Shane a look that invited him in to begin a banter.

“Ryan, I swear to God if you’re trying to tell me that the building itself is a ghost, I will resign.” Shane forced his face into a serious expression that matched his disapproving tone of voice as Ryan laughed loudly. “You can get Brent back to be your new ‘ghoulfriend’ and you can just- the two of you can just run around these spooky places like a couple of headless chickens screaming about ghosts together.”

“No, that’s- that’s not what I’m saying,” Ryan said, a humorous inflection tinging his voice as he spoke. “What I’m saying is, is that someone either lied to cover up any potential future investigations into Léry’s alleged operations, or someone got it wrong; either way, Léry’s is still here.”

“And how’d you come to find that out?” Shane asked, honestly interested in Ryan’s answer. His friend had already admitted that researching the place had been hard and often netted him no real answers; if any and all official documentations surrounding Léry’s said it was no longer standing, then he wondered how Ryan was able to discover that it actually was.

“I looked up the coordinates on Google’s satellite image maps.” Shane raised his eyebrows at that, and Ryan shrugged in response. “There was a building here, and when I compared it to old images of the Memorial Institute I’d found dated pre 1980’s, they seemed to match. When I reached out to the current property owners, they agreed to let us look around as long as we didn’t try to ‘solve’ anything.”

“We never do,” Shane said wistfully, dramatically looking away for a moment, and again Ryan laughed, the sound of it echoing around the walls of the room.

“Alright, whatever, big guy; we can do all the ghost hunting we want, they said, but we have to let the sleeping dogs lie on whether or not Léry’s has a ‘tortured’ past or not; they don’t want any trouble with the government.” Ryan looked amused by his own pun, but Shane knew that his ability to find humour in little things like that wouldn’t last the night.

“Well, let’s get started then, shall we?” Shane said, slapping his hands to his thighs and beginning to feel his eagerness returning to him. He started to stand up, and Ryan sighed.

“Yeah, fuck, let’s- let’s get into it.”

“Is there anyone here with us right now?” Ryan spoke loudly and clearly as he addressed the spirit box, glancing around the room they were standing in cautiously as he held the small radio up between them. There was an overturned examination table and some rusted chairs in the room with them that Shane had initially tried to sit in, but found them too unstable to support him. “If there is, we’d really like to talk with you. My name’s Ryan, and my unnecessarily large friend here is Shane; I know he’s a little frightening to look at, but can you say either of our names?”

They waited for a response, Ryan pensively shifting his eyes around as though he might see a ghost hiding behind the old furniture while Shane did his best to not let his boredom show on camera. He waited silently for a moment, letting the spirit box spit out jumbled radio frequencies and broken fragments of words for Ryan to analyze later before deciding to chime in.

“Did you ever stop to think that the spirit box might be triggering these spirits you’re trying to contact?” he asked, voice drawling as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket. “If that doctor you mentioned earlier really did exist, then don’t you think it stands to reason that the static from the box might be traumatizing them? Torturing them in their afterlife? Maybe that’s why they don’t want to talk to you.”

“You’re just saying that because it tortures you,” Ryan said, snickering. He opened his mouth to say something else in support of his use of the spirit box, but was hushed when it began to pick up an unusual, garbled sort of noise.

If Shane hadn’t been accustomed to the usual tones of static the spirit box produced as it skipped through radio frequencies, he would have chalked the sound that was coming through the speaker now as typical spirit box sounds, but innately he knew that it wasn’t. Whatever was coming through the radio now was different, in that it had cut through the previous channel of static to effectively broadcast the new sound.

He could tell from the stunned reaction on Ryan’s face that he, too, recognized the sound as something unusual. This wet, static noise that was coming through the receiver had been unheard by either of them before.

Ryan turned his head to look up at Shane, any trace of amusement he’d been displaying before now gone as he struggled to make sense of what he was hearing. Before either of them could properly process what they were listening to, the sound slowly tapered off into silence.

Shane stared at the box in Ryan’s hand, waiting for the usual sounds of static to come back through the speaker so he could explain the phenomenon away as some sort of malfunction. He was preemptively formulating a response to the questions Ryan was sure to start asking when the whispering began.

The voice was low and quiet, possibly male, and managed to speak uninterrupted for more than a few consecutive seconds. Shane felt his skin break out into goosebumps as he listened, leaning forward to try and get a better understanding of what was being said even as Ryan recoiled, almost dropping the spirit box in his fright.

If the voice was whispering in any known language, Shane didn’t recognize it; the words registered as garbled, barely distinguishable nonsense to his ears, but the tone with which it spoke, intent and persistent, had his hair beginning to stand on end. Everyone in the room was hushed, although Ryan was beginning to hyperventilate, his breath coming in fast, wheezing gulps. His hand was visibly trembling, but he resolutely did not drop or set the spirit box down, a small act of bravery Shane admired him for.

They didn’t have long to focus on what the voice was saying before a loud, burst of static tore out of the speaker, ending the strange noises abruptly and causing Ryan to shout in surprise. Shane blinked solemnly at the little box as it returned to flickering through regular radio channels before he met Ryan’s stupefied gaze.

“What the fuck just happened,” Ryan gasped out, quickly turning the box off and setting it aside to deal with his minor anxiety attack.

No one had an immediate answer.

“Did anyone recognize what it was saying?” Devon asked timidly. “Not trying to be an alarmist here, but that… didn’t sound human to me.”

Ryan moaned at the implication and sat down hard on the floor, uncaring of how dirty it was.

“Look, let’s just all calm down and take a minute to think about it logically,” Shane said, attempting to take control of the situation in order to soothe his companion’s panic, but he didn’t feel calm himself. His heart was thudding away rapidly in his chest, though he told himself that it was due in part to being taken off guard by the loud outburst of static that came through at the end of the transmission. “Do you know every earthly language that exists?” he asked Devon, who shook her head reluctantly. He repeated the question to Mark and TJ before directing it to Ryan, and all their answers were the same. “Neither do I; just because it spoke in a language we can’t immediately identify doesn’t mean it wasn’t human. Have we all forgotten we’re in an old, ex-governmental building that was run by the fucking CIA? The box probably just latched onto an old numbers station or something.

“And anyway, I’d expect you to be more excited about this, little guy,” he said gently to Ryan, trying to encourage a positive reaction out of him. “We caught all that on film, buddy.”

From the floor, Ryan had stopped his rapid breathing as he processed Shane’s line of reasoning. He still looked frightened, but his expression also seemed more speculative after listening to Shane deliver his cowboy speech. When Shane reached a hand down to help him up, Ryan took it.

“You’re right. We have evidence,” Ryan said slowly as he rose back to full height, his eyes lighting up as he clasped Shane’s hand tightly to his chest.

Shane winced and tried to pull his hand free, but the clammy grip with which Ryan held to it was strong. “It could be any number of things before it could be ghosts, Ryan, you know that.”

“But if it’s not any of those other things, then it- it’s real! We have actual, recorded evidence! Léry’s Memorial Institute is certified haunted, baby!”

He let go of Shane’s hand at last, his fear momentarily forgotten as he did a quick dance, pumping his fist up and down into the air in a celebratory fashion. Mark trained the camera on him to capture the moment, swapping from Ryan’s joyful expression to Shane’s look of bewildered amusement. Devon looked on with a congratulatory smile until TJ eventually spoke.

“You… do realize you still have to stay the night here, right?” TJ said somberly, knowing that what he had to say would was going to affect Ryan negatively, and already they could all see the impact his words had on him as he stopped dancing. “I’m happy for you and all, but don’t forget we have a whole episode left to shoot.” Fresh horror dawned on Ryan’s face, his excitement over finding proof of the supernatural immediately dying out when he realized it didn’t absolve him from fulfilling the rest of his contractual obligations.

“Oh, fuck, you’re right,” he said with a groan, his shoulders slumping at the remembered thought. He brought his hands to his face and dragged his fingers down, pulling at his skin. “Ohh, fuck, you’re right. Shit.”

“Certified haunted, baby,” Shane teased with a weak grin, knowing already that it was going to be a long, sleepless night for the both of them.

They explored the area a little further after the incident with the spirit box, but didn’t manage to capture or illicit any other supernatural responses to their presence, though not for lack of trying. Everywhere they went, Shane demanded that the ghosts repeat the strange audio they’d managed to capture before and called them out on their cowardice when nothing happened. Ryan grew increasingly upset with his behaviour, but Shane was out to prove a point: whatever they’d discovered through the use of the spirit box wasn’t something supernatural, and if the spirits weren’t willing to entertain them, then he wasn’t willing to entertain the notion that it could be ghosts.

The logical part of his brain demanded he debunk it immediately, even if it meant he had to poop all over Ryan’s parade in order to do so, and he planned on taking the mightiest shit he could before they wrapped up filming for the night.

Most of the upper floors of Léry’s were condemned and deemed too unsafe for them to explore, barring their ability to scope out the building in its entirety, but the ground floors were plenty big enough to take up hours’ worth of time to investigate.

With Mark and TJ’s help, they set up three static cams where Ryan thought they’d get the most activity: one in the room where they’d gotten the spirit box to communicate with them (with an EVP device they would leave on all night), one in the reception area pointing down the hall they’d entered through, and the final one in a room Ryan had called the ‘treatment theatre’, where they’d decided to bunk down for the night.

It was a circular room with one single, ominous examination table set up in the middle over a system of rusty, grated flooring. A large set-up of outdated lighting systems hung low and broken over it, hanging like an untended widowmaker’s tree waiting to collapse, and for the first time that night Shane wondered if perhaps Ryan’s torture theory might have some truth behind it. Copper stains could be seen leading from the table to the grated floors, and he resolutely decided not to focus on them.

On the floor above them, reached only by a set of stairs set into the back of the room, was a windowed viewing booth that jutted out from the wall. A sense of unease overcame him as Shane looked at it, wondering what the people of the past had need of to stand up there in a room such as this, but he knew in the back of his mind what the answer to that was.

He tried to tuck his discomfort away as he laid out his sleeping bag next to Ryan’s, and wound up unsettling some dust into the air as he smoothed it out and plopped his pillow into place. He grimaced and tried to suppress a cough, but doing so only made the urge to cough worse. Ryan watched him hack whatever he’d inhaled into the crook of his arm, a wry smile of amusement playing at his lips.

“Need some water?” Devon asked, stepping forward with a water bottle already in hand.

Shane took it gratefully and drank until he felt his throat clear up. “Thanks,” he said as he capped it and set the bottle down beside his pillow.

“Should we see you guys out?” Ryan asked as Mark finished adjusting the camera that was set facing their sleeping bags, the red recording light already blinking with purpose.

Mark shrugged as he stood, taking his big shoulder camera back from TJ, who had had been dutifully holding it for him so he didn’t have to set it on the dirty floor.

“Nah, I think we can find our way out on our own,” TJ said as Mark wiped his knees clean of the grime. “I know you’ll probably just bolt if you get anywhere close to the exit anyway, Bergara.”

It was Shane’s turn to smirk as Ryan scowled, knowing that there was definitely some truth in that statement. Ryan had been unusually on edge throughout the rest of their investigation after their incident with the spirit box, and all Shane’s goading had done was make it worse.

“Have a good night, guys,” Devon said, looking uncertain about leaving them alone. She gave a little wave as Mark and TJ each said their goodbyes in turn. “We’ll see you in the morning; be safe, okay?”

“We’ll be fine; what’s the worst that’ll happen? A rat takes a nibble out of one of our ears?” Shane mustered up a smile he hoped looked assuring, but Devon didn’t seem comforted by it.

“The closest hotel we could book is 20 minutes away, but even still, don’t hesitate to call if you need something,” she said, and TJ nodded in affirmation.

“We’ll come as quick as we can,” he said, and Shane wasn’t sure why, but his words left a heavy weight in his stomach.

“Guys, we’ll be fine, this isn’t our first rodeo,” Shane said exasperatedly, and Ryan backed him up with a nod.

“The ghoul boys know how to behave themselves during a spooky sleepover,” he affirmed, but didn’t have the confidence required to back up what he was saying.

Still, Devon looked a little less doubtful and finally relented. She bid them goodnight once more before the three of them took their leave, carrying all the extra equipment Shane and Ryan wouldn’t need away with them to make packing up a little easier in the morning.

None of them knew it would be the last time they ever saw each other.

Shane sat down on his sleeping bag with a slight grunt and listened to their crew’s footsteps receding out of the room and away from them, echoing down the hall ominously. He waited until he couldn’t hear them anymore before he started getting ready for sleep, peeling away the opening of his sleeping bag to tuck his long legs inside.

“And then there were two,” he said rather cheerfully to Ryan as he got comfortable. He was met with a miserable sigh as his co-host begrudgingly slid into his own sleeping bag. He zipped it up promptly and stared up at the ceiling bitterly.

“You say that every time they leave, give it a rest already.”

“But it’s true every time it warrants being said,” Shane replied, drawing his phone out of his pocket and opening up Twitter. “We’re the only two people left in here; anyone else doesn’t exist, and you seem to need reminding of that fairly often.”

Ryan sighed shakily and turned his flashlight off, casting them both into the gloomy darkness, broken only by the glow of Shane’s phone as he scrolled through his social media feed.

“Shane? Are you awake? I’m kinda freaking out hardcore over here, buddy.”

It took a moment for Shane to register that he was being spoken to as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, rolling over in his bag to face where Ryan was laid out. As his vision adjusted to the dark, he could see that Ryan was wide-awake, still staring up at the ceiling where the viewing booth stuck out like a sore thumb.

“What?” Shane asked, his voice heavy and tired, rumbling out of his throat in a low timbre. “Whatsit?”

“I- I can’t sleep,” Ryan admitted, his voice sounding small.

“Surprising absolutely no one,” Shane muttered before yawning loudly and rubbing the crust out of the corners of his eyes; he’d only been just been able to fall asleep before Ryan woke him up.

“Shut up,” Ryan grumbled. “It- I can’t sleep because it feels like- it feels like we’re being watched. I know it’s just the dark, but sometimes I think I can see people up there, looking down at us.”

Shane turned his gaze up to the viewing booth, but couldn’t see anything that looked like what Ryan was worrying about. His eyes did try to force shapes out of the darkness behind the window, but he intrinsically knew that it was just his mind playing tricks on him, trying to get him to see things that weren’t actually there. “There’s no one here but us, Ryan,” he reminded him, turning his attention back to his friend.

“But the voice on the spirit box-”

“-was just a voice,” Shane cut in. “And look, I’ll be honest with you- it was a little jarring, and I’ll admit to being a little unnerved by it myself, if that makes you feel any better.”

“Wh- no! Why would that make me feel better?” Ryan spluttered, finally tearing his eyes away from the booth above them to fix his wide-eyed stare on Shane. “You’re supposed to be my, my grounding rock, my calming spirit; how can you be scared? You’re not allowed to be afraid, I- I’m the one who fears!”

Shane stared at Ryan for one wordless minute before breaking out into a hearty laugh, his voice carrying around the room and making it sound louder than it was.

“Alright, calm down there cowardly Heisenberg; I didn’t say I was scared, just unnerved,” he clarified. His laugh seemed to ease some of Ryan’s worries, as his face cracked into a tentative grin at his words. “It was weird, yes, but nothing else strange happened while we were walking around, did it?”

“No, I guess not,” Ryan admitted, looking a little sheepish now. He contemplated Shane’s words quietly for a moment before he asked, “Do you really think it was just a numbers channel?”

“I think it’s a possibility, yes,” Shane said, picking his words carefully so as not to exacerbate Ryan’s anxieties. He honestly had no idea what it was or what it could be, but he wasn’t anywhere near ready yet to admit that it could’ve had supernatural origins. “We’re in a weird old government hospital; I think the most likely thing to have happened is that our little boxy pal picked up on a weird frequency we weren’t supposed to have access to and gave us a glimpse into something that wasn’t meant for us.”

“Yeah, but, we’re in Illinois,” Ryan began, picking at the zippered hem of his sleeping bag as he put the thoughts he’d been ruminating on into words.

“So? If you’re about to start shit-talking this wholesome state, so help me God, we’re going to have to start exchanging some serious words here.”

“No, that’s not what- Look, Illinois is in America; what possible radio frequency being broadcast here could we have picked up on that doesn’t speak English, or any other spoken American language, or even human?” Ryan asked, gesticulating around them as he spoke.

Shane sighed and rolled onto his back, adjusting his pillow to better support his neck. “You don’t know that it’s not any known human language, Ryan, we established that. It was probably just some kind of a looping cipher the CIA forgot to turn off when they moved out, not some- some demon speaking to us in tongues.”

Beside him, Ryan groaned loudly and quickly withdrew his arms back into his sleeping bag, as though he were afraid that by naming it, one would suddenly appear.

“Please don’t say demon.”

“You just did,” Shane said, unable to keep himself from speaking rather snidely. Ryan shot him a pointed look of annoyance, but he couldn’t help his uncooperative attitude in that moment. He was sleepy, and could feel all the dust they’d been breathing in coagulating deep in his lungs. He was irritated, and he let it show. “Look, Ry, we can discuss this all we want tomorrow, but I am incredibly tired right now. Just… try and get some sleep, okay? We’ll pick this up later.”

“I think we both know that’s not gonna happen,” Ryan muttered, but he mercifully let the issue drop.

Whether or not their conversation had helped or hindered Ryan, Shane couldn’t say. It had been a strange night for both of them, all things considered, and he wanted nothing more than to just be done with it. As he closed his eyes to try and go back to sleep, the last thing Shane would later recall seeing was the darkness taking shape in the form of a face looming behind the window pane of the viewing booth, looking down upon them intently. A strange metallic taste wouldn’t leave his mouth no matter how much water he drank to try and ride himself of it, and although Ryan had forsaken the notion of sleep for himself entirely, he too eventually drifted off unawares.

