33 Conspiracy Theories that were true

[Alferd_Packer]

I'm still baffled that it was the preferred option right up until the day it was banned leaving some buildings, like the WTC, with asbestos used only in part of the building. How did those building contractors live with themselves?

In the case of the plastering company that installed the fireproofing in WTC, It was owned by John Gotti.

After the president of the company disrespected Johnny Boy in an internal dispute, they found his bullet riddled body in the trunk of a car in the WTC parking garage back in the early 1980's.

 

[Myron Proudfoot]

Ah-HAH!

In the case of the plastering company that installed the fireproofing in WTC, It was owned by John Gotti.

After the president of the company disrespected Johnny Boy in an internal dispute, they found his bullet riddled body in the trunk of a car in the WTC parking garage back in the early 1980's.

Ah-HAH! So 9-11 was a mob hit!!!

 

[Travis]

The Gleiwitz Incident?

I'd say the impact was massive, although the scope was not exactly huge.

Also, it was pretty much doubted from day 1.

Yes, and strangely this very real False Flag Attack is never on any Truther list of such alleged attacks. In fact I often find it strange how many real conspiracies are unknown to such people.

In the case of the plastering company that installed the fireproofing in WTC, It was owned by John Gotti.

After the president of the company disrespected Johnny Boy in an internal dispute, they found his bullet riddled body in the trunk of a car in the WTC parking garage back in the early 1980's.

Yikes! Glad they took him down eventually.

Is there a connection between asbestos use and the mob?

 

[Alferd_Packer]

Is there a connection between asbestos use and the mob?

Not that I know of.

Asbestos use was determined by the wide range of products available that contained asbestos.

I have never heard that Johns Manville, Raybestos, U.S. Gypsum, Armstrong, etc were owned by the mob.

 

[dudalb]

Not that I know of.

Asbestos use was determined by the wide range of products available that contained asbestos.

I have never heard that Johns Manville, Raybestos, U.S. Gypsum, Armstrong, etc were owned by the mob.

Indirectly. A lot of contracting firms in NYC were "Family Owned Businesses"
and used their power and influence..and the threats of few busted kneecaps ..to get major contracts. They used abestos like every building contractor did, but that does not mean that the Mob owned firms that made abestos, any more then they owned firms that sold cement or steel.
That several Mod owned firms got lucrative deals in the building of WTC is old news.
Though the abestos angle does give new meaning to t he term "Teflon Don".

 

[defaultdotxbe]

I've color coded the list.


Blue: Real Government conspiracy of massive scope and massive impact
Purple: Real Government conspiracy of limited scope and limited impact
Teal: Not a conspiracy, just the government being secretive
Green: Not a conspiracy, just nutbags misunderstanding what the government does
Red: Real conspiracy by private people
Orange: Not a real conspiracy, just humans being douchebags
Brown: Only real in the imaginations of nutbags

32. Big Brother or the Shadow Government

As you can see they messed up almost the entire thing. I never once had to use blue.

after reading their expansion on this i would re-color it green, they consider the Continuity of Operations Plan to be a "'government-in-waiting' that remains in waiting with the intention of taking control of a government' when its in fact a plan for the existing government to continue functioning

whats more, they think it was a big secret until 9/11, i dont know about the rest of you, but i knew about since my first grammar school social studies class

 

[Travis]

after reading their expansion on this i would re-color it green, they consider the Continuity of Operations Plan to be a "'government-in-waiting' that remains in waiting with the intention of taking control of a government' when its in fact a plan for the existing government to continue functioning

whats more, they think it was a big secret until 9/11, i dont know about the rest of you, but i knew about since my first grammar school social studies class

Since these are the same people that think FEMA is evil, that doesn't surprise me.

 

[dudalb]

Since these are the same people that think FEMA is evil, that doesn't surprise me.

And if FEMA was evil, it's performance during Hurricane Katrina shows we don't have much to worry about.

 

[McHrozni]

The plot to kill Hitler was a conspiracy, but there was no conspiracy theory about it. A conspiracy theory would be "the CIA killed JFK and used Oswald as a patsy to cover it up." The plot to kill Hitler is well known, with a film about it being made as early as 1951. Where's the conspiracy theory?

Well, the plot to kill Hitler was an essential part of a coup d'etat. By that standard, such coup, successful or not, should made on that list. Some did, like Operation Ajax, but the vast majority did not.

Moving up and down the list:
The Dreyfus affair - apparently poor court and investigative work is a conspiracy now. I wonder just how many such 'conspiracies' happen on an any given day? Obviously there were people who also tried to dunk Dreyfus, but then again, this could be said about almost any criminal case.
The Mafia - organized crime as a conspiracy? That's a major stretch. Why limit on the Mafia alone, though? There are several similar organizations worldwide.
Operation Paperclip - simply absurd. The operation amounted to actively seeking imported scientists. Virtually all countries do that nowadays.

