Look. I realize that there are growing fears what with the danger of FOUR MORE YEARS & a probable economic meltdown & I know too that fear debilitates. I've held off posting this but it is relevant, more relevant as each day passes. Make of it what you will. I will say that it does concern me though to me its nothing new.

 

Published on Thursday, September 25, 2008 by Salon.com

Why Is a US Army Brigade Being Assigned to the 'Homeland'?

by Glenn Greenwald

Several bloggers today have pointed to this obviously disturbing article from Army Times, which announces that "beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the <1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division> will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North" — "the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities." The article details:

They'll learn new skills, use some of the ones they acquired in the war zone and more than likely will not be shot at while doing any of it.

They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack. . . .

The 1st BCT's soldiers also will learn how to use "the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded," 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them.

(...)

 geordiezimmerman wrote: 

You're right, geordie. God is a conspiracy concocted by the wind and perpetrated by box kites built by little boys with nothing better to do than hold the world by a string after school and on Saturdays when there was no football on TV and school was the last thing on their mind, even though the teacher was teaching.

 romeotuma wrote: 
They are. The voices in my head confirm it.

 geordiezimmerman wrote:
It's a start.

 kurtster wrote: 

 MusicIsMotion wrote: 
but he does it SO well!

 Lazy8 wrote: 

Well there's no need to be a smart-acre. 

 Lazy8 wrote: 
As I suggested to Winter, individual conspiracy theories unsupported by proof are to be dismissed, but let's not dismiss the possibility of conspiracies. Conspiracy theorists aren't my favourite people either, although they sometimes can be entertaining.

 The_End wrote: 
I must be living in a world different from yours then.  How can you say that with 100% conviction? You cannot ever prove that God exists because of what is around us, never.

 Lazy8 wrote: 
God.

 Lazy8 wrote: 

 oldslabsides wrote:
Hmm, maybe I've already bagged a couple...better go check for scorch marks.

Oh, right—no pavement. Never mind.

 Lazy8 wrote: 
No doubt it'll self-destruct if dropped on pavement.

 oldslabsides wrote:
I have a death ray I stole from a guy in a dark suit with an earphone in his ear.

Prove I don't!

 Xeric wrote: 
Well, technically, these days, they have force shields.

 Lazy8 wrote: 
Won't matter.  It's also bulletproof.

 geordiezimmerman wrote:Yeah, they can be proved. When they're true.

I think a lot of folks believe or don't based on criteria like yours: does it fit my prejudices? Does it say something unpleasant about somebody I already hate?

I'm glad you aren't likely to be on my jury if I ever get charged with something.

And from your list I'm having a hard time with your first sentence. Can you name a conspiracy theory you don't believe?

I'm normaly in the 'Prove it' camp when it comes to conspiracies but I often choose to believe/notbelieve depending what or who the conspiracy is about, mainly for a bit of fun. For example I like watching those crazy David Ike doc's just because they are entertaining  although I have to admit some conspiracy theorists are pretty convincing and do provoke further interest.  I don't believe they landed on the moon in 69, I think Bush and his cronies were well aware of 911 and was set up to start a war on terror. I have no 'proof' of this of course but from the research i've done and read on here and other places I have to come to my own conclusions. I'm rather suspect about the Piness Diana crash as well as I think the Kennedy shooting is riddled with untruths but again it's the conclusion I've come to after research. That's the thing with conspiracies, you can never prove them one way or another. When people say 'This is the truth' often their information is just as invalid as someone who is trying to prove the conspiracy which then just adds to further confusion. Nothing would surprise me with any of the conspiracies that go around, some will be true some won't be but we will probably never know the real truth. Hs any conspiracy theory ever been proving to be true or false or do they just run on and on gathering more truths and lies for ever?

However, the biggest conspiracy theory for me is the God one. For those that are in the believers camp but also think you need to prove something before it can be believed, then I suggest you do the same thing with God.

 owld_skipper wrote:The space of things that might be going on is infinite, and the proper response to some of them is extreme—regime change, armed revolt, sabotage, rioting in the streets. These, if you've never seen them, are Bad Things. Steps not to be taken lightly.

The proper response to a claim that such a thing is going on is "prove it." If you convince me I'll man the barricades. If you're exaggerating, spreading innuendo and rumor—that is, if you're lying—you deserve to be pilloried. You take the tools used against real conspiracies out of the holster only in the gravest extreme, and you raise the alarm only when you want those tools used.

So I have very little patience for conspiracy theorists.