And that was all it took; by the morning they were gone, taken without a trace, everything they’d brought with them left behind and undisturbed.

#buzzfeed unsolved #ryan bergara #shane madej #dead by daylight #buzzfeed unsolved: supernatural #rpf #supernatural rpf #AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT #remember when i mentioned id fish-flopped into another fandom? it was unsolved

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brigdh · 7 years ago

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Yuletide recs, for fandoms A-M! I have just barely gotten this in before author reveals, and clearly still have half the alphabet to get through. Ah, well. First off, my own gift!! Water Lens Benjamin January, gen, 2.4k, Teen. “The good widow couldn't dump you in the fast section of the river, apparently,” January said. “It had to be the mud.” “If she'd only panicked five minutes earlier,” Rose agreed with a sigh. “We were on the bridge then – although given the state of that particular river I wouldn't necessarily put money on it being that much cleaner.” All my all favorite story tropes are here: bathing together and playing with hair and the OT3 and Rose doing science and there’s even a mystery to solve in here too! It is wonderful and I love it and everyone should give the mystery author more kudos. And here are my other favorites: so come home 12 Dancing Princesses fairy tale, gen, 21.5k, G. A detective is called to a space station to solve the mystery of whether--and how--twelve astronauts are accessing the surface of a forbidden planet. A very well-written sci-fi murder mystery, with great worldbuilding and characters. Recruits American Gods, Mr Wednesday and Mad Sweeney, 4.2k, G. The Norse god of battle and a mad Irish king walk into a bar. This is not a joke, my son: except in a sense, it is. They are Old Gods, it’s the New World, and the game must be kept going. Really great backstory on the gods in WWI. The Locust And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side - James Tiptree Jr., 2.2k, Mature. Letter of Fr. Francisco Nadal to Fr. Bartolomeo Strozzi, 1588. The original short story is about the horrifying effects on humanity of alien sexuality; this fic translates it into Imperial Spain and makes the different cultural setting really work. Because everyone needs some terror on Christmas! And on the seventh... Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian, Jack/Stephen, 11k, G. This decision might be considered the luckiest, as standing near Jack meant that Stephen was not alone in his fall overboard. Or it might be considered the unluckiest, as standing near Jack meant that Stephen was foremost in the splinters' path, when the ranging shot abruptly found its range. Desert island fic with H/C, angst, kissing in the ocean, and new species of birds. AKA, everything good in fic. And for that riches where is my deserving? Benjamin January mysteries, Ben/Rose/Hannibal, 1.8k, Teen. If Ben was honest with himself, he suspected that one day Hannibal might simply vanish from their lives. He desperately hoped that this was not the day. Delicious Hannibal whump plus the OT3! What more could anyone want out of the tiny fandom of my heart? Family Gathering Books of the Raksura, Moon-focused, 2.8k, G. After some of Jade and Moon's first clutch are confirmed to be Royal Aeriat, Pearl wants the fledgelings brought to her bower. Ember thinks Moon should be there too. Really adorable baby-fic, with some lovely Pearl characterization. Home Books of the Raksura, Consolation gen, 4.1k, G. It turned out that living like people instead of monsters required all sorts of skills and tools. Cleaning required soap, and some inkling of how to apply it. Consolation’s flight, having been raised by monsters, not people, had none of the requisite skills. This is the post-canon fic about how Consolation learns to be a person that was my greatest wish for Christmas, and it's everything I could have hoped for. Mordre, She Wroot Canterbury Tales, Wife of Bath-focused, 8k, G. At least one pilgrim will not make it to Canterbury. Yes, you ABSOLUTELY DO need the Wife of Bath solving murders in your life. Just trust me on this. Underworlds: The Life and Afterlife of Richard Upton Pickman Cthulhu mythos, gen, 3.7k, G. Explore the life, works and enduring influence of Richard Upton Pickman, a controversial artist of the early 20th century. This exhibition includes several paintings never before displayed in public, including all of Pickman's graphic, unsettling "horrors" currently remaining in North America. The Boston Globe called Underworlds "stomach-turning food for thought"— but decide for yourself! Young children may find Pickman's paintings frightening; parents are advised to consider carefully before allowing them to proceed. This program serves as a guide to the exhibit. Audio versions for your mobile phone are available at the Parrington museum website. Such a well-done pastiche of a museum guide to a series of horrifying paintings. What Is Begotten The Eagle of the Ninth, Marcus/Esca, 7.5k, Teen. Esca learns the Latin word by accident, from Stephanos of all people. Soul-mate. A soulmate AU with an absolutely lovely take on the canon. Of Devils and Other Fine Things Fallen London, The Wistful Deviless/Zee-Captain, 1.1k, G. Wooing a devil can only end in tears. Really fantastic interpretation of what a relationship with a devil really means. head above water Gattaca, Jerome-focused, 1.2k, G. “Do you know,” Jerome’s mother asks his coach, “how Jerome first started swimming? Did he ever tell you that story?” Absolutely wonderful backstory for Jerome. Suspect Gattaca, Anton Freeman-focused, 1.8k, G. Five things Anton thought upon seeing Vincent was a suspect for murder (and one thing he said). Lovely character study on a minor part of the movie, this feel so right. Attempt #534: The One With The Bees The Good Place, Chidi/Eleanor, 8k, Explicit. “Eleanor!” Chidi looks even more upset as he blurts out, “The universe doesn’t want us to have sex, okay?” Eleanor chokes. “I’m sorry, what?” In which Eleanor and Chidi repeatedly try – and fail – to have sex. Totally hilarious, and also hot. Care and Feeding of Your Janet The Good Place, Janet-focused, 1.2k, Teen. Please read this guide carefully before activating your Janet. So, so, so funny. Operation: Seduce Michael The Good Place, Michael/Everyone, 2.3k, Teen. If at first you don't succeed, send a different cockroach. Really hilarious fic about the plan to seduce Michael, with pitch-perfect character voices and humor just like the show's. so slip your hand inside of my glove The Handmaiden, Hideko/Sook-hee, 2.6k, Teen. Hideko lets Sook-hee teach her how to distinguish sapphire from spinel and obediently bites the gold Sook-hee brings back to her. Hideko and Sook-hee, after. A post-canon fic that is beautiful and just perfection. Who's Got Who The Hateful Eight, Chris Mannix/Marquis Warren, 6.7k, Explicit. Warren makes inventive use of Mannix's sheriff star. And, for that matter, inventive use of Mannix. He thinks that will be the end of it. You know, as much as love Hateful Eight, I never expected to begin shipping Mannix/Warren. What can I say but that this fandom has some damn good writers? And they know their porn; good lord this one is hot. As Ice in the Desert Historical RPF, Richard I "The Lionheart" of England/Saladin, 2.3k, Teen. Saladin visits Richard's sickbed with fruit, and a question in his eyes. Gorgeously written, really some of the most beautiful descriptions I've read in quite a while. Two people on the opposite sides of the Crusades in a moment of peace. all the nameless that keeps us rising despite IT, Stan/Richie/Beverly, 4k, Teen. When Stan went over to Richie’s house after dinner to tutor him for their math test tomorrow he thought he knew exactly what he was signing up for. Beautiful depiction of loss and love and a game of spin-the-bottle. Epilogue Jane Eyre, Jane-focused, 3.4k, Mature. Not everything, Jane learns early on, is real. Deeply creepy alternative interpretation of the canon. I love this possibility. How Else Would Sailing Ships Ever Have Navigated? Jeeves, Madeline Bassett/Honoria Glossop, 2.3k, G. “Do you think,” Madeline said to Honoria as the more impressive parts of nature gradually crept up upon them, “that all daffodils are the daughters of sunlight?” Absolutely adorable fic for some minor characters with a pitch-perfect tone for the canon. the worlds that spin beyond our atmosphere Jupiter Ascending, Jupiter/Caine, 7.8k, Teen. When Jupiter woke up, there was a small metal sphere on the pillow beside her. She blinked at it, because it certainly had not been there when she had gone to bed the night before. Then Aunt Nino began to stir and grumble as she too woke up and Jupiter snatched up the sphere, lobbing it hastily into her half-packed suitcase on her way to go and make the coffee. In which Jupiter is propositioned by a space travel agency (but fancier!) and introduces Caine to her family. Gorgeous worldbuilding and wonderful expansion of the canon. I love the descriptions of other planets in here. Damsel King Arthur (2017), Arthur/The Mage, 3k, Teen. In which there's a girl, a dragon, and a castle, and Arthur resolves not to let the truth get in the way of a good story. Totally hilarious and a great fit with the canon. Those parts, which maids keep unespy'd Kushiel's Legacy, Phedre/Joscelin, 1.9k, Explicit. There are few things Phedre has never done. There's one she's never done with Joscelin. Wonderful hot and sweet fic. Het anal, which is rare to see in fanfiction, but so very well-done here. Midwinter Queen The Lion in Winter, Henry/Eleanor, 1.6k, G. Christmas at Chinon, 1183. Conversation gambits keep the Christmas fires burning. Cynical and regretful and funny and heavy, this story does a better job of capturing the voice of the canon than almost any I've read. By Degrees Mansfield Park, Mary Crawford/Fanny Price, 16.6k, Mature. Her conscience had been disturbed, and she could no longer dislike Mary Crawford enough to be safe from her, if such a thing had ever been possible at all. Really excellent slow-burn for one of my favorite Austen ships, and the Fanny characterization is just ideal. Canada Gold Mean Girls, Regina George/Janis Ian, 3.9k, Teen. Regina joined the CIA to catch bad guys. Unfortunately, this time, that meant she had to work with Janis. Yeah, so it turns out that the thing that's been missing from my life is Mean Girls f/f rival spies future-fic. I am so, so glad that this story exists because it's amazing.

#yuletide #benjamin january #books of the raksura #Hateful Eight #the good place #fic recs #also this is what I've been doing all week haven't read a word of my actual books

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progressivemillennial · 8 years ago

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The Mirror Game, Or, I Don’t Blame You

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the most to blame of all?

I had scrapped writing this essay thrice since I first sat down to write it in December because I foolishly continued to think we’d been done talking about who to blame for Hillary Clinton’s loss. So here we are: people are still having conversations on social media about this subject, the media still writes and talks about it, and Congress still yacks about it. We have Congressional hearings all about Russia and a special counsel, Robert Mueller, investigating multiple aspects of the election and Donald Trump’s business ties to Russia. I’m sure you still see these fights or conversations happening from time to time. This is the conversation that never ends, and for a critical reason: we still find ourselves forming the narrative of the 2016 American Presidential Election. Whoever “wins” at forming the narrative will for the foreseeable future dictate how we discuss the 2016 election. For example, when you think about the 2000 election, ask yourself why Al Gore lost. Who or what comes to mind first? Ralph Nader, perhaps? If so, that’s not a coincidence.

As we begin, I have a small favor to humbly ask: go find a mirror. Look straight into your reflected eyes. Raise either of your hands and point your index finger towards your image in the mirror. Finally, capture this image in your mind’s eye and hold it in your memory for later. Good? Thank you! I appreciate you playing along. The conclusion to the game will be revealed later. The idea of scapegoating especially fascinated me towards the end of this election, before which I contended satirically that a whole host of people and entities would be scapegoated if Hillary Clinton, the inevitable candidate, lost.

Popular Scapegoats From the Last Nine Months

1. Bernie Sanders: I admittedly was naive enough to think that Bernie would avoid blame since he campaigned for Hillary upon his defeat in the primary. Wrong! Don Lemon of CNN argued that Bernie Sanders and his supporters “in the beginning, before” damaged Hillary Clinton, enough for her to lose. This kind of logic suggests that no one should have run against Hillary Clinton; although, to many Americans, this kind of coronation process does not seem democratic.

2. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein: MSNBC made it pretty clear that if third party voters had voted for Hillary Clinton, she would have won the presidency. Rachel Maddow later tweeted that if certain percentages of Stein and Johnson supporters had voted for Clinton in key states, Clinton would have won. As we found in 2000, third party candidates make for easy, simple scapegoats. So do their supporters.

3. Jim Comey: The Director of the FBI has been loved and hated by Democrats over the past year. When he announced that the FBI would not recommend charges against Clinton, Democrats were ecstatic. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s running mate, called him “a wonderful and tough career public servant.” After his own “October surprise,” Comey drew the ire from most Democrats and would probably top the list of scapegoats had it not been for the Russian interference scandal that continues to this day.

4. The Media: Clinton aides thought that, in addition to Comey, the media was most to blame for the loss. Clinton supporters even now can be seen referencing “her emails” as a reference to the media’s coverage of the email and server scandal. President Obama in December said that the media was more to blame than Russia for Clinton’s loss. Neither Clinton nor Trump nor Sanders supporters thought the media gave their candidate a fair shake. The media also gave Trump billions of dollars of free media. The media is an easy fall guy.

5. Fake News and Facebook: Facebook took a lot of heat originally for hosting fake news on its site before the election. While the accusations against Facebook specifically have faded quite a bit, the term fake news unfortunately lives on, and it has been co-opted by Donald Trump. The narrative of fake news impacting the election results took off so quickly that Stanford University released a study on January 18 on fake news and social media.

6. White People: White people were far more likely to vote for Trump than people of color, and I say white people because the majority of white women joined the majority of white men in voting for Trump. This is not surprising since Donald Trump appealed mainly to white people. What do you have to lose, it turns out, did not resonate with voters of color.

7. Millennials: Younger voters took a Clinton win for granted, so more voted for third parties. They didn’t show up for her the way they did for Obama. They were bitter about Bernie and couldn’t let go. They didn’t vote at all because they couldn’t vote for the lesser of two evils. Bernie was too harsh on Clinton, so millennials couldn’t vote for her. The supposedly idealistic and naive millennials have been blamed quite a bit for Trump.

8. Sexism and Racism: It would seem pretty silly to argue that sexism didn’t have anything to do with the outcome of the election, although the opinion column cited here makes such an attempt. The column appeared in The Hill and was written, no less, by a woman. Regardless, many wrote and continue to write about sexism and misogyny and its role in the election. As for racism, you can likely recall Van Jones declaring the election a whitelash back in November on CNN. I mean, I’m not saying he’s wrong, but I am saying we had a black president for not-one-but-two-terms, so there are limits to this argument.

9. Wikileaks: Wikileaks revealed a number of inconvenient truths about the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton: that Donna Brazile on at least a few occasions gave questions in advance to the Hillary camp for upcoming engagements with Bernie Sanders, that the DNC clearly favored Hillary Clinton over other candidates including Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s dreams of open borders and free trade throughout the western hemisphere, Clinton having divergent public and private positions on issues, and more. The information contained in these emails likely hurt her campaign and the Democratic Party.

10. Russia: The Google News search Russia election interference returns 278,000 results. The Google News search for Putin american election returns 5,280,000 results. The Google News search Trump Russia investigation returns 8,130,000 results. Needless to say, much has been written on the subject. The FBI, CIA, NSA, and the Office of the DNI assessed with confidence that Russia attempted to influence the American election in favor of Donald Trump, which doesn’t sound like an unreasonable assessment at all.

11. People Who Didn’t Vote: Only 58% of eligible Americans voted in 2016. While it’s a bit arrogant to argue that had everyone voted, Hillary Clinton would have won, we should be careful not to blame literally everyone who didn’t vote for Donald Trump. Some voters experienced issues getting to their voting place because the polling location is located inconveniently or due to a lack of transportation. And voter suppression laws continue to successfully suppress the vote, particularly in minority communities.

12. The Electoral College: In case you somehow missed it--and I’m not sure how one would achieve that feat even living under the world’s biggest rock--Hillary Clinton won more votes across the United States than Donald Trump. In an alternate universe where the electoral college doesn’t exist, we cannot know who would have won a popular vote because both campaigns’ strategies would have been different. But in this universe, big cities like Los Angeles and Chicago delivered Hillary Clinton a significant lead in total votes over Trump.

None of These Reasons Is Inherently Wrong

The beautiful thing about the 2016 election is that all of the reasons above could reasonably be argued for as a reason why Donald Trump won because the margins by which Hillary Clinton lost were so thin. You don’t even need to try to quantify their effect; instead, you can simply think that if a sliver of white people are racist enough to vote against Clinton, that could swing the vote in Michigan or Wisconsin or Pennsylvania to Donald Trump. Because more than a sliver of white people are racist, who could reasonably argue with you?

There are some individuals, groups, and causes that have mostly managed to escape the spotlight when it comes to the blame game, but the truth is: nearly everyone is responsible for the mess we’re in.

The Democratic National Committee: Even Hillary Clinton blamed the DNC. As she put it, “I mean, it was bankrupt. It was on the verge of insolvency. Its data was mediocre to poor, nonexistent, wrong. ... I had to inject money into it." Maybe the DNC supported Clinton in the primary not because of her ideology or ability to win but because of her wealth. And to be clear about supporting Clinton in the primary: when John Podesta was encouraged to ground Bernie “to a pulp” during the primary, he replied, “I agree with that in principle. Where would you stick the knife in?” Most importantly, the DNC wanted to elevate candidates like Donald Trump. They thought it was advantageous for Hillary to go up against one of them. They got what they wanted, and they were wrong.

Superdelegates: Like it or not, superdelegates had a choice at the Democratic National Convention: they could vote for Hillary Clinton, who won the most votes in the primary but who was already unpopular and an establishment candidate in a change election, or they could vote for Bernie Sanders, who lost the primary but also was and is very popular and had a populist message that could have been effective against Donald Trump’s. Polls at the time showed that he ran more strongly against Trump. Superdelegates chose to vote for Clinton. Perhaps they voted for the wrong candidate. To be completely fair, I am not saying that Bernie would have certainly won. We don’t know that, obviously, because we can’t prove a counterfactual.

