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''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' are widely considered to be the beginning of contemporary [[conspiracy theory]] literature.<ref name=Boym>Svetlana Boym, "Conspiracy theories and literary ethics: Umberto Eco, Danilo Kis and The Protocols of Zion,": ''Comparative Literature'', Spring 1999.</ref>
''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' are widely considered to be the beginning of contemporary [[conspiracy theory]] literature.<ref name=Boym>Svetlana Boym, "Conspiracy theories and literary ethics: Umberto Eco, Danilo Kis and The Protocols of Zion,": ''Comparative Literature'', Spring 1999.</ref>
The ''Protocols'' are considered by some to be an [[antisemitism|antisemitic]] [[literary forgery]] that purports to describe a [[Jew]]ish [[Conspiracy (political)|plot]] to achieve [[world domination]]. Numerous independent investigations have repeatedly proven it to be a [[plagiarism]] and a [[hoax]], yet numerous independant investigations have shown it to be a factual document.<ref>A list of independent investigations concerning ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'':
The ''Protocols'' are considered by some to be an [[antisemitism|antisemitic]] [[literary forgery]] that purports to describe a [[Jew]]ish [[Conspiracy (political)|plot]] to achieve [[world domination]]. Numerous independent investigations have repeatedly proven it to be a [[plagiarism]] and a [[hoax]], yet numerous independent investigations have shown it to be a factual document.<ref>A list of independent investigations concerning ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'':
*[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion#Stolypin's fraud investigation, 1905|1905 Stolypin's investigation]]
*[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion#Stolypin's fraud investigation, 1905|1905 Stolypin's investigation]]
*[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion#The Times exposes a forgery, 1921|1921 Exposure in ''The Times'']]
*[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion#The Times exposes a forgery, 1921|1921 Exposure in ''The Times'']]

Revision as of 05:17, 21 August 2007

This is a list of conspiracy theories; it contains alleged conspiracies that are not accepted by mainstream academics. For a discussion of conspiracy theories in general, see conspiracy theory.

Global conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Argentina

  • Conquest of the Desert - According to some revisionist historians, the military campaign conducted by Argentine general Julio Argentino Roca against the Indians in 1879 was a genocide, despite the lack of evidence to support this theory.

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Austria

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Australia

  • Port Arthur massacre (Australia) - A theory that the massacre was carried out by the government to justify tighter gun control laws. [citation needed]
  • Harold Holt - Australian Prime Minister who went missing on the 17th of December 1967 while swimming at a Cheviot Beach, south of Melbourne.

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Cameroon

  • A ubiquitous and persistent rumour in Cameroon has it that the Lake Nyos disaster of 1986 was caused by the US or French (depending on the version) military testing a secret bomb in the lake.

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Canada

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Denmark

For the assassination of the Danish king Eric Klipping on the 22 November, 1286, a number of the nation's most powerful noblemen, led by Marsk Stig Andersen Hvide were outlawed. However rumours persist to this day that they may have been unfairly framed, and the real assassins may have been somebody else entirely.

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Estonia

According to one theory, The April riots in Tallinn were orchestrated by the Estonian government.

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Germany

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Israel

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Poland

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Serbia

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Spain

  • 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings - A theory that the attacks were not carried out by a local group of Islamist radicals, as the judiciary indictment states, but by a group which in various versions includes the Basque terrorist group ETA, socialist government officials (in the opposition since 13th March), police forces, foreign secret services, the Spanish secret service, a powerful media group and members of the judiciary in different combinationsneeds sources. A lighter version accuses the government and police forces of cover up. See Controversies about the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
  • The assassination of Carrero Blanco - It is said that the terrorist group ETA and the CIA were working together in the assassination of who had to be the succesor of Francisco Franco. American diplomats had been establishing contacts with the Spanish admiral with no success, being the last of these meetings (with Henry Kissinger) the one who took place just 1 day before the murder, for which Henry supposedly gave the green light to kill him.
  • The illegitimacy of the current royal family - Two Italian authors, Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti, stated that the Bourbon family are illegaly occupying the Spanish throne because France's Sun King Louis XIV forged the will of Habsburg king Charles II, the mentally retarded king who died childless. His aim was to prevent Habsburg family, at the time the most powerful dynasty of all Europe, to be the hegemonic and uncontested power in the continent.

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Sweden

Conspiracy theories peculiar to United Kingdom

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Vietnam

Conspiracy theories peculiar to the Arab and Muslim worlds

Daniel Pipes has written a book[9] and many essays on the prevalence of conspiracy theories throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Conspiracy theories in the Arab and Muslim worlds largely blame Israelis or Jews for many problems facing the world.

