Conspiracy Theories

[kmo]

The use of the term "conspiracy theory" to paint someone as a lunatic without actually bothering to find fault with the specifics of their ideas is a pet peeve of mine. Given that we're so close to September 11th, that odious phrase, "conspiracy theory," and the laziness and dishonesty that go with it have really been stinking up the memetosphere

Comments

[toucansanctuary]

As you noted in your podcast on 9/11, it's important to understand who gains from 9/11. The same people who use the "conspiracy theory" term to isolate and discredit people are the same one who benefit from the event. Much of the frustration that we feel towards government officials is their seeming inability or unwillingness to use logic, or even make an attempt to understand the bigger picture. When you realize that their position and their livelihood are contingent upon them not understanding the big picture and by not using logic, you start to see them for what they really are.

The corporate media is our dominant mechanism for information distribution. The failure of the media to report the pertinent information, and also to deliberately omit information is how these government officials can continue to operate covertly and clandestinely. This happened because the public has lost control of the media. The media is bought and paid for by the powers that be. The only way to open our collective eyes to this situation is to open up the media. Today's media is so fortified that it's probably easier to start a media outlet from scratch. I think this is basically what Earth Intelligence Network is trying to accomplish. I listened to the first MP3 link that you posted over on the grow report forums about "open source." I remember sending an email to my mom about a year ago when I started using Linux and reporting just how robust and stable the operating system was and how many "free" software choices were out there. What's better is you have the freedom to make changes to the code. It's very similar to your creative commons license. I remember telling my mom that I wish we could import this open source framework over to our general way of living. I didn't learn about EIN until you brought it to my attention, but this is an organization that I can support and I hope it can supplant our corporate way of doing things. Ultimately, Americans are not free people. We are slaves to the rat race because we need money. Without money it's diabolically hard to meet our basic survival needs. "Property Rights" have evolved to the point where the intent isn't so much to give someone possession of an item or resource. Instead the intent is now to give someone the right and ability, under law, to preclude others from using this item....unless they pay money for a limited scope of "user-ship" rights. Have you ever actually read the license agreements for corporatized software? You paid all this money for software and ultimately, you still don't "own" it. You only have a limited right to install it on your computer, and only one machine at that. You can't make changes to the code or share it with others. For this meager ability to use this software, you pay a hefty amount of money. That system is garbage.

Wow, I've sure digressed here! Bringing this back to the main topic, open sourcing our lives and our society looks to be the best way to organize a sustainable future. As long as this movement can truly keep this "open," the government will have a hard time proving that it is a conspiracy with a threat to national security. Once this movement is large enough, it won't matter what the government thinks. I'm reminded of the movie "Serenity" (based on the TV series "Firefly"). Towards the end, we learned about the struggle of the masses to keep the "Signal" alive. This signal was an outlet for truth. Perhaps the first steps towards getting our own "signal" is by developing an open source media outlet. From what I know, the only one I'm aware of that comes close is "From the Wilderness." If you're aware of others, please let us all know.

TS