Winning After a Two Term President: Gore couldn’t do it, McCain couldn’t do it, Clinton couldn’t do it. Since 1948, only Harry Truman and George H.W. Bush won the election after eight or more years of a presidency within their party, and Truman. It’s very challenging for a candidate to win after their party’s president held the office for two previous terms, and there’s no shame in that.

Hillary Clinton and Her Campaign: Hillary Clinton did not run a perfect campaign, and she was not a great candidate. John Podesta, her Campaign Manager, understood this, saying “we've taken on a lot of water that won't be easy to pump out of the boat. Most of that has to do with terrible decisions made pre-campaign, but a lot has to do with her instincts.” She could have chosen a more progressive Vice President to woo skeptical voters on the left. She could have not voted for the Iraq War, or pushed for war in Libya, or voted for the Patriot Act, or its reauthorization. She could have not run with the “America’s already great” rhetoric when so many Americans are unhappy with the country and its politicians. She neglected the Rust Belt. Her ads lacked substance and policy, which were her strength. Hillary is responsible, too. But that’s not all.

One of the election’s greatest myths is the most common: that if you voted for Clinton, you could wash your hands clean and blame everyone else in righteous indignation.

If, to you, Trump is Hitler, if he will bring about the apocalypse, if he will take away minority rights, tear down democracy, implement a fascist state, enable anti-semites, and all you did was vote for Hillary, then your bare minimal democratic participation does not match the level of urgency that the Trump presidency should evoke in you. There’s a gap between your rhetoric and your actions. You could have been calling voters, canvassing, marching before marching was fashionable, writing your local newspaper, participating in civil disobedience, and more. Maybe not all of the above: everyone has different levels of time to commit to a cause and not everyone can afford to commit civil disobedience, but the end of America and the end of the world sounds like a reasonable cause to make time for, no? Maybe you’re “less to blame.” Good for you. Trump is still the president.

And so, if you feel the need to blame others for the outcome of the election, recall the mirror game that we played at the outset of this piece. Remember the image of you, looking squarely into your own eyes, pointing at yourself. The next time you want to blame someone else for the election’s outcome, remember that image. Unless you were a full time volunteer getting the vote out for Hillary--which is extremely unlikely based on probability, you are responsible, whether you are happy, unhappy or indifferent to the results. Own it.

Insert quote here about age-old advice regarding what happens when one points finger in direction of others...

And know that I’m not pointing the finger at you. Read the title again. Who am I to point a finger? I did very little to get Clinton elected. In fact, I’ve basically been told that I enabled a Trump presidency, and that my conscience will have to deal with that. But I absolutely am speaking to you. We have hard work ahead of us.

Self righteously pointing the finger at others may be easy and cathartic and require little thought, but it’s much more challenging to hold the Democratic Party responsible, to reflect on what more we could have done in the run-up to the election, to change, to get more involved, to change our behavior.

Peace and love, Tom President and Founder of Team Scapegoat

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tracey1302 · 8 years ago

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Episode 602 - The Man in the Basement (aka #becauseIloveyou)

Woke up this morning and opened Tumblr.

First reaction.

Then...

Now I’m just at...

I know what you’re all thinking. Bloody sadist. How can you be so happy when the last scene of last night’s episode was possibly the most heartbreaking in Homeland’s history?

Answer: Because she loves him.

And we can see it. Now more than ever before. There’s no Jonas sex in between where she’s chatting some bs about going to a cabin. There’s no Saul on the sidelines, waiting for his answers. This is just the two of them.

We’ve even got the NYT on our side with this one...

“If there ever was a time for an “I love you” on “Homeland,” it was tonight.“You saved me.”“Yes.”“Why?”“Why? … Why?”

Thanks Judith Warner. I love you too. Obvs, more on this later.

So let’s begin...

I’d like to talk about this...thanks to wthomeland for the gif.

Not only do we have this gorgeous scene to come... they’re just spoiling us now.... but it’s the last shot in the credits. Homeland underlining their relationship/closeness/intimacy is absolutely 100% central to this season and to Carrie’s development. The running narrative through the credits is always about Carrie. ‘I missed something once...’ ‘Who’s after me?’ etc etc. Now it’s Quinn, saying ‘You saved me. Why?’ Can I get an OTP?

That’s not to mention that the whole shot looks like a darker version of the Titanic poster with Quinn/Carrie posed as Jack and Rose.

Just me? Okay, moving on...

Quinn is listening to some random anti-Communist rant on the radio that seemed like it was preaching the end of times. I can only assume that was what was behind Quinn’s random quest for canned food....

Little Frannie Mathison (bless her, what a sweetheart) is listening in, stating, ‘There’s a man in the basement.’ I actually thought it was kind of sweet that Carrie told Frannie that they had Quinn staying with them. And a lovely reminder from Carrie to all the audience that the two of them had met before, and that she liked him...ahhh 412. Those were the days.

‘Frannie took a shine to you.’ Oh that episode. THAT scene. Sigh.

Anyway, Carrie drops off Frannie with some friend and then goes to try and give Quinn his meds. I thought it was quite interesting to see that the door was locked. Presumably it can be locked from both sides? Quinn couldn’t get through last time because she didn’t want him up there (for obvious reasons from his antics the previous day) and now she can’t get back down? They will create these obstacles to their relationship moving forward.

She tries to get in to help.

And Quinn throws the mug.

Thanks Quinn. Real helpful. So Carrie asks Max to keep watch, or as Quinn later states, to ‘babysit’ him.

Freaking love Max, by the way. So glad to see him back.

I thought it was interesting that Max was brought into this episode because for me, it highlighted a couple of things.

1) How lonely Carrie really is. There aren’t that many people she can call on in case of emergency anymore. Saul, let’s not go there. Maggie... god knows where she is, probs still in Washington. Quinn... that completes our circle of friends.

2) How insightful Max is. Max knew Quinn before, which you sort of forget because their little tag team was so long ago. And I thought this scene was really touching.

Max says ‘He’s got this strange thing about you which isn’t helping.’

Carrie gets upset and says desperately, ‘I’m trying!’

It was a really weird but touching scene. It’s hard to read. I couldn’t tell whether he was just telling her the depth of Quinn’s depression, in case she didn’t already know. Or whether he was perhaps saying that she needed to do more to try and help him.

What is this thing that Quinn’s got with Carrie?

The orderlies at the hospital mentioned that he gets agitated when she’s around. At the beginning of this episode, he just rejects her help and throws a mug at her.

I still obviously stand by the fact that he’s so proud that he doesn’t want her to see him like this but I also think he just genuinely doesn’t understand why she cares so much about him and why she’s helping him. He genuinely thinks he’s worthless. Now more so than ever before. Even before trashcan land in 505 - or was it 506? I forget because I try to block out Season Five wherever possible.

I also wonder, but I hope I’m wrong, it’s just a thought so don’t pounce on it. Perhaps Quinn, even in his current state, senses some guilt within Carrie and wonders why. Given the last scene and it’s poignancy, this isn’t a big thing, but it could come up. Who knows?

So her care frustrates him, even angers him. But then Max, bless him, asks him outright as to why he’s being such a dick to her? And he can’t really answer. He’s just angry at the world.

I also thought it was really sweet that every time the phone rang at work and it was Max, Carrie is asking after Quinn. So beautiful.

Yes, you’re getting Jeremy again.

Another thing I thought was quite interesting in this episode, which does play into my analysis of the final scene between Carrie and Quinn, is the conversation between Carrie and Saul.

Saul outright asks Carrie if she’s been working with Pres-Elect Keane. Which she has, so he was on the money there. But it was his... threat, that kind of disgusted me. When he says that it wouldn’t ‘play right’ if it was uncovered that she had been working with Keane. I thought this was way out of line and sort of...inhuman... even for Saul. But Carrie’s repulsed reaction to it shows show much she’s changed from this.

You see, Saul is such a company man now that the sanctity of human life seems to mean nothing to him. Just the fact that he came all the way down to Carrie’s place of work to effectively say, ‘I’ve sniffed you out. Don’t do it again,’ in a semi-threatening sort of way, just shows how flippant he is about everything, including people’s lives and livelihood. This is what the CIA appears to do to people, including Saul, including Quinn. And Carrie wants out. Or at least a changed paradigm...

Furthermore, is anyone else pissed that Saul hasn’t asked how Quinn is? He must know that Carrie is taking care of him, he’s in the CIA, for god’s sake.

Anyway, let’s come to the crux of it.... the scene. So Max is gone, and Carrie tentatively goes down to see Quinn. I thought the fact that he asked how her day was, was really sweet. He really carefully says the words, so as not to get them wrong.

She answers as Carrie would to old Quinn. That made me smile.

And then he asks what happened to him? This bit of the scene made me think that memory loss has been a thing. She goes back to two separate points in time before landing on the story that Quinn wants her to tell.

‘What happened to me...before this?’

I thought it was really heartbreaking how he gestures towards his body.

Carrie is incredulous that he doesn’t know what’s happened to him.

We are also quite surprised. We’ve watched that video as many times as Carrie has. If not more. Sara @hellyeahomeland said it best when she highlighted that there’s so much about this situation that we know, and Quinn doesn’t. We feel like we shouldn’t know if Quinn doesn’t. It feels intrusive and wrong.

Quinn tells us that he hadn’t wanted to watch it, until now.

This is heartbreaking and a huge step forward for Quinn. And very telling that he’s ready to take this step, but only if Carrie is with him. He doesn’t say this, but I would wager this is what he means. He’s finally got to a place where he is more settled (he looks more settled) and this is because of her. It took Max to call him on it but hey, he got there. He is now realising that he can rely on her, he can lean on her a little and it’s okay for him to do that. He doesn’t need to be so proud.

So we get ready to watch it again. I also loved Carrie’s moment of hesitancy and then he touches her, gently, to tell her it’s okay to play it. To tell her that he’s okay. That he’s ready.

This moment in itself is huge. Quinn finally confronts what has happened to him. He watches it and sees what everyone else has seen. His very public capture and torture at the hands of terrorists. The whole world has seen him throw up, wet himself and convulse as a result of the sarin.

Carrie tells him she ‘must have watched it a hundred times trying to find you.’

Carrie’s words here are so gentle, but she’s trying to tell him how much she deeply deeply cares about him. She also makes this whole thing about them and their relationship. I don’t mean romantic relationship (as obviously they weren’t involved at the time) but it’s all about her, trying to get to him.

‘Those tiles. They are what led me to you.’

Her phrasing here. Me to you. Underlying sentiment, ‘Please believe I was doing everything that I possibly could to get to you.’

Furthermore, Carrie shares something that we actually didn’t know. Quinn flatlined in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He was dead for three whole minutes. She chokes as though these were the longest minutes of her life. Which they obviously were.

‘You saved me. Why?’

Cue Tracey choking a sob over her brew.

‘Why?’

As I mentioned before, there are a few layers to this question from Quinn’s side... let’s unpack them.

1) Quinn doesn’t think his life is worth saving. He hasn’t cared much about his life since he got back from Syria. It all ended.... partly because he thought Carrie was rejecting him and partly because he had far too many intimacy issues to confront a possible relationship with her. So he ran away.

But especially now. He is brain damaged, paralysed down one side and heavily medicated. A shadow of his former self.

2) Quinn doesn’t understand why Carrie cares so much about him. What I would really like to know is how much Quinn remembers.

Does he remember 412?

This may seem like a daft question, but given, as I say, Carrie recalls two explanations from the recent past before landing on what he wants to talk about, I think it needs asking.

Given the way he looks at her here...

I’m going for yes, he does remember. But a girl’s gotta ask.

In which case, how can he not know the answer before her response? Yes, two, three years have passed, but is he so far gone that he doesn’t understand why Carrie could possibly think to save his life?

Carrie is so mortified that he even asks, she says ‘Why’ twice!

I am sobbing at this point, FYI.

I feel like part of this answer, but not the juicy bit, which I’ll come onto.. is that she’s so horrified about his lack of care for his own life. This plays into what I brought up in the scene with Saul. She’s mortified that this is what the CIA does to people. Saving someone’s life is a no brainer. Especially someone you care about. Why is he even asking the question?

And then there’s the crux of it.

Why?

Because I love you.

How can you not know that?

Because you saved my life so many times and I never thanked you.

Because you call me on my bullshit, even when I don’t want you to

Because you came to see me in the hospital.

Because you protected my identity in Berlin, risking your own life to do so.

Because you told me how important my child was when I didn’t even know.

Because you made me believe that a life outside the CIA was possible.

Because you were my friend when I had none.

Because you believed me when no-one else did.

Because you said I was your light.

Because you loved me.

The letter hangs so heavy over this scene, I feel like it should be engraved on the wallpaper. But she can’t tell him that she knows that. And I don’t think he’s ready to hear ‘Because I love you.’ But she does do this.

She touches his heart. And that tells us everything we need to know.

Including Quinn, who appears to be fighting back the tears... it’s dawning on him that things have definitely changed in his relationship with Carrie. He doesn’t know the extent of it yet. But things have changed... they are deeper... and I think he might just be understanding how Carrie feels about him.

He’s starting to love again.. to feel feelings again.. meaning is coming back into his life. It’s so damn beautiful I could start crying all over again. This is a big deal for the Quinn of S5 and of S6.

And here’s the thing. I know I said in my review last week that I thought Carrie was confused about how she felt about Quinn. I don’t think she is now. The relationship is still very, very complicated, as I’ll discuss in a minute. But I think the fact that Quinn asked her the question, directly, carefully, honestly, made her confront a lot of feelings outright. I feel like everything crystallises for her in this scene, which is why she cries so deeply. Not that she suddenly realises how she feels about him right NOW, but nobody has asked her that before. No-one has asked her why she saved him, why she’s taking care of him.

And she can’t even answer it because it’s like she’s being stabbed in the heart by someone she loves. How can you even ask me that? How can you not know?

And to all those who say this scene is about guilt...I think we’d be silly to think she doesn’t feel guilty/complicit for what’s happened to Quinn. That is one reason she’s so upset, but it’s very small in the scope of the scene.

Because the scene isn’t about waking him up. What Carrie actually discusses is finding him, him flatlining in the ambulance and being gone for three whole minutes. What she is bringing up is this....

How she felt when she thought she’d lost him. How she doesn’t want to be without him. This is what she’s talking about. Saul doesn’t even come into it. The terrorists’ target has nothing to do with this. Waking him up has nothing to do with this.

But here’s the thing, folks. The further down this road they go, the more questions Quinn may ask. The more questions he asks, the more Carrie tells him. The more she tells him, the more he finds out. And pretty much Carrie’s worst nightmare right now (or later in the Season) is Quinn finding out that she and Saul woke him up and were pretty much responsible for his hemorrhage.

Because that means keeping Quinn alive was about the mission. It wasn’t about what he means to her. And Quinn consequently might think that the relationship they’ve built from 602 onwards was about guilt, and not about love.

When I think we can say, for definite now, that it is about love.

And the only thing that could rescue this situation, should it present itself?

The letter. Carrie tells Quinn she read the letter.

I’m not sure that this is where it will go, we’re only at 602... but it’s possible.

But right now, I think we should lay back and look at this...

And look forward to some seriously cute Quinn and Frannie bonding. It’s gonna be a good season for us folks.

Over and out.

#homeland #carrie x quinn #602 #maninthebasement #quarrie

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politicalfilth-blog · 6 years ago

Text

What Did YouTube Just Do?

youtube

In this video, we give you the latest breaking news on the latest decision by YouTube to further control what you will and will not see.

Article – https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/08/24/the-term-conspiracy-theory-was-invented-by-the-cia-in-order-to-prevent-disbelief-of-official-government-stories/

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Transcript –

Welcome back beautiful and amazing the veins and nose are the wonderful noises that I make every time I read a mainstream Media news article.

Socks and of course in today’s day and age there’s a lot of sloppy journalism that either is.

Holy admitting very important details to a bigger story that is happening stories also that deliberately lie and are used for the purposes of propaganda or fear-mongering some people call it fear porn but to say the least it is very difficult right now to decipher what is true what is not and what’s the full story behind the major event that’s why in this video I’m going to attempt to do that by singling out.

Single news article reading it to you and I’m telling you all the information about just how much it is filled with propaganda disinformation for journalism and if this does well it is something that we are going to continue to do on this channel with you guys also submitting articles that you want me to specifically read to you and review.

Golf Course.

This is pretty much because of your sponsorship your donations you guys purchasing t-shirts or change me to University and being a major force behind it this Independent Media operation which by the way is Bitcoin as well but if you feel inclined and can please support us on we are change. Org board / donate to allow us to do this work for you now the first story that I wanted to talk about today specifically.

Article by USA Today that is titled YouTube to curb recommended conspiracy videos and all yet we’re also going to send the nice personal message to Jefferson Graham the author of this piece at the end of this video and this was actually a very popular news article that was on the front page of red.

Has galvanised a ton of people sharing this article for some strange reason on the USA Today website it’s difficult to see any kind of metrics artists even how many people shared this story and there’s no there’s no comment section there’s only adds know a lot of news organizations have just completely eviscerated their comment section.

Because yeah there’s some crazy stuff that usually happens in the comment section but also because a lot of users usually call out a lot of the bullcrap lies and deception in the comments section and usually those comments are the number-one upvoted ones in major media Publications and a lot of news organizations instead of facing scrutiny from the people.

Totally deleted any kind of interaction between you and their publication which day want you to pay $9.99 for month.

Even though they clearly don’t care about being held accountable By Their audience and no USA Today I don’t want to stay connected no no thank you and I’ll let me get past all these advertisements to actually get to.