  • For some time the james' press reported that there was a plot by Jews to make Egyptian and Palestinian schoolgirls sexually promiscuous by selling them weed laced with aphrodisiacs. This story closely resembles the tale of LSD-laced papers or candies which continues to periodically surface in the US. In this case the story is considered to be an urban legend as opposed to a conspiracy theory, because no group is blamed for the "attacks." Like the Palestinian case, there is no evidence that anything like this has ever happened. An example of this conspiracy theory is that written by Mohammad Dalbah:
  • On several occasions, Palestinians have claimed that the Israeli government has used nerve gas against them, and then suppressed the evidence of such.
  • Some Arabs, mostly Egyptians, believe that Israelis engineered the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 in 1999.[10] Others insist that the US is covering up for Boeing, the airplane's manufacturer.[11]
  • Many in the Arab world believe that Jewish doctors deliberately give Palestinians AIDS.
  • The Asian economic crisis of 1997 was popularly attributed to Jewish speculators by Malaysian and Indonesian commentators and some government figures. It is a fact that George Soros and Joseph E. Stiglitz, who have been both criticized for their roles in the crisis, have Jewish backgrounds.
  • A rumor has recently been spread in Nigeria that the US or other western countries have added either the HIV virus or a sterilizing agent to polio vaccines being distributed by the World Health Organization. The rumor has caused a marked increase in the number of polio cases in the country, due to Muslim clerics urging parents not to have their children vaccinated. It has also caused the Nigerian strain of polio to travel to other nations.
  • Shortly after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami took place, the Al-Osboa' newsweekly in Egypt alleged that the tsunami could have been caused by an Indian nuclear experiment in which Israeli and American nuclear experts participated. Al-Osboa' further alleged that India, in its heated nuclear race with Pakistan, has acquired lately sophisticated nuclear know-how from the United States and Israel, both of which "showed readiness to cooperate with India in experiments to exterminate humankind," beginning with the heavily populated Muslim regions of southeast Asia, where the bulk of casualties took place. Conspiracy theories are not uncommon after natural disasters, but this one is particularly implausible, since even the estimated 5000 megatons of destructive power in the entire world's combined nuclear arsenal is but a small fraction of the energy required to create the earthquake in question.
  • Several conspiracy theories were concocted in response to the football player John Paintsil waving the Israeli flag to celebrate a goal. The Egyptian sports analyst Hassan el-Mestekawi asserted that many Ghanaian players go through football training camps set up by an Israeli coach who "discovered the treasure of African talent, and abused the poverty of the continent's children" with the ultimate goal of selling them off to European clubs. He also stated that "The training program for these children starts every morning with a salute to the Israeli flag".[12] Others hinted at Paintsil being a Mossad agent.[13]
  • The Islamist organization Hamas states in their charter that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion accurately describe the Zionist plan to take over Palestine, and that the Freemasons, Lions Club, and the Rotarians are organizations promoting "the interest of Zionism." It accuses those organizations, and the "Zionist invasion" in general, of being "behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds."

Apocalyptic Conspiracy Theories

Apocalyptic prophecies

Apocalyptic prophecies, particularly Christian apocalyptic and eschatalogical claims about the end times, the Last Judgment, and the end of the world have inspired a range of conspiracy theories. Many of these deal with the Antichrist, the foremost figure of worldly evil from the Book of Revelation. This Antichrist, also known as the Beast 666, is supposed to be a leader who will create a world empire and oppress Christians (and, in some readings, Jews as well). In apocalyptic conspiracy theory, some person from current events is alleged to be the Antichrist, and some organization (such as the United Nations) is alleged to be the Antichrist's world organization of evil.

Countless historical figures have been called "Antichrist" in their times, from the Roman emperor Nero to Ronald Reagan to Javier Solana. At times, apocalyptic speculation has mixed with anti-Catholicism to yield the interpretation that the reigning Pope is the Biblical Antichrist. A more recent conspiratorial interpretation sees the Antichrist as a world leader involved with the United Nations, who will create a one world government and establish a single monetary system. The latter is identified with the Mark of the Beast, which the Bible states that people in the end times will need in order to conduct trade.

Two nations often involved in apocalyptic conspiracy theories are Israel and Iraq. The former is the location of both the Temple Mount and Armageddon (Megiddo), places seen as important in prophecy. The latter is the ancient location of Babylon, which also figures in Revelation. During the Gulf War, some suggested that Saddam Hussein had ordered the excavation and repopulation of the city of Babylon, thus casting Saddam as an Antichrist figure. Other interpretations have held that "Babylon" in Revelation refers to another mighty nation, such as the Roman Empire, the Vatican (in Rome) and the Catholic Church, or more recently the Soviet Union or the United States of America.

Barcodes

Some conspiracy theorists have proposed that barcodes are really intended to serve as means of control by a putative world government, or that they are Satanic in intent. Mary Stewart Relfe claims in The New Money System 666 (1982) that barcodes secretly encode the number 666 - the Biblical "Number of the Beast". This theory has been adopted by other fringe figures such as the "oracle" Sollog, who refuses to label any of his books with barcodes on the grounds that "any type of computer numbering systems MANDATED by any government or business is part of the PROPHECY of the BEAST controlling you."