If just one of these, or several others, is acknowledged as an actual conspiracy, then the definition of the term conspiracy needs to be broadened to such an extent that the term looses it's meaning completely.

McHrozni

 

[Meed]

Anyone want to suggest some blue type conspiracies?

It depends how you define "massive scope and massive impact". I don't see much point in making that distinction since the original list didn't make that claim. For example dismissing the Dreyfus affair as not having "massive scope and massive impact" seems kind of petty. Obviously an extremely trivial conspiracy would be a stupid example, but that one seems significant enough to be noteworthy.

Also I see no reason "private people" shouldn't count (in reference to your "red" code).

I've color coded the list.

Blue: Real Government conspiracy of massive scope and massive impact
Purple: Real Government conspiracy of limited scope and limited impact
Teal: Not a conspiracy, just the government being secretive
Green: Not a conspiracy, just nutbags misunderstanding what the government does
Red: Real conspiracy by private people
Orange: Not a real conspiracy, just humans being douchebags
Brown: Only real in the imaginations of nutbags

1. The Dreyfus Affair

I'm going to count this for reasons stated above.

2. The Mafia

Ditto.

3. MK-ULTRA

Ditto.

4. Operation Mockingbird

Ditto.

5. Manhattan Project

Total agreement with you on this one.

6. Asbestos

Agree with coding.

7. Watergate

Nixon was a "private" person when he was president? Going to count this, even though it was a totally unsuccessful conspiracy.

8. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

I'd code this orange.

9. Operation Northwoods

This was definitely a proposed conspiracy, but since it was never carried out it doesn't count.

10. 1990 Testimony of Nayirah

Since this refers to just one lie, rather than a larger campaign in mind, it's pretty borderline. Since it was done for the sake of war I'll count it just for the hell of it.

11. Counter Intelligence Programs Against Activists in the 60s

Since the government wasn't being secretive in a legal or morally justifiable fashion, this definitely counts.

12. The Iran-Contra Affair

Counting it.

13. The BCCI Scandal

Don't know enough about it, but it probably counts.

14. CIA Drug Running in LA

Not familiar with the evidence... no comment.

15. Gulf of Tonkin Never Happened

Agree with coding. Although the government was aware that they may not have actually been fired on at all, it doesn't seem that it was a planned incident, rather a seized opportunity.

16. The Business Plot

No idea.

17. July 20, 1944 Conspiracy to Assassinate Hitler

I guess this counts.

18. Operation Ajax

Counting it.

19. Operation Snow White

Counting it.

20. Operation Gladio

Counting it.

21. The CIA Assassinates A Lot Of People (Church Committee)

Counting it.

22. The New World Order

Agree with coding.

23. Kennedy Assassination

Agree with coding. No good evidence of a conspiracy here, although it's possible.

24. 1919 World Series Conspiracy

Too minor for me to care.

25. Karen Silkwood

Does seem there was a conspiracy here, although I don't know that much about it.

26. CIA Drug Smuggling in Arkansas

Not implausible, but I'm not familiar with the evidence.

27. Bohemian Grove

Agree with coding. Not in any way a conspiracy.

28. Operation Paperclip

Agree with coding. Operation Paperclip.... zzzzzzz.

29. The Round Table

Agree with coding. Appears to be woo.

30. The Illuminati

Agree with coding.

31. The Trilateral Commission

Agree with coding.

32. Big Brother or the Shadow Government

Agree with coding.

33. The Federal Reserve Bank

Agree with coding. Well, maybe not exactly, but I don't see a conspiracy.

As you can see they messed up almost the entire thing. I never once had to use blue.

Only if they adhere to your goalposts, which they never claimed to be doing. I count 15 acceptable examples, personally. Some of your choices to code things teal and green are a little disturbing to me, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised after our Vietnam debate.

 

[Meed]

seems to be a healthy mix of things exposed so soon after the fact that nutters never got a hold of it, and things the nutters only wish were true

Huh? Most of these (the ones that were actual conspiracies) weren't exposed "soon" after they happened, except for Iran-Contra and Watergate, which took a couple of years.

 

[Cl1mh4224rd]

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.

http://www.cracked.com/article_15974_p2.html

[qimg]http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/imagehosting/12044467af2cd27d18.gif[/qimg]

Wow. The Cracked.com article is titled "7 Insane Conspiracies That Actually Happened", and it inspired this person to write an article titled "33 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True, What Every Person Should Know..."?

Yeah. Clearly he either doesn't understand the difference between a conspiracy and a conspiracy theory, or this was a sad, sad attempt to boost opinion about the unrelated and wacky concept of conspiracy theories by dovetailing it with Cracked.com's article.