That’s a lot of advertisement now the article starts off here saying video Network YouTube responded to critics who have long called the Google company to clean up its recommendation engine and not offer conspiracy videos in suggested plays now even the first statement here is just full of crap and lies because I don’t know about you but the only people I’m seeing complained about the YouTube system and YouTube in general with their recommendations is only the mainstream media people don’t have a big issue or problem with the recommendations by in large and this statement is just a fallacy that they start off with I generalizing as much as they can without showing approving any evidence trying to push one past the goal post as if this is a legitimate argument.

A legitimate grievance by legitimate critics and no it’s not it’s the mainstream media that are mainly crying about this because by and large they’re getting destroyed by alternative media Independent Media that is destroying them and becoming a serious competitor for all their ad Revenue that they’re trying to collect those greedy little you know what I’m trying to say here or honesty or they would just say instead of critics I would say we us the mainstream media have been calling on the Google to fix the recommendation so we don’t lose advertising Revenue to people who are apart of Independent Media another very vague generalization here just saying conspiracy videos continuing on in a blog posted Friday YouTube said it will begin to reduce recommending borderline content and content that could miss inform users in harmful ways that look at YouTube statement border. Line contact again content that could.

Could miss inform users in harmful ways again also very generalized oblique language that could be used in many different ways and of course generalized because this Authority that they are now claiming will be abused for sinister purposes and the way to hide at those Sinister purposes is of course to make it as a large so people can’t find it and is generalized as possible to make it as Bland sounding as they can so people don’t get angry at them because this is a huge step backwards and I continued on with the article quote such as videos promoting a phony miracle cure for serious illness claiming the Earth is flat or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11 again very interesting that YouTube actually decided on these very specific issues. And make up the craziest theories to generate ad Revenue yes that does exist but I would make the argument here that this is a situation where you’re throwing out the baby with the bathwater because YouTube does work does promote does push and recommend mainstream media Outlets which I would argue are sometimes more incredulous than the biggest phone when he’s on YouTube and have caused more damage to humanity.

Book of the mainstream media they sold us the Iraq War like it was a Shore thing they sold us the banker bailouts the supposed stimulus.

Just giving our money.

The richest most powerful people who created an economic crisis in this country look at 9:11 with the official voice saying that the air was safe to breathe issued by a lion government that the mainstream media repeated because they were believed to be authoritative voices and this is what YouTube has called a lot of the mainstream media companies that they are pushing forward while of course going after the small craters saying that they are at or Tatum voices and I believe our society is as screwed up as it is because of the mainstream media and you need people to question whether the air was safe to breathe on that 11 whether the Iraq War was worth it whether we should be giving out billions and trillions of dollars to foreign banksters those questions on a national discourse need to happen to have a healthy Democratic Society and when you take away those voices and you only let the establishment speak which is ultimately what YouTube is doing here which of course.

USA Today is running propaganda for mainly because companies like USA Today benefit and other mainstream media companies benefit from these larger decisions when you have these bigger shutting down the voices from the conversation you’re going to have huge detrimental effects to society especially with limiting the public discourse on what many people believed to be a public utility YouTube which has the power to dramatically change events and situations that we are dealing with okay now let’s continue on with the article the most high-profile conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was banned by YouTube in 2018 along with apple Stitcher Facebook and others over concerns about his content including videos that questioned whether the killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 were real as you all know I am definitely not a fan of Alex Jones and have criticized him in detail over his content on this. Very specific YouTube channel but please if you can entertain me and tell me the difference of what Alex Jones did in 2012 regarding families but entertain me here for just a second and tell me the major difference from Infowars coverage of Sandy Hook to of course the mainstream media coverage of the Covington Catholic school kids and the recent controversy that happened in Washington DC is there that big of a difference between the two campaigns and that’s something to think about that I could be wrong about but let me know and legitimately in the comment section okay so it’s go on here so if YouTube viewers were searching for music ounce of an event like Sandy Hook they could have seen Infowars pop up after a string of videos from CBS ABC and the like again just a very very rare example that they’re using a very of course hyperbolic one of area of course emotional one to convince you of this argument that they’re making but this is. Already been in use this censorship has already been hitting this YouTube channel for an example not just events like Sandy Hook but with other important geopolitical events especially major ones like the yellow vest movement which I have been on the ground covering and doing live streams from which have dominated the coverage some videos galvanizing even a million views destroying my competition and the mainstream media’s coverage of it because I actually provided an unbiased look at the entire situation that was happening there that resonated with people and had people sharing video that was on edited unbiased of exactly what was happening there without any kind of bigger Spin and when you typed in we are change French protests we are change yellow vest into the search algorithm here guess what none of our videos showed up pretty funny that mr. Jefferson Graham here didn’t use that as an exam. Misses of course the Slanders content that has been coming out against the yellow vest Movement by the mainstream media that is trying to destroy this movements typically from the coverage that we have seen from the French media continuing on with this article the article says the YouTube algorithm pics videos based on your viewing and search histories in an auto play mood with suggestions for other videos to watch as well yes I I can’t wait for Jake Paul videos to be shoved down my throat again continue on this isn’t the first time YouTube has tried to take the conspiracy video Problem in March 2018 it said it would put links to Wikipedia about events in text boxes around widely accepted vents like the 1969 moon landing a very successful I literally did a video about Vladimir Putin and literally the Wikipedia entry I got underneath.

My video is that Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia.

That’s what this idiotic did stupid again what it really is just a sick Sinister effort by technocrat trying to be in control of a narrative that they’ve been losing because of Independent Media let me skip this other advertisement here continue aren’t continuing on with the article YouTube was responding to public backlash know it wasn’t don’t lie USA Today Jeffrey Graham I’m writing you a nasty tweet after this stop lying what public backlash to mainstream Media made it up if it wasn’t for the mainstream media screaming and crying about ad Revenue not having enough money to survive trying to attack people take down independent users there wouldn’t be a supposed backlash there’s not one person that I know or even have seen other than politically motivated mainstream media limousine. Pax system cuckservative were screaming and writing hate rage click articles trying to of course galvanized the tech industry to act on their behalf and this is exactly what this is this isn’t public backlash you look at the most popular conspiracy videos out there they mostly have upvote people like their content people want to hear about the possibilities. Of course I will never be entertained by the mainstream media there’s a good discussion in the comments section mainly people enjoy it and you could see it by the response that they get continuing on after the supposed public bash backlash after it’s trending videos tab Gable white platform to clips that shared false or misleading information that sometimes the information was correct and you were wrong and this is why you need to take this down cuz you don’t wanna lose control them are that’s what’s Happening Here continuing on with the article about breaking national news events like the high school shooting in Parkland Florida or the two. 17 mass shootings in Las Vegas the mass shootings which by the way that be I just released the final report on what supposedly no motive at all with the authorities of course being tight-lipped not sharing a lot of the information with the general public many times covering up for themselves trying to protect themselves from any kind of responsibility or scrutiny from when they mess up because FBI messes up but they cover up to not face any accountability for this is why.

Regulates that maybe there’s something more to the story especially with a lying establishment a lying media that clearly works for special interest and tries to shut down independent voices that dare to say hey.

You’re probably lying here which sometimes they are and they need to be called at 4 and not censored continuing on with the article YouTube says Des algorithm shift will apply to less than 1% of the content on YouTube I don’t believe that that’s a big corporations word on itself what happened to h38 Street they got taken down because even talked about Alex Jones clearly they were doing a livestream they were taken down because they talked about something that you don’t want them talking about continuing on but the limiting the recommendations of these types of videos will mean a better experience for the YouTube Community whose standards and belief experience for the YouTube Community Human Experience for the technocrats globalist and prostitutes who only want to sell you a narrative to deceive you moving forward the network precise that the changes will affect recommendations of what videos to watch not whether a video is available on YouTube as always people can still access all videos that comply with our community guidelines. When relevant these videos may appear in recommendations for channel subscribers and in search results YouTube receives over 400 hours of videos uploaded to the site every minute so many questionable videos fall through the cracks fall through the cracks.

Some of the videos included child abuse pedophilic videos of perverse really inappropriate videos radicalized Islamic videos radicalized hate videos first interesting because as I’ve been hit by YouTube for supposedly talking about conspiracy theories myself I see all these other videos there are fine for a quite a moment YouTube decides to prior to a prioritize is of course.

Supposed conspiracy theorist not all those other things I mentioned which they didn’t go after first first they went after conspiracy theorist supposedly that’s what they call us it’s pretty much a dirty name created by the CIA what you got is another rabbit hole that you should jump into and I’ll leave this article for you to fact check yourself in the description of this video about this specific top.

Okay moving forward critics have long called for more human oversight and YouTube has responded by saying it will hire as many as 10,000 people to hunt for offencive videos.

Sensitive videos I thought we’re going after misleading videos with someone’s emotions are involved here and if their emotions are offended we have to take those videos down to exactly conflating it making his General.

As they can because they know this is a bad thing that they’re doing and we’ll have a big backlash continuing on Additionally the network has touted its use of machine learning to get a better handle of keeping bad stuff off the network again guys today set alternative Independent Media first on their little algorithm then they went after the child abuse the pedophilia activity the really inappropriate sexual stuff and then in a radical islamist.

Heads up just to just to show you where YouTube’s head is at continuing on videos were main up until they are flagged by members of the community for not adhering to YouTube guidelines you I can definitely can’t be abused by the system here and other people continue with on such as showing violence sexual content or in the case of the recent Florida high school shooting false information.

Who is going to be the decider of Truth technocrats billionaires no thank you I’ve been this is what they’re doing protected by USA Today continuing on an example of the conspiracy issue in February 2018 when student survivors of a high school shooting in Florida began speaking out a video that suggested the students were quote crisis actors hired by democrats and gun-control Advocate Rose to the top of YouTube trending section attracting 200,000 views what’s the media caught on to it YouTube pulled it down again very very rare case the trending section is pretty much the advertising section for YouTube it’s not really the top videos that get the most amount of used that’s misinformation number one so probably some of that YouTube made a mistake they don’t want to take responsibility for it so they just blame anyone else questioning narratives out there continue run this change in policy relies on combination of machine learning and real people YouTube says we work with human evaluators and experts from all the. The United States to help train the machine learning systems that generate recommendations these evaluators are trained using public guidelines and provide critical input on the quality of video Jim mortgage are good crap YouTube had resisted making whole some changes to its algorithm Duke due to concerns for free speech oh yeah you did yeah yeah that’s that’s rare. That’s pretty golden since you’re actually doing the thing that will suppress refreeze it Free Press now as you’re announced we have concerns but you know where I can just admitting here at the end yeah this is a big issue for Free Speech but we’re going to go with it anyway quote the network said that the changes strike a balance between maintaining a platform for free speech yet sure and living up to our responsibility to you know it’s not it’s you once again again it’s just one hand washing the other one ended. For talking another and this cozy relationship between big Tech and of course the mainstream media is in Ed Horton but proves and shows to everyone that the truth is mainly the rain enemy here for them people discussing and talking to each other is something that they can have they can’t have a discourse they can’t have people talking to each other they’re coming from the point of view that people are too dumb to understand truth to understand how to live their lives and they will decide what you can and cannot hear and what you’re able to even think about this is what they’re doing here on such a major level continue along with the Stars look at just a boy and adds here.

What it what is it Yo Gotti drops put a date on it with little baby set to appear on the tonight this is not used as an advertising is that Busta Rhymes by the way Busta Rhymes also are you considering I was sick of this let’s look at all these add holy cup Yo Gotti drops put a date on it with little baby set to appear on The Tonight Show what the hell is this.

4 train like this is news content it’s not this is this advertisement this is what this is really all about that Busta Rhymes fun fact here Busta Rhymes by the way is really big into alternative information especially surrounding the events of 9/11 and anything else the mainstream media tries to jam our throat and of course you know that this is conflict and of course the mainstream media is all about their just trying to confuse you as if this is actual news articles here just trying to get you to buy more crap holy cow look like I’m not even sure how long we’re going here for holy cow I even have a special application.

Oh that I came and talked about okay let me actually turn on the advert oh my God oh my goodness I just turned off a special app thing that I had with in my browser here thank you guys know what I’m talking about I can’t really meant.

This is modern journalism inundated with the garbage from the internet corporatist trash.

Okay let’s go find Jeffrey Graham and write him a nice mess.

For him on Twitter.

Grammar is this guy here we go yeah oh Jeffery Jeffery I’m so disappointed in you probably going to fire the poor guy because.

Absolute trash at the solar industry has turned into.

Jeffrey Graham just read a Jeffrey.

You just rewrite press release that your corporate.

Overlords vomited down your throat and you regret rejecting.

They did to us serious question with the open face emoji and send check out the activity that will be happening right here.

If you enjoy this video obviously share please I mean you got to have to now because YouTube because.

We’re not an authoritative voice we’re telling you what they’re not telling you.

Good label us a conspiracy theorist which we’ve been labeled by the mainstream media at so many times before.

Mom still my work all the time when I’m doing live that’s what I am so frustrated at.

Regardless share this video please YouTube won’t I appreciate you guys if it wasn’t for you donating a supporting and subscribing and being a part of us we wouldn’t be here if you like this format of me reading articles to you let me know and I’ll continue to do this if you have any other videos you recommend send it to me on my Twitter at twitter.com.

Are you guys thank you again so much watching stay tuned for more here on youtube.com.

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ideepkingdompaperworld-blog · 6 years ago

Text

The Shape of Water

The shape of shapelessness

The oddity of the title invites some speculation of its meaning. A lovely word: Shape. In most definitions it implies a visible element of some definite and physical object. But one would not normally connect it to anything as elusive and free-flowing as water which we normally define as shapeless. One might just as well think about the shape of space, or of time. The shape of nothingness or the shape of being. The shape of Shapelessness. I feel these thoughts have a certain resonance within the tendencies of this movie.

The first thing I must do here is to apologize for the large amount of background I find necessary to the movie’s full understanding and appreciation.

This movie, then, is a reworking of themes from the 1954 movie “Creature From the Black Lagoon.” It, of course, overlays and often opposes the monster movies of the 1950’s. (and those of today?)

Guillermo Del Toro has said he remembered and was strongly influenced by the image of a “creature” swimming underwater with a view of a woman swimming on the surface. The scene takes place in a deep lagoon in the Amazon of South America. The woman is an unofficial participant in an expedition which is exploring a legend of a “Godlike Creature” with healing powers reputed to exist in the depth of a deep lagoon. (And of course the presence of a Beautiful woman is indispensable to the genre) The creature stalks the woman and later kidnaps her, meaning that it must be destroyed for this violation.

I can remember myself seeing the same image from the original movie and the same powerful effect it had on me at the time. I confess I did not see the movie until many years later. (Perhaps during the years of “Creature Features’” that used to run in the Bay Area, probably in the 1970’s,) I remember feeling a near sense of tenderness emanating from the creature that was somehow against the grain of the horror movie genre.

So the coincidence of our memories of this image was what first drew me to want to see his movie. (And I will admit here that seeing Del Toro’s similar version of the image of his creature swimming beneath his version of the woman sent chills down my spine.)

But beyond this, it must be recognized that his portrayal is vastly different from the original. This is of course due to the great improvements in technics of movie making; in thematic development; but most importantly, I think, in conventions of character development.

The Cold War was rarely an overt factor in ‘50’s horror genre, but its presence could usually be felt. One other thing to note is the rivalry and cooperation between the military and science; it is very much the same as in the present as one side always seeks for ‘assets’ to gain advantages over an enemy— or to prevent the enemy from getting them first.

The shape of this movie, then, is as of a gentle, although dark, spoof of horror movies of the 1950’s, those depicting monsters or aliens who threaten to destroy vast numbers of extras and huge chunks of scenery. In the original, our creature did belong to the conventional pantheon of ‘monsters’ from those movies of the period. As they terrorize civilization’s superior powers, Some way must be found to destroy them.

But the creature of our movie never rises to that level. And the elements of parody that Del Toro confidently employs signal a deeper, more complex reading intended to appeal to more modern sensibilities.

The original movie from 1954 was released in the 3D process. But it was at the tail end of the public’s interest for this process. Released anyway, it was viewed by the public without the polarizing glasses, which left many of its images distorted. And it appears that Del Toro intentionally duplicated this in his cinematography. Or he may have used more modern techniques to make it appear so, especially with regard to the shape of automobiles.

The movie is set a few years later in 1958 during the early years of the space race when the cold war had settled into a publicity contest for greater prestige. And it is also the period that was a high point in car design, which was most symbolic of American prosperity and technical superiority.

While continuing the framework of parody, two of the main characters, Eliza and her older neighbor, Giles, are both dreamers; they live in a jumbled warren of apartments above an all-night movie theatre whose marquee names typical movies of the period. Film canisters and projector parts lie about in hallways and rooms of their apartments. Eliza, who is mute but not deaf, takes care of her older friend, but their lives are mostly invisible to the outside world.

Eliza is part of a cleaning crew at a secret military lab with her other good friend, Zelda. For those of us old enough to remember the period, it isn’t so very surprising that a cleaning crew would have unimpeded access to the most secret areas of a secret military facility; or that they could do their jobs with near invisibility.

Strickland, the sadistic CIA agent put in charge of the project, only knows how to beat the creature in order to keep it under control. You are supposed to think of him as the original ‘Man in Black.’ But in contrast to his working self, Strickland also goes home to his very 1950’s TV-land family gathered around their TV set, and quite resembling the family of ‘Leave it to Beaver’

And so the near beginning of the movie is Strickland’s arrival with the Creature at an isolated military lab where it can be studied by the military for any value as an “asset” which can be used against the Soviet enemy.

What then is an ‘asset’ and what a ‘monster?’ This question seems to loom over every aspect of the movie.

The shape of water is determined by the shape of whatever contains it. Falling water is shapeless. Falling water—or running water-- seeks to be contained. All water eventually finds its way to the oceans. Oceans have a dual nature. Life originated in the oceans of the world and the oceans provide countless ‘assets’ for humanity, but it also contains countless dangers to life as well.