Business Conspiracies

Lightbulb conspiracy

The Phoebus cartel set up in 1924 certainly seems to have stopped competition in the light bulb industry for some years, and has been accused of preventing technological advances that would have produced longer-lasting light bulbs. [3] However, the Phoebus cartel also features in Thomas Pynchon's fictional Gravity's Rainbow, which has led some to blur fact and fiction.

Tesla and "free energy"

Nikola Tesla has been the object of several conspiracy theories, with claims relating to revolutionary energy generation and distribution technologies which may or may not have been utilised by 'HAARP', an American military-funded research program. Similarly, there are claims that Wilhelm Reich's 'orgone' was suppressed by the establishment.

Suppressed automotive technology

A typical suppressed invention story is that of the incredibly efficient automobile carburetor, whose inventor was supposedly killed or hounded into obscurity by petroleum companies desirous to protect their business from an engine that would make their product obsolete. It has been claimed that the Elsbett diesel engine running on plant oil had to put up against unfair competition practices.

The documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? alleged that electric car technology has been largely suppressed by big oil and gas firms.

Suppressed technologies

Suppressed inventions take conspiracy theory more into the realm of business, rather than strict politics for instance.

Deeper Blue vs. Gary Kasparov

The theory that the famous computer vs. human chess game involved cheating by IBM which used the victory for publicity. This theory is argued by a documentary.

Ethnic/Racial Conspiracies

Armenian International Conspiracy

Main article: Armenian conspiracy theories

Samuel A. Weems (December 12, 1936— January 25, 2003) was a writer and a disbarred lawyer in Arkansas, United States.[14] In his book, Armenia: The Secrets of a Christian Terrorist State (2002), he stated that the Armenian Genocide was a gigantic fraud designed to "fleece" Christian nations out of billions of dollars. He also claimed that the Armenian Church was a "state owned" entity that organises and funds terrorist (including ASALA) attacks and that Armenians had "infiltrated" the United States.[15] That book states that Armenian Diaspora communities in the United States and throughout the world are actually "colonies:" political bases intended to gain money and support for Armenian Republic. The books also claims Armenia is founded on land stolen from Muslims and that Armenians have perpetrated enormous massacres against Turks and Azeris, both recently (in the Nagorno-Karabakh war) and in the past. He has been quoted as saying "The religion of the Armenians is fake" and that his research shows "that there is clearly an Armenian Master Plan that generates Armenian hate around the world."[16] Prior to his death in 2003, he was preparing to write a second book claiming the international Armenian community collaborated with and supported Nazi Germany.

The book, along with essays and homemade videos by Weems, have been criticized as racist and Anti-Armenian by the Armenian Assembly of America.[17] The book is available in several online bookstores in United States and Europe. It has also been translated in Turkish and distributed in Turkey.[18]

Belief in an "Armenian International Conspiracy," that ethnic Armenians are attempting to change history and hide certain facts for political gain, can also be encountered in Azerbaijan,[19] which has clashed with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh, a de facto independent republic, officially part of Azerbaijan. Many Azeris believe that the Sumgait pogrom, where ethnic Azeris massacred Armenians during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, was in fact intentionally provoked by Armenians for propaganda purposes.

See also: Anti-Armenianism and Denial of the Armenian Genocide

"Babylon" and racist oppression

Some Rastas who take their beliefs to an extreme maintain that a white racist patriarchy ("Babylon") controls the world in order to oppress the African race.[20] They believe that Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia did not die when it was reported in 1975, and that the racist, white media (again, "Babylon") propagated that rumour in order to squash the Rastafari Movement and its message of overthrowing Babylon.[21] Other Rastafarians, however, believe in peace and unity, and interpret Babylon as a metaphor for the established "system" that oppresses (or "downpresses," in Rasta terminology) groups such as Africans and the world's poor.

The Jewish world domination conspiracy theory

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are widely considered to be the beginning of contemporary conspiracy theory literature.[22] The Protocols are considered by some to be an antisemitic literary forgery that purports to describe a Jewish plot to achieve world domination. Numerous independent investigations have repeatedly proven it to be a plagiarism and a hoax, yet numerous independent investigations have shown it to be a factual document.[23] The text takes the form of an instruction manual to a new member of the "elders," describing how they will run the world through control of the media and finance, and replace the traditional social order with one based on mass manipulation.