The Creature we soon learn also possesses a dual nature. Always guarded, ruthless when threatened, it is still capable of curiosity when approached with kindness and gentleness. It seems able to distinguish between the differing intents.

It is a creature not a monster. Its containment when captured was a primordial deep pool or lagoon of standing water, which no doubt shaped its development and capabilities. It must have had prior human contact since he (yes, let’s call him he) was considered a god with magical powers to the natives of the region where he was captured. And he does in fact possess magical, restorative power as he cures himself after each of Strickland’s savage beatings.

Eliza, untethered from her muteness, seeks desperately to find a new way to communicate. She is attracted to the Creature. He responds. And finding ways in the lab while under Strickland’s close observation, he soon becomes her asset; and she becomes his. Then in an element shaped by water they do become lovers.

All the main characters, as a subtext, suffer from loneliness. The mute Eliza, whose muteness had trapped her in her own personal world not easily penetrated until she encounters the Creature and strives to bring forth his finer qualities.

Giles, her friend and confidante from the movie house, who is a struggling and failing artist/illustrator, has been rendered obsolete from living too much in the past. (One suspects that Del Toro may feel an odd sort of bond to this character, both of them drifting into uncertain regions between past and present. Del Toro, I think, is quite familiar with loneliness.)

Eliza’s Black workmate, Zelda, protects herself with a sharp tongue and with instinctively knowing how to survive in every situation. She lives with a feckless husband who is totally dependent on her.

Most of all, the Creature, kept in isolation after his capture and after perhaps countless ages of isolation in his dark lagoon. The military decides to end the research and have him destroyed.

It is an order to Strickland. “How long do I have to prove I am a good man,” he futilely yells up to the unseen, uncaring masters whom he has served all his life with great dedication.

Compare this to the lead scientist Dimitri, another lonely man, whose identity as a Soviet spy is unknown to anyone but his bureaucratic handlers. Given orders by them to destroy the Creature, he disobeys.

“You are a good man,” Eliza signs to him when she finds he means to save the creature for his own further scientific research. His response is surprise that she would call him thus and this re-enforces his determination to defy the masters and save the creature. In so doing he breaks free from his dual identity as a scientist and a tool of deception.

In a wild ending, with the aid of Dimitri, along with her nervous neighbor Giles, and Zelda, Eliza boldly engineers their escape. But they are closely followed by Strickland, rabidly intent on fulfilling his own orders to destroy the Creature (by now it is quite personal as well). In the final confrontation, Dimitri is killed, Eliza is killed, and the Creature, mortally wounded; yet he still manages to kill Strickland before his and Eliza’s dead bodies are propelled into the open sea.

So now, at the last, each viewer is left to decide on the fate of the two lovers, cast into the life-sustaining or destructive ocean. This ending might as well be defining the shapeliness of love.

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thelonewolfforeternity · 7 years ago

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I needed to talk but I don’t want to be heard

Welp. New tumblr but I already had one before. Class requirement. This time is a little personal. I needed an outlet for my nonsensical thoughts. and except if I let anyone know this thing exist, no one would even know about this blog (except maybe CIA, FBI and other monitoring entities out there digging our lives, Hi guys! nothing to see here) .

Well then. Let’s start with a brief intro. I’m alex. I’m 23 as of now. It’s 2018. I’ve been single for 3 years now (not counting the disaster relationship I three months ago that only lasted 1 month, also not counting the dates I’ve been with). I’m a graduate of Communications. I love manga, anime, PC games (because PC is god-race) and cartoons (yes, anime and cartoons are two different things for me). I’d like to believe I’m a practicing Catholic, but truth be told, It’s so much of a struggle. I also like Photography and Film making as well as watching films although I hadn’t had much time for it recently because of adulting. Ya know, work, eat, pay bills, sleep and repeat.

So what made me start another blog. As the title says, I needed to let out some shit but I don’t want anyone to listen. Maybe so I can just say what I want and not receive comments or advises. Maybe because I want to figure out things my own. I’m alone, and I’ve always been, too cheesy I know, but that’s literal. I have one Best Friend and he’s a dad now. i can’t expect that he can give me company like he used to duuuh..

I’ve been talking to myself lately (yes. you’ve read that right, if there would be someone, who would by some miracle of God, be reading this) Is there something wrong with my head? I do believe so. I think, I like writing but I don’t like rules. These retard rules are what limits my thoughts. Formats and stuff. I mean, I can follow that and that’s what throws me off writing. That I have to follow what everyone does. Am I a social deviant? I have no idea. I follow society rules because it is necessary for public order, but writing for me is a form of art, so I’d want to write the way I want to write.

Most of the thoughts that I have right now is what I want to do with my life. And I mean every single aspect of it.

First. What do I want as a Career:

I don’t know. Part of that is because I’m a Jack of all trades. You know the saying “Jack of all trade is a master of none”? Well, most of the people hate a guy considered a jack of all trades because of this shortened phrase. But what they do not know is it’s actually a very positive figure of speech. Here’s the whole line “Jack of All trades, Master of none. But oftentimes better than Master of One”. But the problem with not mastering one is that you don’t even know what you’re totally good at. And even if you’re good with one pursuit, you have to like doing it. Thus, it becomes Passion. I don’t know what I’d want to do. If I would pursue a passion, it’s something that I’d want to do for the years to come. I can draw, sing, dance(with practice of course), act (Film or stage, but I’m not good looking so I can’t be the lead), write poetry, take photos and videos and edit them a bit for post (I can’t do effects, maybe I can learn but I’m not much into it), communicate with fluency (PR, Marketing stuff) and write free-style like this (Narrative or Non-Narrative). But one thing is for sure, I’d want to touch other people’s lives without them remembering me, but them remembering themselves. So I can make the world a little better since I came. I may seem like I’d want to play god or an unspoken hero, but most of the time I see myself as a villain. I even play the villain most of the time so people can unite against me. So whatever it is that I’d want to do I’d want to figure it out somehow.

Second. Do I want to Marry:

This one’s a bit errr.... I don’t know..... stuffy for me. The one thing I hate is if people do things and yet realize they can’t really commit to it. I would mention this time and time again in my writings but the last serious relationship that I had was when I was in College. So there was this girl that I dated back in college , not actually dated, more like we were basically breathing the same air almost, we just need to marry and shit. But 5 years after it, she decides the ex guy she was seeing before me would be a better choice (disclaimer: That dude cheater on her before, BUT The guy is oriental, looks are a little better than me except for the yellow skin, also has more money and has a car which I don’t have, also can afford the luxury vacations she so seeks). The funny thing is that I never wanted to date her (I had a lot of people in mind that I’d rather be with, that or go to priesthood). But I did because after we became friends, she kinda had me fell for her. At first, I didn’t even care if she were to leave. And then, the world went banaynays and she has only brought ruins in it. Which brings me to, Thank God I didn’t marry her. Imagine if we were married and she decided that she wanted to replace me. That would give me a world full of shit. Divorce is not legal in my country and I don’t approve of it. Commitment is supposed to be, “Till death do us part”. Meaning, whoever you are and whoever you shall be, I will be here with you. Sounds romantic? Well, it’s not! It’s a world full of pain and sacrifices faced with endurance, patience and REAL LOVE. Love is remaining in commitment when it may seem that you want to bail, leave or forsake your partner. Love is remaining steady for the person and for the people that matters to you. Love is giving all of you, and that is the source of your Joy, of your Peace. Deus Caritas est. FORTUNATELY (I’m being cynical/sarcastic here), I was born to this MORONIC MILLENNIAL AGE, where everything is convenient, where you can quit when you’re not happy and you can make other people’s lives miserable just so you can be happy. Which makes everything more difficult. If women nowadays are so adventurous, out-going and have a thing for wander-lust, I might have a problem. I don’t really travel much. I mean, I do but it’s when I have the fund and body fuel to do so. I don’t really mind where I could be, as long as I’m with the right people/person. (Romantic? Nah, Just really lazy). But to be honest, Beaches are all the same to me (I like white sand tho). At one moment I’d like to go trekking, 30 mins later, I’d want to go home and binge watch a whole anime season or game for the whole night. I’d rather swim in a river or waterfalls, because the water is fresh and you can accidentally drink it and not get more dehydrated, also, less sun burn. But the best date for me is watching the rain/storm inside the house (or sometimes outside bathing in the rain), talking with that person who don’t understand you but atleast is trying, for hours about our questions in life, drinking something warm, covered in blanket. I don’t care if there’s sex or not, I’d rater not have it to be honest. I’d just want someone to share ME so that I don’t just exist and disappear one day. That somehow, I was a part of someone and someone was a part of me. But in the sweetest way. My Ideal girl would be a strong independent woman who wants me but don’t need me. A woman who can do everything herself, but would ask for my help from time to time. Because when she does, it means only I can help her. Then you become someone meaningful for another person. You’re not just anybody, you’re somebody to someone. See, when she can do the things that need to be done on her own, when she can buy the things she want herself, when she can go where she wants to, then you know for sure, that she Loves YOU, wants YOU. She doesn’t need you or any other man to complete herself. But trying to find a woman like that is like searching for the Holy Grail. See, what makes a woman is not her outer beauty (disclaimer again: I do look at outer beauty because who doesn’t), but more importantly is her ability to bring the best man you can be. Because you’d be in constant competition with her, how you can be the man worthy to stand by her side, how you can be stronger than her, so strong that when the time comes that this strong woman crumbles, you can be her stronghold. But at most is how humble you can be when the time comes that you’d be admitting your wrongs just so she will stay, just so you can stay, just so both of you can remain together. Why did I have to be born in an era where most of the women are materialistic bitches who’d want to be treated to be like a Princess? Men who’d want to marry princesses are Idiots. Because when you love a princess, she won’t love you back, only your status, your money, whatever you have. And the moment you lose those, you lose her. That’s why if we’re in a Fairy tale, I’d choose the Villager with the bakeshop who handles everything on her own, she’d be better than a hundred princesses. (I would rather write this in the most censored manner, but since no one would read this, meh). I mean if you’re just a walking pretty face with a Vagina, what good are you more than just for sex and display. Aren’t women supposed to be more than that?

Lastly, what to expect in this online Journal:

Absolute nonsensical randomness. I just really needed a freedom wall of sorts. So your thoughts are irrelevant. Go find your own wall and rant all you want there. This one’s mine.

That said! Lez get random.

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dixiechikdigger · 8 years ago