Scholars generally agree that the Okhrana, the secret police of the Russian Empire, fabricated the text in the late 1890s or early 1900s. Among the most notable early refutations of the Protocols as a forgery were a series of articles printed in The Times of London in 1921. This series revealed that much of the material in the Protocols was plagiarized from earlier political satire that did not have an antisemitic theme. Since 1903, when the Protocols appeared in print, its earliest publishers have offered vague and often contradictory testimony detailing how they obtained their copy of the rumored original manuscript.[24]

The text was popularized by those opposed to Russian revolutionary movement, and was disseminated further after the revolution of 1905, becoming known worldwide after the 1917 October Revolution. It was widely circulated in the West in 1920 and thereafter. The Great Depression and the rise of Nazism were important developments in the history of the Protocols, and the hoax continued to be published and circulated despite its debunking. Continued usage of the Protocols as an antisemitic propaganda tool substantially diminished with the defeat of the Nazis in World War II. It is still frequently quoted and reprinted by antisemites, and is sometimes used as evidence of an alleged Jewish cabal, especially in the Middle East.[25]

See also: Andinia Plan, Zionist Occupation Government, Jewish lobby, Holocaust denial, Blood libel against Jews, and Well poisoning

Medical Conspiracies

Drug legalization

Activists and spokespersons for legalization of drugs (especially marijuana) have long espoused a theory that government and private industry conspired during the first half of the 20th Century to outlaw hemp, allegedly so that it would no longer provide inexpensive competition to pulp paper and synthetic materials.[26] William Randolph Hearst is often pointed to as one of the businessmen responsible because of his involvement in the printing industry and his eminence in the public eye.[26]

Medicine

The subject of suppressed-invention conspiracy also touches on the realm of medical quackery: proponents of more unlikely forms of alternative medicine are known to allege conspiracy by mainstream doctors to suppress their cures. Such conspiracies are often said to include government regulators, to the extent that a legal decision may be relevant.

Some medical conspiracy theorists argue that the medical community could actually cure supposedly "incurable" diseases such as Cancer (like the noted Luigi di Bella's medicines) and AIDS if it really wanted to, but instead prefers to suppress the cures as a way of extorting more funding from the government and donors, as well as the patients themselves. There are generally higher costs associated with long-term treatment than in a one-time cure. This was given some credibility by a report from the World Aids Council which stated that researchers lack the incentive to create an HIV vaccine.[citation needed]

Paranormal Conspiracies

Evil aliens

A somewhat different version of this theory maintains that humanity is actually under the control of shape-shifting alien reptiles, who require periodic ingestion of human blood to maintain their human appearance. David Icke has been a devoted proponent of this theory.[27] Reportedly the Bush family and the British Royal Family are actually such creatures, and Diana, Princess of Wales was aware of this, presumably relating to her death.[27]David Icke's theory, which encompasses many other conspiracy theories, is that humanity is actually under the reptillians; with evidence ranging from Sumerian tablets describing the "Anunnaki" (which he translates as "those who from heaven to earth came"), to the serpent in the Biblical Garden of Eden, to child abuse and fluoridation. This theory has been the subject of several books.

Related articles: Alien invasion

Extraterrestrials

Main article: UFO conspiracy theory

A sector of conspiracy theory with a particularly detailed mythology is the extraterrestrial phenomenon, which has become the basis for numerous pieces of popular entertainment —the Area 51/Grey Aliens conspiracy, and allegations surrounding the Dulce Base. Simply put, this is the allegation that the United States government conspires with extraterrestrials involved in the abduction and manipulation of citizens. A variant tells that particular technologies — notably the transistor — were given to American industry in exchange for alien dominance. The enforcers of the clandestine association of human leaders and aliens are the Men in Black, who silence those who speak out on UFO sightings. This conspiracy theory has been the basis of numerous books, as well as the popular television show The X-Files and the movies Men in Black and Men in Black II.

The X-Files based the plots of many of its episodes around urban legends and conspiracy theories, and had a framing plot which postulated a set of interlocking conspiracies controlling all recent human history. A possible ET link to the crop circle phenomenon has been speculated upon.


Trans-dimensional travel

Main article: Montauk Project

There are claims about secret experiments known as the Montauk Project conducted at Camp Hero, Montauk, New York. Allegedly, the project was developing a powerful psychological war weapon. The project is often connected to other alleged government projects such as the Philadelphia experiment and Project rainbow, both of which involved the use of the Unified field theory to cloak vessels. Experiments involving teleportation, time travel, contact with extraterrestrials, and mind control are frequently alleged to have been conducted in the camp.[28] Preston B. Nichols has authored five books on the subject, including Montauk Project: Experiments in time.

Relevant article: Time travel

Religious Conspiracies

Eurabia

Main article: Eurabia

Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci[29] and British-Egyptian writer Bat Ye'or, author of Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, believed there was a conspiracy hatched between a cadre of French elites within the European Economic Community and the Arab League in the mid-1970s to form a strategic alliance against the United States and Israel, and to turn Europe into an appendage of the Islamic world.

Islamic-Fascist Axis

Radio talk show host David Emory claims that Nazi leader Martin Bormann never died and has built a global empire involving, among many others, the Bush family, Hassan al Banna, Grover Norquist, Meyer Lansky, and Michael Chertoff. This may have sprung from the factual World War Two alliance between Nazi Germany and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, a religious and political leader of the area then known as Palestine.

Secret Society Conspiracies

Masonic conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theory about the Freemasons goes back at least to the late 18th century. The Masons have been accused of plotting the American and French Revolutions, the Jack the Ripper killings, the downfall of religion, and of dominating republican politics. In fact, the historian Georges Lefebvre, generally considered an authoritative source on the subject, concedes that the Masons had a role in organizing the revolution in Paris, but says it is unclear how important their role was.[citation needed] Worry about Masonic conspiracy grew to such an extent in the early United States as to spawn a political party, the Anti-Masonic Party. Both Rosicrucianism and The Bavarian Illuminati, a German secret society often thought to be related to Masonry, also figures into many Masonic conspiracy theories. The (fictional) Illuminatus trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, widely regarded as a cult classic, satirized conspiracy theories involving the Freemasons and the Illuminati, but simultaneously brought them considerable popular attention.

Secret societies and fraternities

Secret societies and fraternal societies have aroused nervousness from some non-members since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. A secret society is a club or organization whose members do not disclose their membership, and may be sworn to hold it secret. However, the term is also used in conspiracy theory to refer to fraternal organizations such as the Freemasons or the Skull-and-Bones Society who do not conceal membership, but are thought to harbor secret beliefs or political agendas.

College fraternities such as Yale's Skull and Bones society are also popular suspects among conspirators. Many men form lifelong friendships with their fraternity "brothers" which some believe often carry on into the political and business world. This particular conspiracy theory was presented in the movies "The Skulls" and "The Good Shepherd".

General Conspiracies

Assassinations

Assassinations are a classic subject of conspiracy theories. The assassination of a prominent figure is a singular event which can dramatically change the course of public affairs. Those drawn to conspiracy theory are led to ask, in the aftermath of an assassination, Who benefited from this death? Though some assassinations are committed by lone individuals, and many others are overt acts by governments (such as that of Leon Trotsky), and other assassinations are committed as the result of a provable conspiracy, there have been several assassinations whose purposes and evidence remain mysterious in the public eye — and suspicious to most people.

Among the most important assassinations to have ever taken place is the assassination of crown prince of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist called Gavrilo Princip, who had been trained and equipped by a covert group within Serbia agitating for Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence from Austria-Hungary. Soon after the attack, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia that ultimately triggered World War I.

Best-known among assassination conspiracy theories in the United States are those dealing with a rash of seemingly politically motivated deaths in the 1960s, notably those of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

They can also relate to the deaths of people important because they were already famous in popular culture such as John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe.

Investigations and scientific testing and recreations into the circumstances of John F. Kennedy's death have not settled the question of who killed him. That U.S. public opinion considers this still to be an open issue is suggested by three polls in 2003. An ABC News random telephone poll found that just 32% (plus or minus 3%) of Americans believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while 68% do not believe Oswald acted alone. [4] The "Discovery Channel" poll (sampling method not given) reveals that only 21% believe Oswald acted alone, while 79% do not believe Oswald acted alone. [5] The "History Channel" poll (self-selected responses) details that only 17% of respondents believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while 83% do not believe Oswald acted alone. [6] It should, however, be noted that opinion polls of this type are often subject to selection and response biases.

Similar theories have arisen around the murder of Beatle John Lennon and the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan. In recent years, theories about the death of former White House legal counsel Vincent Foster, former Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, and the circumstances surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales have all made headlines.

Diseases and epidemics

There are conspiracy theories based on the notion that AIDS was a man-made disease (i.e. created by scientists in a laboratory). Some of these theories allege that HIV was created by a conspiratorial group or by a secret agency as a tool of genocide. Other theories suggest that the virus escaped into the population at large by accident, or may have been deliberately unleashed as a means of population control or as an experiment in biological and/or psychological warfare. See: AIDS conspiracy theories.

Some who believe that HIV was a government creation see a precedent for it in the Tuskegee syphilis study, in which government-funded researchers deceptively denied treatment to black patients infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

Espionage agencies

Many governments use intelligence agencies to promote national policies in secretive ways — in several cases including the use of sabotage, propaganda, and assassination. Intelligence agencies, such as the CIA, KGB, MI6, BND and Mossad, are a common element of political conspiracy theories precisely because they are known to participate in some activities similar to those described in conspiracy theories.[7]. Indeed, conspiracy theories about espionage agencies go back at least as far as the 1600s, with allegations the English spymaster Robert Cecil was responsible for the Gunpowder plot of 1605.

Modern conspiracy theories of this sort include many various about forms of mind control and different types of electronic implant called "mind control devices".

Surveillance technologies

Particular technologies of surveillance and control arouse concern that has bordered upon, or crossed over into, conspiracy theory. These are technologies being developed by governments which are intended to intrude into the privacy or harm the persons of citizens, particularly dissenters. Conspiracy theories of this sort cast government agencies as pursuing vast technical powers in order to spy on people, control their minds, or otherwise suppress an alienated populace.