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😀 33 CONSPIRACY THEORIES THAT TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE, WHAT EVERY PERSON SHOULD KNOW… 😀 Jonathan Elinoff New World Order Report January 6, 2010 After reading the article released by Cracked.com, I decided to update and revise their sloppy work. Their article had only 7. I can name 33 and I am planning on releasing a revised list soon with up to 50. The article I was insulted to read by the lack of information can be viewed here, but don’t waste your time, all of that is in this article and more. Most people can’t resist getting the details on the latest conspiracy theories, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. At the same time, many people quickly denounce any conspiracy theory as untrue … and sometimes as unpatriotic or just plain ridiculous. Lets not forget all of the thousands of conspiracies out of Wall Street like Bernie Madoff and many others to commit fraud and extortion, among many crimes of conspiracy. USA Today reports that over 75% of personal ads in the paper and on craigslist are married couples posing as single for a one night affair. When someone knocks on your door to sell you a set of knives or phone cards, anything for that matter, do they have a profit motive? What is conspiracy other than just a scary way of saying “alternative agenda”? When 2 friends go to a bar and begin to plan their wingman approach on 2 girls they see at the bar, how often are they planning on lying to those girls? “I own a small business and am in town for a short while. Oh yeah, you look beautiful.” Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy. However, it has come almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning. To conspire means “to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end.” The term “conspiracy theory” is frequently used by scholars and in popular culture to identify secret military, banking, or political actions aimed at stealing power, money, or freedom, from “the people”. To many, conspiracy theories are just human nature. Not all people in this world are honest, hard working and forthcoming about their intentions. Certainly we can all agree on this. So how did the term “conspiracy theory” get grouped in with fiction, fantasy and folklore? Maybe that’s a conspiracy, just kidding. Or am I? Skeptics are important in achieving an objective view of reality, however, skeptism is not the same as reinforcing the official storyline. In fact, a conspiracy theory can be argued as an alternative to the official or “mainstream” story of events. Therefore, when skeptics attempt to ridicule a conspiracy theory by using the official story as a means of proving the conspiracy wrong, in effect, they are just reinforcing the original “mainstream” view of history, and actually not being skeptical. This is not skeptism, it is just a convenient way for the establishment view of things to be seen as the correct version, all the time, every time. In fact, it is common for “hit pieces” or “debunking articles” to pick extremely fringe and not very populated conspiracy theories. This in turn makes all conspiracies on a subject matter look crazy. Skeptics magazine and Popular Mechanics, among many others, did this with 9/11. They referred to less than 10% of the many different conspiracy theories about 9/11 and picked the less popular ones, in fact, they picked the fringe, highly improbable points that only a few people make. This was used as the “final investigation” for looking into the conspiracy theories. Convenient, huh? In fact, if one were to look into conspiracy theories, they will largely find that thinking about a conspiracy is associated with lunacy and paranoia. Some websites suggest it as an illness. It is also not surprising to see so many people on the internet writing about conspiracy theories in a condescending tone, usually with the words “kool-aid,” “crack pot,” or “nut job” in their articulation. This must be obvious to anyone that emotionally writing about such serious matter insults the reader more than the conspiracy theorist because there is no need to resort to this kind of behavior. It is employed often with an “expert” who will say something along the lines of, “for these conspiracies to be true, you would need hundreds if not thousands of people to be involved. It’s just not conceivable.” I find it extremely odd that the assumption is on thousands of participants in a conspiracy. I, for one, find it hard to believe any conspiracy involving more than a handful of people but the fact remains that there have been conspiracies in our world, proven and not made up, that involved many hundreds of people. It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s a matter of fact. One more thing to consider, have you noticed that if the conspiracy is involving powerful interests with the ability to bribe, threaten or manipulate major institutions (like the mafia, big corporations or government) then don’t you find it odd when people use one of those as the “credible” counter-argument? What I mean is, if you are discussing a conspiracy about the mafia, and someone hands you a debunking article that was written by the mafia, it doesn’t seem like it would take rocket science to look at that with serious criticism and credibility. This is the case with many conspiracies. In fact, I am handed debunking pieces all the time written in many cases by the conspirators in question. Doesn’t this seem odd to anybody else but me? While intelligent cynicism certainly can be healthy, though, some of the greatest discoveries of all time were initially received (often with great vitriol) as blasphemous conspiracy theories — think of the revelation that the earth was not the center of the universe, or that the world was not flat but actually round. What follows are some of these most shocking modern conspiracy theories that turned out true after thorough investigation by our society. Some through congressional hearings, others through investigative journalism. Many of these, however, were just admitted to by those involved. These are just 33 of them, and I still had a long list of others to add. There are a total of 33 in this article. Many of these are listed with original and credible news clips on the matter, as well as documentaries. 1. The DREYFUS AFFAIR: In the late 1800s in France, Jewish artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted of treason based on false government documents, and sentenced to life in prison. The French government did attempt to cover this up, but Dreyfus was eventually pardoned after the affair was made public (an act that is credited to writer Émile Zola). 2. The MAFIA: This secret crime society was virtually unknown until the 1960s, when member Joe Valachi first revealed the society’s secrets to law enforcement officials. What was known was that organized crime existed, but not that the extent of their control included working with the CIA, politicians and the biggest businesses in the world. 3. MK-ULTRA: In the 1950s to the 1970s, the CIA ran a mind-control project aimed at finding a “truth serum” to use on communist spies. Test subjects were given LSD and other drugs, often without consent, and some were tortured. At least one man, civilian biochemist Frank Olson, who was working for the government, died as a result of the experiments. The project was finally exposed after investigations by the Rockefeller Commission. A short video about MK-ULTRA from a documentary called Secrets of the CIA: 4. Operation MOCKINGBIRD: Also in the 1950s to ’70s, the CIA paid a number of well-known domestic and foreign journalists (from big-name media outlets like Time, The Washington Post, The New York Times, CBS and others) to PUBLISH CIA PROPAGANDA. The CIA also reportedly funded at least one movie, the animated “ANIMAL FARM,” by George Orwell. The Church Committee finally exposed the activities in 1975. 5. MANHATTAN PROJECT: The Manhattan Project was the codename for a project conducted during World War II to develop the first ATOMIC BOMB. The project was led by the United States, and included participation from the United Kingdom and Canada. Formally designated as the Manhattan Engineer District (MED), it refers specifically to the period of the project from 1942–1946 under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under the administration of General Leslie R. Groves. The scientific research was directed by American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The project’s roots lay in scientists’ fears since the 1930s that Nazi Germany was also investigating nuclear weapons of its own. Born out of a small research program in 1939, the Manhattan Project eventually employed more than 130,000 people and cost nearly US$2 billion ($22 billion in current value). It resulted in the creation of multiple production and research sites that operated in secret. With the total involved, this makes it one of the largest conspiracies in history. Entire towns were built for short periods of time, employing people, all under secrecy and top national secrecy at that. The government never admitted to it, the media never reported on it, and people had no idea for over 25 years. Project research took place at over thirty sites across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The three primary research and production sites of the project were the plutonium-production facility at what is now the Hanford Site, the uranium-enrichment facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the weapons research and design laboratory now known as Los Alamos National Laboratory. The MED maintained control over U.S. weapons production until the formation of the Atomic Energy Commission in January 1947. 6. ASBESTOS: Between 1930 and 1960, manufacturers did all they could to prevent the link between ASBESTOS and RESPIRATORY DISEASES, including CANCER, becoming known, so they could avoid prosecution. American workers had in fact sued the Johns Manville company as far back as 1932, but it was not until 1962 that EPIDEMIOLOGISTS finally established beyond any doubt what company bosses had known for a long time – ASBESTOS CAUSES CANCER. 7. WATERGATE: REPUBLICAN officials SPIED on the DEMOCRATIC National HEADQUARTERS from the Watergate Hotel in 1972. While conspiracy theories suggested underhanded dealings were taking place, it wasn’t until 1974 that White House tape recordings linked President NIXON to the break-in and forced him to RESIGN. 8. The TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS Study: The United States Public Health Service carried out this clinical study on 400 poor, AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN with syphilis from 1932 to 1972. During the study the men were given false and sometimes dangerous treatments, and adequate treatment was intentionally withheld so the agency could learn more about the disease. While the study was initially supposed to last just six months, it continued for 40 years. Close to 200 of the MEN DIED from SYPHILIS or related complications by the end of the study. 9. OPERATION NORTHWOODS: In the early 1960s, American military leaders drafted plans to create public support for a WAR against CUBA, to OUST Fidel CASTRO from power. The plans included committing acts of terrorism in U.S. cities, killing innocent people and U.S. soldiers, blowing up a U.S. ship, assassinating Cuban émigrés, sinking boats of Cuban refugees, and hijacking planes. The plans were all approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but were reportedly rejected by the civilian leadership, then kept secret for nearly 40 years. Author James Bamford, “A PRETEXT For WAR ”, discusses the declassified “Operation Northwoods” documents revealing that in 1962 the CIA was planning to stage PHONY TERRORIST ATTACKS on the US and BLAME it on CUBA to START a WAR: 10. 1990 Testimony of NAYIRAH: A 15-year-old girl named “Nayirah” testified before the U.S. Congress that she had seen Iraqi soldiers pulling Kuwaiti babies from incubators, causing them to die. The testimony helped gain major public support for the 1991 GULF WAR, but — despite protests that the dispute of this story was itself a conspiracy theory — it was later discovered that the testimony was FALSE. The public relations firm Hill & Knowlton, which was in the employ of Citizens for a Free Kuwait, had arranged the testimony. It turned out that she had taken acting lessons on request of the CIA and was actually the niece of a major politician in Kuwait. Nayirah was later disclosed to be Nayirah al-Sabah, DAUGHTER of Saud bin Nasir Al-Sabah, KUWAITI AMBASSADOR to the USA. The Congressional Human Rights Caucus, of which Congressman Tom Lantos was co-chairman, had been responsible for hosting Nurse Nayirah, and thereby popularizing her allegations. When the girl’s account was later challenged by independent human rights monitors, Lantos replied, “The notion that any of the witnesses brought to the caucus through the Kuwaiti Embassy would not be credible did not cross my mind… I have no basis for assuming that her story is not true, but the point goes beyond that. If one hypothesizes that the woman’s story is fictitious from A to Z, that in no way diminishes the avalanche of human rights violations.” Nevertheless, the senior Republican on the Human Rights Caucus, John Edward Porter, responded to the revelations “by saying that if he had known the girl was the ambassador’s daughter, he would not have allowed her to testify.” 11. COUNTER INTELLIGENCE Programs AGAINST ACTIVISTS in the 60s: COINTELPRO (an acronym for Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert, and often illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at INVESTIGATING and DISRUPTING DISSIDENT political ORGANIZATIONS within the United States. The FBI used covert operations from its inception, however formal COINTELPRO operations took place between 1956 and 1971. The FBI’s stated motivation at the time was “protecting national security, preventing violence, and maintaining the existing social and political order.” According to FBI records, 85% of COINTELPRO resources were expended on INFILTRATING, DISRUPTING, MARGINALIZING, and/or subverting groups suspected of being subversive, such as COMMUNIST and SOCIALIST organizations; the WOMEN'S RIGHTS movement; militant BLACK nationalist groups, and the NON-VIOLENT CIVIL RIGHTS movement, including individuals such as Martin Luther KING, Jr. and others associated with the SOUTHERN Christian Leadership Conference, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Congress of Racial Equality, the American Indian Movement, and other civil rights groups; a broad range of organizations labeled “New Left”, including Students for a Democratic Society, the National Lawyers Guild, the Weathermen, almost all groups protesting the Vietnam War, and even individual student demonstrators with no group affiliation; and nationalist groups such as those “seeking independence for Puerto Rico.” The other 15% of COINTELPRO resources were expended to marginalize and subvert “white hate groups,” including the Ku Klux Klan and National States’ Rights Party. The directives governing COINTELPRO were issued by FBI Director J. Edgar HOOVER, who ordered FBI agents to “EXPOSE, DISRUPT, MISDIRECT, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” the activities of these movements and their leaders. This is a documentary on COINTELPRO: 12. The IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR: In 1985 and ’86, the White House authorized government officials to SECRETLY trade WEAPONS with the Israeli government in exchange for the release of U.S. hostages in Iran. The plot was uncovered by Congress in 1987. 13. The BCCI Scandal: The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was a major international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The Bank was registered in Luxembourg. Within a decade BCCI touched its peak, it operated in 78 countries, had over 400 branches, and had assets in excess of US$ 20 billion making it the 7th largest private BANK in the world by assets. In the late 1980’s BCCI became the target of a two year undercover operation conducted by the US Customs Service. This operation concluded with a fake wedding that was attended by BCCI officers and drug dealers from around the world who had established a personal friendship and working relationship with undercover Special Agent Robert MAZUR. After a six month trial in Tampa, key bank officers were convicted and received lengthy prison sentences. Bank officers began cooperating with law enforcement authorities and that cooperation caused BCCI’s many crimes to be revealed. BCCI came under the scrutiny of regulatory bodies and intelligence agencies in the 1980s due to its perceived avoidance of falling under one regulatory banking authority, a fact that was later, after extensive investigations, proven to be false. BCCI became the focus of a massive regulatory battle in 1991 and was described as a “$20-billion-plus heist”. Investigators in the U.S. and the UK revealed that BCCI had been “set up deliberately to avoid centralized regulatory review, and operated extensively in bank secrecy jurisdictions. Its affairs were extraordinarily complex. Its officers were sophisticated international bankers whose apparent objective was to keep their affairs secret, to commit fraud on a massive scale, and to avoid detection.” This is a report from July 23, 1991 on the BCCI: This is a report from July 8, 1991 on Connections between BCCI and the CIA: This is a report from August 6, 1991 on how the BCCI funded Pakistan’s Nuclear Programs: This is a report from March 4, 1991 on the BCCI: 14. CIA DRUG RUNNING in LA: Pulitzer Prize Award winning journalist Gary Webb exposed this alongside LAPD Narcotics Officer turned whislteblower and author Michael Ruppert, CIA Contract Pilot Terry Reed, and many others. In August 1996 the San Jose Mercury News published Webb’s “DARK ALLIANCE”, a 20,000 word, three-part investigative series which alleged that NICARAGUAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS had sold and distributed crack cocaine in Los Angeles during the 1980s, and that drug profits were used to fund the CIA-supported Nicaraguan CONTRAS. Webb never asserted that the CIA directly aided drug dealers to raise money for the Contras, but he did document that the CIA was aware of the cocaine transactions and the large shipments of cocaine into the U.S. by the Contra personnel. “Dark Alliance” received national attention. At the height of the interest, the web version of it on San Jose Mercury News website received 1.3 million hits a day. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, the series became “the most talked-about piece of journalism in 1996 and arguably the most famous—some would say infamous—set of articles of the decade.” April 6, 1987 Report on CIA Drug Running: January 20, 1987 Report on CIA Drug Smuggling November 19, 1993 Report on CIA Drug Running: 15. GULF of TONKIN NEVER HAPPENED: The Gulf of Tonkin Incident is the name given to two separate incidents involving the Democratic Republic of VIETNAM and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2, 1964 two American destroyers engaged three North Vietnamese torpedo boats, resulting in the sinking of one of the torpedo boats. This was also the single most important reason for the escalation of the Vietnam War. After Kennedy was assassinated, the Gulf of Tonkin gave the country the sweeping support for aggressive military action against the North Vietnamese. The outcome of the incident was the passage by Congress of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which granted President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country whose government was considered to be jeopardized by “communist aggression”. In 2005, an internal National Security Agency historical study was declassified; it concluded that USS Maddox had engaged the North Vietnamese on August 2, but that there may not have been any North Vietnamese vessels present during the engagement of August 4. The report stated “It is not simply that there is a different story as to what happened; it is that no attack happened that night…” In truth, Hanoi’s navy was engaged in nothing that night but the salvage of two of the boats damaged on August 2. In 1965, President Johnson commented privately: “For all I know, our Navy was shooting at whales out there.” In 1981, Captain Herrick and journalist Robert Scheer re-examined Herrick’s ship’s log and determined that the first torpedo report from August 4, which Herrick had maintained had occurred—the “apparent ambush”—was in fact unfounded. In 1995, retired Vietnamese Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap, meeting with former Secretary of Defense McNamara, categorically denied that Vietnamese gunboats had attacked American destroyers on August 4, while admitting to the attack on August 2. In the Fall of 1999, retired senior CIA engineering executive S. Eugene Poteat wrote that he was asked in early August 1964 to determine if the radar operator’s report showed a real torpedo boat attack or an imagined one. In October, 2005 the New York Times reported that Robert J. Hanyok, a historian for the U.S. National Security Agency, had concluded that the NSA deliberately distorted the intelligence reports that it had passed on to policy-makers regarding the August 4, 1964 incident. He concluded that the motive was not political but was probably to cover up honest intelligence errors. November 9th, 1995 New Clip on Gulf of Tonkin: 16. The BUSINESS PLOT: In 1933, group of wealthy businessmen that allegedly included the heads of Chase Bank, GM, Goodyear, Standard Oil, the DuPont family and SENATOR PRESCOTT BUSH tried to recruit Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler to lead a MILITARY COUP AGAINST President FDR and install a FASCIST dictatorship in the United States. And yes, we’re talking about the same Prescott Bush who fathered one US President and grandfathered another one. Smedley Butler was both a patriot and a vocal FDR supporter. Apparently none of these criminal masterminds noticed that their prospective point man had actively stumped for FDR in 1932. Smedley spilled the beans to a congressional committee in 1934. Everyone he accused of being a conspirator vehemently denied it, and none of them were brought up on criminal charges. Still, the House McCormack-Dickstein Committee did at least acknowledge the existence of the conspiracy, which ended up never getting past the initial planning stages. Though many of the people who had allegedly backed the Business Plot also maintained financial ties with NAZI GERMANY up through America’s entry into World War II. In 1934, the Business Plot was publicly revealed by retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testifying to the McCormack-Dickstein Congressional Committee. In his testimony, Butler claimed that a group of men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a military coup. One of the alleged plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their final report, the Congressional committee supported Butler’s allegations of the existence of the plot, but no prosecutions or further investigations followed, and the matter was mostly forgotten. On July 17, 1932, thousands of World War I veterans converged on Washington, D.C., set up tent camps, and demanded immediate payment of bonuses due them according to the Adjusted Service Certificate Law of 1924. This “Bonus Army” was led by Walter W. Waters, a former Army sergeant. The Army was encouraged by an appearance from retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, who had considerable influence over the veterans, being one of the most popular military figures of the time. A few days after Butler’s arrival, President Herbert Hoover ordered the marchers removed, and their camps were destroyed by US Army cavalry troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Butler, although a self-described Republican, responded by supporting Roosevelt in that year’s election. In a 1995 History Today article Clayton Cramer argued that the devastation of the Great Depression had caused many Americans to question the foundations of liberal democracy. “Many traditionalists, here and in Europe, toyed with the ideas of Fascism and National Socialism; many liberals dallied with Socialism and Communism.” Cramer argues that this explains why some American business leaders viewed fascism as a viable system to both preserve their interests and end the economic woes of the Depression. BBC – Whitehouse Coup (Part 1) For Part 2, click here. For Part 3 click here. 17. July 20, 1944 Conspiracy to Assassinate Hitler: Among another 20 some odd attempts, this one was one of the largest conspiracies involving hundreds of loyalists in the highest echelons of Hitler’s inner circle. Near the end of WWII, things were rapidly going south for Germany and the time seemed ripe for guilt-ridden Nazi officers to assassinate Hitler and overthrow his government. Colonel Henning von Tresckow recruited Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg to join the conspiracy in 1944. The plot to take out Hitler and then all of his loyal officers was called Operation Valkyrie. The plan was to use the Continuity of Government Proceedings during an assassination on Hitler’s life to take over full control of the government in Germany. The assassination would be blamed on the Nazi SS and therefore allow Stauffenberg to take full control of all aspects of the government. It almost worked. In July 1944, Stauffenberg was promoted so that he could now start attending military strategy meetings with Hitler himself. On more than one occasion Stauffenberg planned to kill Hitler at such a meeting with a briefcase bomb, but he always held off because he also wanted to take out Hitler’s two right-hand men, Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler. On July 20, he went for it anyway and exploded a bomb inside Hitler’s conference room with a remote detonator. Hitler survived only minor injuries. 18. Operation Ajax: For years, Britain had a spiffy trade deal with Iran regarding their prodigious oil fields. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company was basically a giant money machine for the Anglo half, while the Iranian half got shafted. That all changed in 1951 when Iran nationalized the AIOC and the Iranian parliament elected Mohammed Mossadegh as Prime Minister. Mossadegh was relatively secular, something that pissed of Iranian clerics, but he was also very nationalistic. He was a democratically elected, pro American figure but the West saw his nationalizing of the oil fields a communist move(something Mossadegh thought was the right of the people to profit and pay for services in the country with). Those oil fields were under the control of British Petroleum, but unfortunately Mossadegh overruled this long standing business control. The United States sent Kermit Roosevelt, FDR’s nephew and CIA coordinator in to figure out the mess. The best he could come up with was to confront Mossadegh and have him overthrown and this was accomplished by bringing in what the agency refers to as “jackals.” The United States backed the return of the Shah of Iran, one of the most brutal dictators the country had ever seen and intentionally overthrew years before with the democratic leader, Mossadegh. Until 1979, that is, when a pissed off Iranian populace finally revolted and replaced the monarchy with an anti-West Islamic Republic. The result was a violently anti-American revolution lead by the Ayatollah Khomeini which overthrew the Shah and took hostage US Embassy workers, many of whom were involved in the plot with Kermit Roosevelt that installed the Shah. The planning for the Coup took place largely in that embassy, but Americans were told this was due to the rise of radical Islam and rise of democracy hating Muslims, which of course was far from the truth. Part 1 of a video done on Operation Ajax history: Part 2 of the video: 19. Operation Snow White: Some time during the 1970s, the Church of Scientology decided that they’d had enough. Apparently, the Church of Scientology managed to perform the largest infiltration of the United States government in history. Ever. 5,000 of Scientology’s crack commandos wiretapped and burglarized various agencies. They stole hundreds of documents, mainly from the IRS. No critic was spared, and in the end, 136 organizations, agencies and foreign embassies were infiltrated. 20. Operation Gladio: Gladio is a code name denoting the clandestine NATO “stay-behind” operation in Italy after World War II, intended to continue anti-communist resistance in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe. Although Gladio specifically refers to the Italian branch of the NATO stay-behind organizations, “Operation Gladio” is used as an informal name for all stay-behind organizations, sometimes called “Super NATO”. The role of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in sponsoring Gladio and the extent of its activities during the Cold War era, and its relationship to right-wing terrorist attacks perpetrated in Italy during the Years of Lead and other similar clandestine operations is the subject of ongoing debate and investigation. Italy, Switzerland and Belgium have had parliamentary inquiries into the matter. What can we prove about that role? Thousands of documents, depositions and testimony as well as recorded conversations and admission by the highest levels of government in Italy. That’s about as credible as it gets, regardless of the CIA’s adamant denial it ever happened. What took place? The shooting of innocent civilians, terrorism and assassinations all blamed on leftist communists were actually apart of well coordinated, “black operations.” Black operations are typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and, often, outside of standard military protocol. “The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.” Black ops missions often fit into the deniable category, a situation in which there is no claim of responsibility for the action, and/or a false flag operation is used to give the appearance that another actor was responsible, or – most often – black operations involve extensive arrangements so as to be able to hide the fact that the black operation ever occurred. Black military operations, or paramilitary operations, can be used by various secret services to achieve or attempt to achieve an unusually sensitive goal. The methods used in black operations are also used in unconventional warfare. Depending on the precise situation in a given case, and the level of authoritarianism of the national government or other responsible party, some tasks will be conducted as black operations, while there are usually other activities that can be admitted openly. Black operations may include such things as assassination, sabotage, extortion, spying on allied countries or one’s own citizens, kidnapping, supporting resistance movements, torture, use of fraud to obtain funds, use of child soldiers, human experimentation, trafficking in contraband items, etc. Since 9/11, many black operations and long time unethical standings have been approved for legality in the war on terror. In other words, since September 11th, 2001, it is no a longer conspiracy for any of this to occur, a simple decision by a top level military or CIA official is enough, without oversight or even one thread of admission by the Government or Private conspirators. Much of the Black operations today are performed by private contract companies like Blackwater (now Xe). This is a documentary banned in teh United States that was allowed to air on BBC. It was an investigation into Operation Gladio: 21. The CIA Assassinates A Lot Of People (Church Committee): The Church Committee is the common term referring to the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church in 1975. A precursor to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the committee investigated intelligence gathering for illegality by the CIA and FBI after certain activities had been revealed by the Watergate affair. The Committee uncovered, among many other things, that the CIA had violated its charter to perform only gathering of intelligence. For example, the assassinations of Allende in Chile and Mossadegh in Iran. Assassinations against Central and South American leaders and revolutionaries, as well as Africa, Middle East and East Asia. The list was tremendous. They even declassified a “Heart Attack Gun” the Agency had made for the use of killing someone without it being detected. Cancer, car accidents, skiing accidents, suicide, boating accidents, heart attacks, and just plain being shot were common assassination methods. The hearings, although recorded in full in congressional record, the mainstream media and official policies, is still largely not taught in American schools on recent history. The American public still has no idea this was ever actually confirmed or even took place. It is common for people to still refer to any of these assassinations as a joke or made up conspiracy. Watch the one-minute video below for the description of a former CIA secretary and Congressional testimony on this secret assassination weapon which caused heart attacks. To watch the revealing 45-minute documentary from which the above clip was taken, click here 22. The New World Order: This popular conspiracy theory claims that a small group of international elites controls and manipulates governments, industry and media organisations worldwide. The primary tool they use to dominate nations is the system of central banking. They are said to have funded and in some cases caused most of the major wars of the last 200 years, primarily through carrying out false flag attacks to manipulate populations into supporting them, and have a grip on the world economy, deliberately causing inflation and depressions at will. The people behind the New World Order are thought to be international bankers, in particular the owners of the private banks in the Federal Reserve System, Bank of England and other central banks, and members of the Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission and Bilderberg Group. Now, although this conspiracy theory was ridiculed for years, it turns out that the Bilderberg does meet and requests no media coverage. They receive no media coverage. The world’s elite meet every year and it goes largely unreported, for what? [efoods]Discussions at the meetings include the economy, world affairs, war and in general, world policy. After the financial collapse, the Bilderberg played a key role in proposing that the world prepare for a new world order and have a standard world currency. This was propsed shortly after by almost all attendees of the Bilderberg meeting. During the 20th century, many statesmen, such as Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill, used the term “new world order” to refer to a new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power after World War I and World War II. They all saw these periods as opportunities to implement idealistic or liberal proposals for global governance only in the sense of new collective efforts to identify, understand, or address worldwide problems that go beyond the capacity of individual nation-states to solve. These proposals led to the creation of international organizations, such as the United Nations and N.A.T.O., and international regimes, such as the Bretton Woods system and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which were calculated both to maintain a balance of power as well as regularize cooperation between nations, in order to achieve a peaceful phase of capitalism. In the aftermath of the two World Wars, progressives welcomed these new international organizations and regimes but argued they suffered from a democratic deficit and therefore were inadequate to not only prevent another global war but also foster global justice. American banker David Rockefeller joined the Council on Foreign Relations as its youngest-ever director in 1949 and subsequently became chairman of the board from 1970 to 1985; today he serves as honorary chairman. In 2002, Rockefeller authored his autobiography Memoirs wherein, on page 405, he wrote: “For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents … to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure – one world, if you will. If that’s the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.” Thus, activists around the globe formed a world federalist movement bent on creating a “real” new world order. A number of Fabian socialist intellectuals, such as British writer H. G. Wells in the 1940s, appropriated and redefined the term “new world order” as a synonym for the establishment of a full-fledged social democratic world government. In the 1960s, a great deal of right-wing conspiracist attention, by groups like the John Birch Society and the Liberty Lobby, focused on the United Nations as the vehicle for creating the “One World Government”, and contributed to a conservative movement for United States withdrawal from the U.N.. American writer Mary M. Davison, in her 1966 booklet The Profound Revolution, traced the alleged New World Order conspiracy to the creation of the U.S. Federal Reserve System in 1913 by international bankers, who she claimed later formed the Council on Foreign Relations in 1921 as the shadow government. At the time the booklet was published, “international bankers” would have been interpreted by many readers as a reference to a postulated “international Jewish banking conspiracy” masterminded by the Rothschilds and Rockefellers. American televangelist Pat Robertson with his 1991 best-selling book The New World Order became the most prominent Christian popularizer of conspiracy theories about recent American history as a theater in which Wall Street, the Federal Reserve System, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group, and Trilateral Commission control the flow of events from behind the scenes, nudging us constantly and covertly in the direction of world government for the Antichrist. After the turn of the century, specifically during the financial crisis of 2007–2009, many politicians and pundits, such as Gordon Brown, Henry Kissinger, and Barack Obama, used the term “new world order” in their advocacy for a Keynesian reform of the global financial system and their calls for a “New Bretton Woods”, which takes into account emerging markets such as China and India. These declarations had the unintended consequence of providing fresh fodder for New World Order conspiracism, and culminated in former Clinton administration adviser Dick Morris and conservative talk show host Sean Hannity arguing on one of his Fox News Channel programs that “conspiracy theorists were right”. In 2009, American film directors Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel released New World Order, a critically-acclaimed documentary film which explores the world of conspiracy theorists, such as American radio host Alex Jones, who are committed to exposing and vigorously opposing what they perceive to be an emerging New World Order. May 24, 1992 Report on New World Order: 23. Kennedy Assassination – the 2nd Investigation by Congress Few People Know About, United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA): The HSCA was established in 1976 to investigate the John F. Kennedy assassination and the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination. The Committee investigated until 1978, and in 1979 issued its final report, concluding that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated by a conspiracy involving the mob, and potentially the CIA. The House Select Committee on Assassinations undertook reinvestigations of the murders of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1979, a single Report and twelve volumes of appendices on each assassination were published by the Congress. In the JFK case, the HSCA found that there was a “probable conspiracy,” though it was unable to determine the nature of that conspiracy or its other participants (besides Oswald). This finding was based in part on acoustics evidence from a tape purported to record the shots, but was also based on other evidence including an investigation of Ruby’s mafia connections and potential CIA and/or FBI connections to Oswald. To this day, many conspiracy deniers are unaware that the Congressional investigation into JFK’s assassination concluded beyond any shadow of a doubt that it was a conspiracy. What made them come to this conclusion? Aside from reading the report, many witnesses (some of whom were CIA agents and station chiefs in Dallas that morning) were killed the night before testifying. For example, George de Mohrenschildt was a petroleum geologist who befriended Lee Harvey Oswald during the months preceding the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He also worked for the CIA. He also blew his brains out the night before he was to testify to the committee. The committee also uncovered, among many things, that Oswald left the marines where he learned how to speak fluent Russian (at the height of the cold war). He was given money by the State Department to travel to Russia where he stopped off in Japan at a top secret US Military facility. The Warren Commission even mentioned this part. What most people do not know is that he probably was working in the Cold War infiltrating the Russians as either a “dangle,” “double agent,” or “defector” of some kind. What is interesting is that upon his return he got more money from the State Department to buy a house and work with an ex FBI Chief and CIA officials in training anti-Castro Cubans for an invasion. In Louisiana, where he was working, the CIA was involved in Operation Mongoose, Where Oswald worked under CIA Agent David Ferrie, who killed himself before testifying in a trial on the Assassination as well. Operation Mongoose worked closely with Southern Mafia figures largely because the casinos in Cuba, which were shut down after Fidel obtained control over the country, were epicenters for control on the island. The CIA even hired the mafia to assassinate Fidel on many occasions, 3 attempts which failed are common knowledge. What is funny is that figures who worked very close with Oswald either ended up dead (over 100 of them connected to the assassination died within a few years of unusual circumstances) or they ended up in other conspiracies. For instance, E Howard Hunt (CIA Agent) confessed to being involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy on his deathbed. E Howard Hunt was one of the Watergate Burglars. Barry Seal, who worked with Oswald and Ferrie ended up being one of the largest cocaine smugglers in the United States during Iran Contra, as a key player for the agency and informant for the DEA. There is so much more to get into, but there just isn’t enough time. Oswald’s tax returns are still classified top secret to this day. Why? Perhaps he was still getting $$ from the United States, which places him on the payroll. That money trail leads to figures, many of whom were murdered, that would have blown the story wide open. For 14 years, most didn’t know this. The HSCA investigaitons by congress went against the findings of the Warren Commission and both reports are from the same source, Congressional Committees. Which is true? Why do we only teach one to our children in school? December 30, 1978 Report on HSCA Findings: 24. 1919 World Series Conspiracy: The 1919 World Series (often referred to as the Black Sox Scandal) resulted in the most famous scandal in baseball history. Eight players from the Chicago White Sox (nicknamed the Black Sox) were accused of throwing the series against the Cincinnati Reds. Details of the scandal remain controversial, and the extent to which each player was involved varied. It was, however, front-page news across the country when the story was uncovered late in the 1920 season, and despite being acquitted of criminal charges (throwing baseball games was technically not a crime), the eight players were banned from organized baseball (i.e. the leagues subject to the National Agreement) for life. There are hundreds of other conspiracies involving throwing games, sporting matches and large scale entertainment events. It is common knowledge for many, this list would have to go into the thousands if we included all of them. 25. Karen Silkwood: Karen was an American labor union activist and chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, United States. Silkwood��s job was making plutonium pellets for nuclear reactor fuel rods. After being hired at Kerr-McGee, Silkwood joined the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union local and took part in a strike at the plant. After the strike ended, she was elected to the union’s bargaining committee and assigned to investigate health and safety issues. She discovered what she believed to be numerous violations of health regulations, including exposure of workers to contamination, faulty respiratory equipment and improper storage of samples. She also believed the lack of sufficient shower facilities could increase the risk of employee contamination. In the summer of 1974, Silkwood testified to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) about these issues, alleging that safety standards had slipped because of a production speedup which resulted in employees being given tasks for which they were poorly trained. She also alleged that Kerr-McGee employees handled the fuel rods improperly and that the company falsified inspection records. On November 5, 1974, Silkwood performed a routine self-check and found almost 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination. She was decontaminated at the plant and sent home with a testing kit to collect urine and feces for further analysis. Oddly, though there was plutonium on the exterior surfaces (the ones she touched) of the gloves she had been using, the gloves did not have any holes. This suggests the contamination did not come from inside the glove box, but from some other source, in other words, someone was trying to poison her. The next morning, as she headed to a union negotiation meeting, she again tested positive for plutonium. This was surprising because she had only performed paperwork duties that morning. She was given a more intense decontamination. The following day, November 7, 1974, as she entered the plant, she was found to be dangerously contaminated — even expelling contaminated air from her lungs. A health physics team accompanied her back to her home and found plutonium traces on several surfaces — especially in the bathroom and the refrigerator. The house was later stripped and decontaminated. Silkwood, her partner and housemate were sent to Los Alamos National Laboratory for in-depth testing to determine the extent of the contamination in their bodies. Later that evening, Silkwood’s body was found in her car, which had run off the road and struck a culvert. The car contained no documents. She was pronounced dead at the scene from a “classic, one-car sleeping-driver accident”. 26. CIA Drug Smuggling in Arkansas: August 23, 1987, in a rural community just south of Little Rock, police officers murdered two teenage boys because they witnessed a police-protected drug drop. The drop was part of a drug smuggling operation based at a small airport in Mena, Arkansas. The Mena operation was set up in the early 1980’s by the notorious drug smuggler, Barry Seal. Facing prison after a drug conviction in Florida, Seal flew to Washington, D.C., where he put together a deal that allowed him to avoid prison by becoming an informant for the government. As a government informant against drug smugglers, Seal testified he worked for the CIA and the DEA. In one federal court case, he testified that his income from March 1984 to August 1985, was between $700,000 and $800,000. This period was AFTER making his deal with the government. Seal testified that nearly $600,000 of this came from smuggling drugs while working for — and with the permission of the DEA. In addition to his duties as an informant, Seal was used by CIA operatives to help finance the Nicaraguan Contras. The CIA connection to the Mena operation was undeniable when a cargo plane given to Seal by the CIA was shot down over Nicaragua with a load of weapons. In spite of the evidence, every investigator who has tried to expose the crimes of Mena has been professionally destroyed, and those involved in drug smuggling operations have received continued protection from state and federal authorities. February 20, 1986 report on Mena Drug Smuggling: April 7, 1988 Report on CIA Drug Running: March 25, 2995 News Clip on Mena Drug Smuggling: 27. Bohemian Grove: For years, many conspiracy theorists were saying that the rich and powerful met every year in the woods and worshiped a giant stone owl in an occult fashion. It turns out, ABC, CBS, NBC, and many other credible news agencies investigated this and found out, its true. It is said to be just all fun and games, like brotherhood style fraternity stuff. These news clips can be viewed by clicking here. Bohemian Grove Secrecy Upheld, Nixon Speech 7-30-1971, NBC Bohemian Grove Weinberger and Reagan Retreat Mentioned 7-21-1983, NBC Bohemian Grove Detailed Report 7-23-1982, NBC Bohemian Grove Detailed Report 7-23-1981, ABC Bohemian Grove Mention at Smith Testimony 1-15-1981, ABC Nixon Tape Discusses Homosexuals at Bohemian Grove Alex Jones asks David Gergen about Bohemian Grove Rituals For more clips on the Bohemian Grove including comprehensive investigations by the mainstream media, clik here… 28. Operation Paperclip: Operation Paperclip was the code name for the 1945 Office of Strategic Services, Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency recruitment of German scientists from Nazi Germany to the U.S. after VE Day. President Truman authorized Operation Paperclip in August 1945; however he expressly ordered that anyone found “to have been a member of the Nazi party and more than a nominal participant in its activities, or an active supporter of Nazi militarism” would be excluded. These included Wernher von Braun, Arthur Rudolph and Hubertus Strughold, who were all officially on record as Nazis and listed as a “menace to the security of the Allied Forces.” All were cleared to work in the U.S. after having their backgrounds “bleached” by the military; false employment histories were provided, and their previous Nazi affiliations were expunged from the record. The paperclips that secured newly-minted background details to their personnel files gave the operation its name. 29. The Round Table: British businessman Cecil Rhodes advocated the British Empire reannexing the United States of America and reforming itself into an “Imperial Federation” to bring about a hyperpower and lasting world peace. In his first will, of 1877, written at the age of 23, he expressed his wish to fund a secret society (known as the Society of the Elect) that would advance this goal: “To and for the establishment, promotion and development of a Secret Society, the true aim and object whereof shall be for the extension of British rule throughout the world, the perfecting of a system of emigration from the United Kingdom, and of colonization by British subjects of all lands where the means of livelihood are attainable by energy, labor and enterprise, and especially the occupation by British settlers of the entire Continent of Africa, the Holy Land, the Valley of the Euphrates, the Islands of Cyprus and Candia, the whole of South America, the Islands of the Pacific not heretofore possessed by Great Britain, the whole of the Malay Archipelago, the seaboard of China and Japan, the ultimate recovery of the United States of America as an integral part of the British Empire, the inauguration of a system of Colonial representation in the Imperial Parliament which may tend to weld together the disjointed members of the Empire and, finally, the foundation of so great a Power as to render wars impossible, and promote the best interests of humanity.” In his later wills, a more mature Rhodes abandoned the idea and instead concentrated on what became the Rhodes Scholarship, which had British statesman Alfred Milner as one of its trustees. Established in 1902, the original goal of the trust fund was to foster peace among the great powers by creating a sense of fraternity and a shared world view among future British, American, and German leaders by having enabled them to study for free at the University of Oxford. Milner and British official Lionel George Curtis were the architects of the Round Table movement, a network of organizations promoting closer union between Britain and its self-governing colonies. To this end, Curtis founded the Royal Institute of International Affairs in June 1919 and, with his 1938 book The Commonwealth of God, began advocating for the creation of an imperial federation that eventually reannexes the U.S., which would be presented to Protestant churches as being the work of the Christian God to elicit their support. The Commonwealth of Nations was created in 1949 but it would only be a free association of independent states rather than the powerful imperial federation imagined by Rhodes, Milner and Curtis. The Council on Foreign Relations began in 1917 with a group of New York academics who were asked by President Woodrow Wilson to offer options for the foreign policy of the United States in the interwar period. Originally envisioned as a British-American group of scholars and diplomats, some of whom belonging to the Round Table movement, it was a subsequent group of 108 New York financiers, manufacturers