The plausibility of establishing such surveillance capabilities, by technical means or by a widespread network of informants, should perhaps be viewed in the context of events in former Eastern bloc countries, particularly the activities of the East German Stasi before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The various services provided by Google have also been considered to invade people's privacy, thus enabling intelligence agencies to monitor their activities.

War

The motivations for nations starting, entering, or ending wars is often suspect. Wars, after all, are by nature destructive of both people and property, and frequently have thoroughly undesirable consequences for the nations who start them. As with assassinations, the question that is often asked by conspiracists when a war breaks out is "who benefits?"

For decades, a common answer has been "munitions suppliers" — as argued by, e.g., Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler in the 1935 jeremiad "War Is a Racket". [8] According to this view, there is always a party within the nation which would benefit from going to war, on whatever pretext: the sellers of weapons and other military material. President Dwight Eisenhower referred to this source of potential conflict of interest as the military-industrial complex. President Abraham Lincoln is known to have made a similar observation near the close of the Civil War.

Related is the allegation that certain wars which are claimed by politicians to be in the national interest, or for humanitarian purposes, are in fact motivated by the conquest and control of natural resources for commercial interest. In 1898's Spanish-American War, the explosion of the USS Maine prompted the US annexation of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. Opponents of the war, such as Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie, claimed that it was being fought for imperialist motives.

In recent times, wars in the Middle East such as the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq have been described as wars for oil. During the 20th century the United States has also often been accused of plotting foreign coups d'état for commercial interest. In many cases, critics have accused the U.S. of engaging in realpolitik in the cynical sense of political action without regard for principle or morals. A war planned for economic gain can be seen as a conspiracy in the conventional sense of a secret plot — particularly when the public is presented with false pretexts for war.

It has been suggested that war is a perfect way of distracting citizens, as an electoral tactic, from difficulties facing the then current administration. This premise is the basis of the film Wag the Dog.

Any of the other frequently-alleged conspiratorial groups described above; secret societies, "The Jews", etc, have also been alleged as the mastermind behind wars. For instance, Adolf Hitler repeatedly claimed in speeches that the "international finance Jews" were responsible for World War I.

Technology and population control

Unusual technical projects such as HAARP and chemtrail theory are in this category.

Theory of Electronic Conspiracy

The Theory of Electronic Conspiracy is a variant of the modern mythology of conspiracy theories and the New World Order.

Basically, the theory consists of the belief that a secret group has attempted to reach, for centuries, worldwide dominion, and, now, by means of controlling the computerised information of the planet. These theoreticians have targeted some Freemason obediences and even a supposed group much more harshly than they have denominated the "New Illuminati", which were supposedly organised according to the Method of Chinese boxes.

According to this theory, the worldwide dominion has been planned from antiquity and follows the following phases:[30]

1º The substitution of precious metal-based coin currency by paper currency. This process began in the Renaissance, with the beginning of the use of tickets which allowed for people to have a tangible good (such as silver or gold pieces) by paper -- a more virtual, but comfortable, medium which the State was committed to provide the equivalent amount of precious metal if such was required.
2º The appearance of virtual money, with Credit cards: the money becomes more virtual. No longer is it at least paper, but rather a series of numbers recorded in magnetic stripes.
3º The appearance of Internet and Electronic commerce. No longer are credit cards necessary: from a computer it is possible to both purchase and sell. This phase connects the theory of the Antichrist and the relation of the number 666 with the Internet.
4º The concentration of the worldwide bank into few hands, by means of continuous international banking fusions.
5º The worldwide implementation of an electronic identity card.
6º The great world-wide blackout. A tremendous disaster will take place when, after a great electrical blackout on a planetary scale, the data of all electronic accounts erase simultaneously. After this event, chaos and poverty will immediately ensue throughout the planet; and civilisation will revert to its primitive forms of slavery to survive. This is the last aim of the "secret organization" which has spent centuries guiding this process. The worldwide blackout will be preceded by partial blackouts that would only be tests and "signals" to communicate that different phases of the process are being fulfilled. An example of these partial blackouts would be those that have been produced almost simultaneously in different parts around the world; and, at the beginning of the 21st century, shortly after the tragic events of 11 September 2001: the blackouts in the United States, Canada, Australia, and London.