and international lawyers organized in June 1918 by Nobel Peace Prize recipient and U.S. secretary of state, Elihu Root, that became the Council on Foreign Relations on 29 July 1921. The first of the council’s projects was a quarterly journal launched in September 1922, called Foreign Affairs. Some believe that the Council on Foreign Relations is a front organization for the Round Table as a tool of the “Anglo-American Establishment”, which they believe has been plotting from 1900 on to rule the world. The research findings of historian Carroll Quigley, author of the 1966 book Tragedy and Hope, are taken by both conspiracy theorists of the American Old Right (Cleon Skousen) and New Left (Carl Oglesby) to substantiate this view, even though he argued that the Establishment is not involved in a plot to implement a one-world government but rather British and American benevolent imperialism driven by the mutual interests of economic elites in the United Kingdom and the United States. Quigley also argued that, although the Round Table still exists today, its position in influencing the policies of world leaders has been much reduced from its heyday during World War I and slowly waned after the end of World War II and the Suez Crisis. Today it is largely a ginger group, designed to consider and gradually influence the policies of the Commonwealth of Nations, but faces strong opposition. Furthermore, in American society after 1965, the problem, according to Quigley, was that no elite was in charge and acting responsibly. American banker David Rockefeller joined the Council on Foreign Relations as its youngest-ever director in 1949 and subsequently became chairman of the board from 1970 to 1985; today he serves as honorary chairman. In 2002, Rockefeller authored his autobiography Memoirs wherein, on page 405, he wrote: “For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents … to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure – one world, if you will. If that’s the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.” Barkun argues that this statement is partly facetious (the claim of “conspiracy” or “treason”) and partly serious – the desire to encourage trilateral cooperation among the U.S., Europe, and Japan, for example – an ideal that used to be a hallmark of the internationalist wing of the Republican Party when there was an internationalist wing. However, the statement is taken at face value and widely cited by conspiracy theorists as proof that the Council on Foreign Relations (itself alleged to be a front for an “international banking cabal”, as well as, it is claimed, the sponsor of many “globalist” think tanks such as the Trilateral Commission) uses its role as the brain trust of American presidents, senators and representatives to manipulate them into supporting a New World Order. Conspiracy theorists fear that the international bankers of financial capitalism are planning to eventually subvert the independence of the U.S. by subordinating national sovereignty to a strengthened Bank for International Settlements with the intent to “create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole”. In a 13 November 2007 interview with Canadian journalist Benjamin Fulford, Rockefeller countered: “I don’t think that I really feel that we need a world government. We need governments of the world that work together and collaborate. But, I can’t imagine that there would be any likelihood or even that it would be desirable to have a single government elected by the people of the world … There have been people, ever since I’ve had any kind of position in the world, who have accused me of being ruler of the world. I have to say that I think for the large part, I would have to decide to describe them as crackpots. It makes no sense whatsoever, and isn’t true, and won’t be true, and to raise it as a serious issue seems to me to be irresponsible.” Some American social critics, such as Laurence H. Shoup, argue that the Council on Foreign Relations is an “imperial brain trust”, which has, for decades, played a central behind-the-scenes role in shaping U.S. foreign policy choices for the post-WWII international order and the Cold War, by determining what options show up on the agenda and what options do not even make it to the table; while others, such as G. William Domhoff, argue that it is in fact a mere policy discussion forum, which provides the business input to U.S. foreign policy planning. The latter argue that it has nearly 3,000 members, far too many for secret plans to be kept within the group; all the council does is sponsor discussion groups, debates and speakers; and as far as being secretive, it issues annual reports and allows access to its historical archives. 30. The Illuminati: The Order of the Illuminati was an Enlightenment-age secret society founded on May 1st, 1776, in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Adam Weishaupt, who was the first lay professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt. The movement consisted of freethinkers, secularists, liberals, republicans and pro-feminists, recruited in the Masonic Lodges of Germany, who sought to promote perfectionism through mystery schools. As a result, in 1785, the order was infiltrated, broken and suppressed by the government agents of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, in his campaign to neutralize the threat of secret societies ever becoming hotbeds of conspiracies to overthrow the monarchy and state religion. In the late 18th century, reactionary conspiracy theorists, such as Scottish physicist John Robison and French Jesuit priest Augustin Barruel, began speculating that the Illuminati survived their suppression and became the masterminds behind the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. The Illuminati were accused of being enlightened absolutists who were attempting to secretly orchestrate a world revolution in order to globalize the most radical ideals of the Enlightenment: anti-clericalism, anti-monarchism, and anti-patriarchalism. During the 19th century, fear of an Illuminati conspiracy was a real concern of European ruling classes, and their oppressive reactions to this unfounded fear provoked in 1848 the very revolutions they sought to prevent. Although many say that the Illuminati was disbanded and destroyed so long ago, it is well known that the Rothschild dynasty following the family’s involvement in the secret order in Bavaria received much attention for its major takeover of Europe’s central banks. The Rothschild dynasty owns roughly half of the world’s wealth and evidence suggests it has funded both sides of major wars, including the United States Civil War. 31. The Trilateral Commission: The Trilateral Commission is a private organization, established to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe and Japan. It was founded in July 1973 at the initiative of David Rockefeller, who was Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations at that time. The Trilateral Commission is widely seen as a counterpart to the Council on Foreign Relations. In July 1972, Rockefeller called his first meeting, which was held at Rockefeller’s Pocantico compound in New York’s Hudson Valley. It was attended by about 250 individuals who were carefully selected and screened by Rockefeller and represented the very elite of finance and industry. Its first executive committee meeting was held in Tokyo in October 1973. The Trilateral Commission was officially initiated, holding biannual meetings. A Trilateral Commission Task Force Report, presented at the 1975 meeting in Kyoto, Japan, called An Outline for Remaking World Trade and Finance, said: “Close Trilateral cooperation in keeping the peace, in managing the world economy, and in fostering economic development and in alleviating world poverty, will improve the chances of a smooth and peaceful evolution of the global system.” Another Commission document read: “The overriding goal is to make the world safe for interdependence by protecting the benefits which it provides for each country against external and internal threats which will constantly emerge from those willing to pay a price for more national autonomy. This may sometimes require slowing the pace at which interdependence proceeds, and checking some aspects of it. More frequently however, it will call for checking the intrusion of national government into the international exchange of both economic and non-economic goods.” March 29, 1981 News Clip on Trilateral Commission: May 2, 1995 News Clip on Trilateral Commission: 32. Big Brother or the Shadow Government: It is also called the “Deep State” by Peter Dale Scott, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. A shadow government is a “government-in-waiting” that remains in waiting with the intention of taking control of a government in response to some event. It turned out this was true on 9/11, when it was told to us by our mainstream media. For years, this was ridiculed as a silly, crazy conspiracy theory and, like the others listed here, turned out to be 100% true. It is also called the Continuity of Government. The Continuity of Government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or other catastrophic event. Since the end of the cold war, the policies and procedures for the COG have been altered according to realistic threats of that time. These include but are not limited to a possible coup or overthrow by right wing terrorist groups, a terrorist attack in general, an assassination, and so on. Believe it or not the COG has been in effect since 2001. After 9/11, it went into action. Now here is the kicker, many of the figures in Iran Contra, the Watergate Scandal, the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy, and many others listed here are indeed members of the COG. This is its own conspiracy as well. March 1, 2002 News Clip on Secret Government: The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World is a book written by Air Force Col. L fletcher Prouty, published in 1973. From 1955 to 1963 Prouty was the “Focal Point Officer” for contacts between the CIA and the Pentagon on matters relating to military support for “black operations” but he was not assigned to the CIA and was not bound by any oath of secrecy. (From the first page of the 1974 Printing) It was one of the first tell-all books about the inner workings of the CIA and was an important influence on the Oliver Stone movie JFK. But the main thrust of the book is how the CIA started as a think tank to analyze intelligence gathered from military sources but has grown to the monster it has become. The CIA had no authority to run their own agents or to carry out covert operations but they quickly did both and much more. This book tells about things they actually did and a lot about how the operate. In Prouty’s own words, from the 1997 edition of The Secret Team: This is the fundamental game of the Secret Team. They have this power because they control secrecy and secret intelligence and because they have the ability to take advantage of the most modern communications system in the world, of global transportation systems, of quantities of weapons of all kinds, and when needed, the full support of a world-wide U.S. military supporting base structure. They can use the finest intelligence system in the world, and most importantly, they have been able to operate under the canopy of an assumed, ever-present enemy called “Communism.” It will be interesting to see what “enemy” develops in the years ahead. It appears that “UFO’s and Aliens” are being primed to fulfill that role for the future. To top all of this, there is the fact that the CIA, itself, has assumed the right to generate and direct secret operations. “ He is not the first to allege that UFOs and Aliens are going to be used as a threat against the world to globalize the planet under One government. March 1, 2002 report on Secret Government: The Report From Iron Mountain is a book, published in 1967 (during the Johnson Administration) by Dial Press, that states that it is the report of a government panel. According to the report, a 15-member panel, called the Special Study Group, was set up in 1963 to examine what problems would occur if the U.S. entered a state of lasting peace. They met at an underground nuclear bunker called Iron Mountain (as well as other, worldwide locations) and worked over the next two years. Iron Mountain is where the government has stored the flight 93 evidence from 9/11. A member of the panel, one “John Doe”, a professor at a college in the Midwest, decided to release the report to the public. The heavily footnoted report concluded that peace was not in the interest of a stable society, that even if lasting peace “could be achieved, it would almost certainly not be in the best interests of society to achieve it.” War was a part of the economy. Therefore, it was necessary to conceive a state of war for a stable economy. The government, the group theorized, would not exist without war, and nation states existed in order to wage war. War also served a vital function of diverting collective aggression. They recommended that bodies be created to emulate the economic functions of war. They also recommended “blood games” and that the government create alternative foes that would scare the people with reports of alien life-forms and out of control pollution. Another proposal was the reinstitution of slavery. U.S. News and World Report claimed in its November 20, 1967 issue to have confirmation of the reality of the report from an unnamed government official, who added that when President Johnson read the report, he ‘hit the roof’ and ordered it to be suppressed for all time. Additionally, sources were said to have revealed that orders were sent to U.S. embassies, instructing them to emphasize that the book had no relation to U.S. Government policy. Project Blue Beam is also a common conspiracy theory that alleges that a faked alien landing would be used as a means of scaring the public into whatever global system is suggested. Some researchers suggest the Report from Iron Mountain might be fabricated, others swear it is real. Bill Moyers, the American journalist and public commentator, has served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public television, producing documentaries and news journal programs. He has won numerous awards and honorary degrees. He has become well known as a trenchant critic of the U.S. media. Since 1990, Moyers has been President of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy. He is considered by many to be a very credible outlet for the truth. He released a documetnary titled, The Secret Government, which exposed the inner workings of a secret government much more vast that most people would ever imagine. Though originally broadcast in 1987, it is even more relevant today. Interviews with respected top military, intelligence, and government insiders reveal both the history and secret objectives of powerful groups in the hidden shadows of our government. Here is that documentary: For another powerful, highly revealing documentary on the manipulations of the secret government produced by BBC, click here (view free at link provided). The intrepid BBC team clearly shows how the War on Terror is largely a fabrication. For those interested in very detailed information on the composition of the shadow or secret government from a less well-known source, take a look at the summary available here. 33. The Federal Reserve Bank: The fundamental promise of a central bank like the Federal Reserve is economic stability. The theory is that manipulating the value of the currency allows financial booms to go higher, and crashes to be more mild. If growth becomes speculative and unsustainable, the central bank can make the price of money go up and force some deleveraging of risky investments – again, promising to make the crashes more mild. The period leading up to the American revolution was characterized by increasingly authoritarian legislation from England. Acts passed in 1764 had a particularly harsh effect on the previously robust colonial economy. The Sugar Act was in effect a tax cut on easily smuggled molasses, and a new tax on commodities that England more directly controlled trade over. The navy would be used in increased capacity to enforce trade laws and collect duties. Perhaps even more significant than the militarization and expansion of taxes was the Currency Act passed later in the year 1764. “The colonies suffered a constant shortage of currency with which to conduct trade. There were no gold or silver mines and currency could only be obtained through trade as regulated by Great Britain. Many of the colonies felt no alternative to printing their own paper money in the form of Bills of Credit.” The result was a true free market of currency – each bank competed, exchange rates fluctuated wildly, and merchants were hesitant to accept these notes as payment. Of course, they didn’t have 24-hour digital Forex markets, but I’ll hold off opinions on the viability of unregulated currency for another time. England’s response was to seize control of the colonial money supply – forbidding banks, cities, and colony governments from printing their own. This law, passed so soon after the Sugar Act, started to really bring revolutionary tension inside the colonies to a higher level. American bankers had learned early on that debasing a currency through inflation is a helpful way to pay off perpetual trade deficits – but Britain proved that the buyer of the currency would only take the deal for so long… Following the (first) American Revolution, the “First Bank of the United States” was chartered to pay off collective war debts, and effectively distribute the cost of the revolution proportionately throughout all of the states. Although the bank had vocal and harsh skeptics, it only controlled about 20% of the nation’s money supply. Compared to today’s central bank, it was nothing. Thomas Jefferson argued vocally against the institution of the bank, mostly citing constitutional concerns and the limitations of government found in the 10th amendment. There was one additional quote that hints at the deeper structural flaw of a central bank in a supposedly free capitalist economy. “the existing banks will, without a doubt, enter into arrangements for lending their agency, and the more favorable, as there will be a competition among them for it; whereas the bill delivers us up bound to the national bank, who are free to refuse all arrangement, but on their own terms, and the public not free, on such refusal, to employ any other bank” –Thomas Jefferson. Basically, the existing banks will fight over gaining favor with the central bank – rather than improving their performance relative to a free market. The profit margins associated with collusion would obviously outweigh the potential profits gained from legitimate business. The Second Bank of the United States was passed five years after the first bank’s charter expired. An early enemy of central banking, President James Madison, was looking for a way to stabilize the currency in 1816. This bank was also quite temporary – it would only stay in operation until 1833 when President Andrew Jackson would end federal deposits at the institution. The charter expired in 1836 and the private corporation was bankrupt and liquidated by 1841. While the South had been the major opponent of central banking systems, the end of the Civil War allowed for (and also made necessary) the system of national banks that would dominate the next fifty years. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says that this post-war period of a unified national currency and system of national banks “worked well.” [3] Taxes on state banks were imposed to encourage people to use the national banks – but liquidity problems persisted as the money supply did not match the economic cycles. Overall, the American economy continued to grow faster than Europe, but the period did not bring economic stability by any stretch of the imagination. Several panics and runs on the bank – and it became a fact of life under this system of competing nationalized banks. In 1873, 1893, 1901, and 1907 significant panics caused a series of bank failures. The new system wasn’t stable at all, in fact, many suspected it was wraught with fraud and manipulation. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is not shy about attributing the causes of the Panic of 1907 to financial manipulation from the existing banking establishment. “If Knickerbocker Trust would falter, then Congress and the public would lose faith in all trust companies and banks would stand to gain, the bankers reasoned.” In timing with natural economic cycles, major banks including J.P. Morgan and Chase launched an all-out assault on Heinze’s Knickerbocker Trust. Financial institutions on the inside started silently selling off assets in the competitor, and headlines about a few bad loans started making top spots in the newspapers. The run on Knickerbocker turned into a general panic – and the Federal Government would come to the rescue of its privately owned “National Banks.” During the Panic of 1907, “Depositors ‘run’ on the Knickerbocker Bank. J.P. Morgan and James Stillman of First National City Bank (Citibank) act as a “central bank,” providing liquidity … [to stop the bank run] President Theodore Roosevelt provides Morgan with $25 million in government funds … to control the panic. Morgan, acting as a one-man central bank, decides which firms will fail and which firms will survive.” How did JP Morgan get so powerful that the government would provide them with funding to increase their power? They had key influence with positions inside the Administrations. They had senators, congressmen, lobbyists, media moguls all working for them. In 1886, a group of millionaires purchased Jekyll Island and converted it into a winter retreat and hunting ground, the USA’s most exclusive club. By 1900, the club’s roster represented 1/6th of the world’s wealth. Names like Astor, Vanderbilt, Morgan, Pulitzer and Gould filled the club’s register. Non- members, regardless of stature, were not allowed. Dignitaries like Winston Churchill and President McKinley were refused admission. In 1908, the year after a national money panic purportedly created by J. P. Morgan, Congress established, in 1908, a National Monetary Authority. In 1910 another, more secretive, group was formed consisting of the chiefs of major corporations and banks in this country. The group left secretly by rail from Hoboken, New Jersey, and traveled anonymously to the hunting lodge on Jekyll Island. In fact, the Clubhouse/hotel on the island has two conference rooms named for the “Federal Reserve.” The meeting was so secret that none referred to the other by his last name. Why the need for secrecy? Frank Vanderlip wrote later in the Saturday Evening Post, “…it would have been fatal to Senator Aldrich’s plan to have it known that he was calling on anybody from Wall Street to help him in preparing his bill…I do not feel it is any exaggeration to speak of our secret expedition to Jekyll Island as the occasion of the actual conception of what eventually became the Federal Reserve System.” At Jekyll Island, the true draftsman for the Federal Reserve was Paul Warburg. The plan was simple. The new central bank could not be called a central bank because America did not want one, so it had to be given a deceptive name. Ostensibly, the bank was to be controlled by Congress, but a majority of its members were to be selected by the private banks that would own its stock. To keep the public from thinking that the Federal Reserve would be controlled from New York, a system of twelve regional banks was designed. Given the concentration of money and credit in New York, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York controlled the system, making the regional concept initially nothing but a ruse. The board and chairman were to be selected by the President, but in the words of Colonel Edward House, the board would serve such a term as to “put them out of the power of the President.” The power over the creation of money was to be taken from the people and placed in the hands of private bankers who could expand or contract credit as they felt best suited their needs. Why the opposition to a central bank? Americans at the time knew of the destruction to the economy the European central banks had caused to their respective countries and to countries who became their debtors. They saw the large- scale government deficit spending and debt creation that occurred in Europe. But European financial moguls didn’t rest until the New World was within their orbit. In 1902, Paul Warburg, a friend and associate of the Rothschilds and an expert on European central banking, came to this country as a partner in Kuhn, Loeb and Company. He married the daughter of Solomon Loeb, one of the founders of the firm. The head of Kuhn, Loeb was Jacob Schiff, whose gift of $20 million in gold to the struggling Russian communists in 1917 no doubt saved their revolution. The Fed controls the banking system in the USA, not the Congress nor the people indirectly (as the Constitution dictates). The U.S. central bank strategy is a product of European banking interests. Government interventionists got their wish in 1913 with the Federal Reserve (and income tax amendment). Just in time, too, because the nation needed a new source of unlimited cash to finance both sides of WW1 and eventually our own entry to the war. After the war, with both sides owing us debt through the federal reserve backed banks, the center of finance moved from London to New York. But did the Federal Reserve reign in the money trusts and interlocking directorates? Not by a long shot. If anything, the Federal Reserve granted new powers to the National Banks by permitting overseas branches and new types of banking services. The greatest gift to the bankers, was a virtually unlimited supply of loans when they experience liquidity problems. From the early 1920s to 1929, the monetary supply expanded at a rapid pace and the nation experienced wild economic growth. Curiously, however, the number of banks started to decline for the first time in American history. Toward the end of the period, speculation and loose money had propelled asset and equity prices to unreal levels. The stock market crashed, and as the banks struggled with liquidity problems, the Federal Reserve actually cut the money supply. Without a doubt, this is the greatest financial panic and economic collapse in American history – and it never could have happened on this scale without the Fed’s intervention. The number of banks crashed and a few of the old robber barons’ banks managed to swoop in and grab up thousands of competitors for pennies on the dollar.

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