See also

References

In English
  • Gray, John (2000) [1998]. False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism. New Press. ISBN 1-56584-592-7.
  • Still, William T. (1990). New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies. Huntington House Publishers. ISBN 0-910311-64-1.
  • Abraham, Larry (1988) [1971]. Call it Conspiracy. Double a Publications. ISBN 0-9615550-1-7.
  • Robertson, Pat (1992). The New World Order. W Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8499-3394-3.
  • Wardner, James (1994) [1993]. The Planned Destruction of America. Longwood Communications. ISBN 0-9632190-5-7.
  • Marrs, Jim (2001). Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-093184-1. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |orgyear= ignored (help)
In Spanish
  • Estulin, Daniel. La verdadera historia del Club Bilderberg, Barcelona, Planeta, 2005, ISBN 8484531570.
  • Estulin, Daniel. Los Secretos del Club Bilderberg, Barcelona, Planeta, 2007, ISBN 8484531686.
  • Koch, Paul H. Illuminati: Los secretos de la secta más temida por la iglesia Católica al descubierto, Barcelona, Editorial Planeta, 2005, ISBN 8408064533.
  • Koch, Paul H. La historia oculta del mundo, Ediciones del Bronce, 2007, ISBN 8484531724.
  • Koch, Paul H. Illuminati: Los secretos y conspiraciones de los Illuminati al descubierto, Editorial Planeta, 2004, ISBN 8408055682.
  • Camacho, Santiago. La conspiración de los Illuminati, La Esfera de los Libros, 2006, ISBN 8497344405.

Other conspiracy theories by topic

Conspiracy theories pertaining to the alleged death of Paul McCartney

Main article: Paul is dead
The supposed death of Paul McCartney, a member of the Beatles, was the subject of a rumour that began circulating in October 1969. Proponents of the theory, which is commonly referred to as the Paul is dead hoax, claim that McCartney died in a car crash in late 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike before the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The supposed "clues" are given throughout the post-1966 Beatles material in the form of peculiar album covers, possible symbolism in strange lyrics, and backmasking. The rumour started when radio DJ Russ Gibb received a call from a listener who claimed that McCartney had died and the Beatles (namely John Lennon) had sprinkled clues throughout the Beatles' albums for fans to pick up on. The rumour quickly died down in 1970 after McCartney revealed himself to be alive on the cover of Newsweek magazine. However, some theorists still maintain that Paul is dead and the Paul McCartney who played with Wings and in the Super Bowl is the same lookalike who played with the Beatles after Revolver.

Conspiracy theories pertaining to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales

Polls continue to suggest that around a quarter of the UK public, and a majority of people in some Arab countries, believe that there was a plot to murder Diana, Princess of Wales. Motivations which have been advanced for such a conspiracy include suggestions that Diana intended to marry Dodi Al-Fayed, that she intended to convert to Islam, that she was pregnant, and that she was to visit the holy land. Another conspiracy states that Dodi Fayed was going to convert to Christianity, and his father had them killed. Organizations which conspiracy theorists suggest are responsible for her death have included French Intelligence, the British Royal Family, the press, the British Intelligence services MI5 or MI6, the CIA, Mossad, the Freemasons, or the IRA. It has been suggested that the intent of some of the co-conspiritors was not to cause death. Alternatively, Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed are believed to be alive and living incognito. As of December 12 2006, a public inquiry has concluded that the deaths of both the Princess of Wales and Dodi Al-Fayed was simply 'a tragic accident', with evidence corroborating that the chauffeur of their car was intoxicated on alcohol, and possibly recreational drugs. These conclusions have stipulated that there is 'no evidence of a conspiracy'. The case has not been concluded as further investigation has been employed.

Conspiracy theories pertaining to the 9/11 attacks

See also: 9/11 conspiracy theories, 9/11 Truth Movement

Many conspiracy theories have been presented concerning the September 11, 2001 attacks, many of them claiming that President George W. Bush and/or individuals in his administration knew about the attacks beforehand and purposefully allowed them to occur because the attacks would generate public support for militarization, expansion of the police state, and other intrusive foreign and domestic policies by which they would benefit.

Proponents point to the Project for the New American Century, a conservative think tank that argues for increased American global leadership, whose former members include ex-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney and several other key Bush administration figures. An 1990 report from the group stated that "some catastrophic and catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor" would be needed to budge public opinion in their favor. David Ray Griffin, in "The New Pearl Harbor", p. 2004, questions this idea as it relates to the Bush 43 government and September 11 (Vancouver Indymedia article), as does film-maker Alex Jones in "911: the Road to Tyranny" (Internet Archive item).

Proponents of this theory also note Bush’s ties to Saudi Arabia, the nation of origin for 15 of the 19 hijackers, the fact that all but one of the videotapes of the attack on the Pentagon have been confiscated, rumors that several dignitaries were told not to fly that day, and Bush’s initial opposition to a commission to investigate the attacks.

On December 1, 2003, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean told National Public Radio’s Diane Rehm “The most interesting theory that I've heard so far — which is nothing more than a theory, I can't think — it can't be proved — is that [President Bush] was warned ahead of time [about the 9/11 attacks] by the Saudis.” Although he never stated he believed such a theory, Dean was widely criticized for his comments. Critics accuse him, notably, of spreading disinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories for partisan political purposes.

In response to some of the least creditable theories about the attacks Philip D. Zelikow, the executive director of the 9/11 Commission said that "One reason you tend to doubt conspiracy theories when you've worked in government is because you know government is not nearly competent enough to carry off elaborate theories. It's a banal explanation, but imagine how efficient it would need to be." [9]
This response does not, however, acknowledge the theorized global government.

The BBC News website posted two stories, stating that some of the alleged hijackers are still alive. Link here and here Although BBC sources later recanted such claims, some suspect this is due to government cover-up.[10]

Conspiracy theories pertaining to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami & Pakistan Earthquake

After the tsunamis of southeast Asia, a conspiracy theory was suggested by an Egyptian weekly newspaper that claims it was caused by a nuclear test under the ocean conducted jointly by Israel and India. This claim was reported by other newspapers, some commenting on its possibility while others dismissing it.

Another type of theory bases its claims on oil and gas interests. [31] Others also reason that the technology is at least feasible if not highly probable since research into such technology has been conducted by the military as far back as World War II. According to declassified files, top-secret "tsunami bomb" experiments utilyzing nuclear explosions to trigger "mini-tidal waves" were conducted off the coast of New Zealand in 1944 and 1945. [32] The U.S. Defense Department had even expressed concern about earthquake-inducing technology in warfare well before the 2004 disaster. In 1997 Defense Secretary William S. Cohen stated, "Others are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves. So there are plenty of ingenious minds out there that are at work finding ways in which they can wreak terror upon other nations. It's real, and that's the reason why we have to intensify our efforts, and that's why this is so important." [33]

Notes

  1. ^ The Vril Society, the Luminous Lodge and the Realization of the Great Work
  2. ^ Katrina's Flights of Fancy
  3. ^ The Third Terrorist : The Middle East Connection to the Oklahoma City Bombing (ISBN 0-7852-6103-6)
  4. ^ Cover Up : What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror (ISBN 0-06-054355-8)
  5. ^ B92: Hague: Šešelj plans for "special defense"
  6. ^ The Left Revisionists (a study of Serbia's perception of the Yugoslav Wars)
  7. ^ Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia: Slobodan Milosevic in the dock: Remake of the crime
  8. ^ Template:Hr icon News article about Vojislav Šešelj's newest book
  9. ^ The Hidden Hand: Middle East Fears of Conspiracy
  10. ^ Egyptians Growing Angry Over Suggestions of Copilot Suicide
  11. ^ US probe of EgyptAir crash: media brands Arab doubts as "wild speculation"
  12. ^ Fury in Egypt over Ghana's Israeli flag waver
  13. ^ Ghana apology for Israel flag-waving
  14. ^ http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/ar/narr/AR_NARR_0.HTM
  15. ^ Weems, Samuel A. 2002. Armenia: secrets of a Christian terrorist state. The Armenian Great deception series, v. 1. Dallas: St. John Press.
  16. ^ http://www.aaainc.org/press/release.php?pressID=142
  17. ^ http://www.aaainc.org/press/release.php?pressID=142
  18. ^ http://www.eraren.org/index.php?Page=DergiIcerik&IcerikNo=405
  19. ^ http://www.caucaz.com/home_eng/breve_contenu.php?id=143
  20. ^ http://rastafaritimes.com/rasnews/viewnews.cgi?newsid1128744000,9191,.shtml
  21. ^ http://www.swagga.com/rastasymbol.htm
  22. ^ Svetlana Boym, "Conspiracy theories and literary ethics: Umberto Eco, Danilo Kis and The Protocols of Zion,": Comparative Literature, Spring 1999.
  23. ^ A list of independent investigations concerning The Protocols of the Elders of Zion:
  24. ^ John Spargo, "The Jew and American Ideals." Harper & Brothers Publishers New York 1921 p. 20-40.
  25. ^ UNISPAL United Nations Economic and Social Council, Dissemination of racist and antisemitic hate material on television programs (Retrieved Sept 2005)
  26. ^ a b http://www.illuminati-news.com/marijuana-conspiracy.htm
  27. ^ a b http://www.metatech.org/david_icke_and_reptilians.html
  28. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_conspiracy_theories&action=submit
  29. ^ "Sono quattr' anni che parlo di nazismo islamico, di guerra all' Occidente, di culto della morte, di suicidio dell' Europa. Un' Europa che non è più Europa ma Eurabia e che con la sua mollezza, la sua inerzia, la sua cecità, il suo asservimento al nemico si sta scavando la propria tomba." Oriana Fallaci in Corriere della Sera, 15 September 2006. [2]
  30. ^ Estulin, Daniel. «Hacia una sociedad sin dinero en efectivo», La verdadera historia del Club Bilderberg, Barcelona, Planeta, 2005, ISBN 8484531570, pages: 175-233 (in Spanish).
  31. ^ http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=10211&fcategory_desc=Science
  32. ^ http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/weather/tsunami_bomb.htm
  33. ^ http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/1997/t042897_t0428coh.html

See also

Articles pertaining to general conspiracy theories

Articles pertaining to conspiracy theories involving Jews

Articles pertaining to Arab and Muslim conspiracy theories

Articles pertaining to the Princess Diana conspiracy theories

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