 

[defaultdotxbe]

Huh? Most of these (the ones that were actual conspiracies) weren't exposed "soon" after they happened, except for Iran-Contra and Watergate, which took a couple of years.

the july 20th plot to assassinate hitler was uncovered pretty much immediately after the attack

the manhattan project got a bit hard to hide after the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki

Middle East Watch published the results of its investingation less than 2 years after the Nayirah testimony (which means it must have begun the investigation much sooner than that)

the black sox scandal was admitted less than a year later, but the "fix" was fairly common knowledge even before the 1919 world series took place

the watergate breakins happened in june of 1972, the senate watergate committee began hearings in may of 1973, not even 1 year, let alone a couple of years

the arms sales in the iran contra affair began in august 1985, and were exposed just over a year later in november of 1985, so again, not a "couple of years"


compare this to things they want us to think are real conspiracies, such as 9/11, where after 8 years they cant even get 1 major media outlet to investigate it

 

[Meed]

the july 20th plot to assassinate hitler was uncovered pretty much immediately after the attack

the manhattan project got a bit hard to hide after the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki

Middle East Watch published the results of its investingation less than 2 years after the Nayirah testimony (which means it must have begun the investigation much sooner than that)

the black sox scandal was admitted less than a year later, but the "fix" was fairly common knowledge even before the 1919 world series took place

the watergate breakins happened in june of 1972, the senate watergate committee began hearings in may of 1973, not even 1 year, let alone a couple of years

the arms sales in the iran contra affair began in august 1985, and were exposed just over a year later in november of 1985, so again, not a "couple of years"


compare this to things they want us to think are real conspiracies, such as 9/11, where after 8 years they cant even get 1 major media outlet to investigate it

-BCCI: 10-20 years
-The Dreyfus affair: 12 years
-COINTELPRO: 20 years
-MK ULTRA: 25 years
-Tuskegee: 25 years
-Operation Ajax: 48 years
-Operation Snow White: 11 years
-Operation Gladio: 37 years

 

[angrysoba]

The Gleiwitz Incident?

I'd say the impact was massive, although the scope was not exactly huge.

Also, it was pretty much doubted from day 1.

Aaaaah!

Now, this is one is a bit contentious but it may have been a "false flag" and its scope is still a bit murky.

"On September 18, 1931, near Mukden (now Shenyang) in southern Manchuria, a section of railroad owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway was dynamited.[1] The Imperial Japanese Army, accusing Chinese dissidents of the act, responded with the invasion of Manchuria, leading to the establishment of Manchukuo the following year. While the responsibility for this act of sabotage remains a subject of controversy, the prevailing view is that Japanese militarists staged the explosion in order to provide a pretext for war."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukden_Incident

 

[Horatius]

The Gleiwitz Incident?

I'd say the impact was massive, although the scope was not exactly huge.

Also, it was pretty much doubted from day 1.

Aaaaah!

Now, this is one is a bit contentious but it may have been a "false flag" and its scope is still a bit murky.

"On September 18, 1931, near Mukden (now Shenyang) in southern Manchuria, a section of railroad owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway was dynamited.[1] The Imperial Japanese Army, accusing Chinese dissidents of the act, responded with the invasion of Manchuria, leading to the establishment of Manchukuo the following year. While the responsibility for this act of sabotage remains a subject of controversy, the prevailing view is that Japanese militarists staged the explosion in order to provide a pretext for war."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukden_Incident

And it's interesting to note, even with these two false flag attacks, committed by two of the most vicious governments in modern history, they still didn't go out of their way to kill their own people. Near as I can tell, only one guy was killed as part of these plots, and he was described as "a German Silesian known for sympathizing with the Poles, who had been arrested the previous day by the Gestapo."

 

[angrysoba]

And it's interesting to note, even with these two false flag attacks, committed by two of the most vicious governments in modern history, they still didn't go out of their way to kill their own people. Near as I can tell, only one guy was killed as part of these plots, and he was described as "a German Silesian known for sympathizing with the Poles, who had been arrested the previous day by the Gestapo."

Which only proves how evil Dick Cheney really is...

 

[kookbreaker]

And it's interesting to note, even with these two false flag attacks, committed by two of the most vicious governments in modern history, they still didn't go out of their way to kill their own people. Near as I can tell, only one guy was killed as part of these plots, and he was described as "a German Silesian known for sympathizing with the Poles, who had been arrested the previous day by the Gestapo."

but..but...but..you don't understaaaaaaand! The USA is the most evil government in the wooooorrrrld!!! They would kill their own people easily! I kill friends all the time on XBOX!!! So they must do it as well!!! Why don't you understaaaaaand!

/ct

 

[Horatius]

I kill friends all the time on XBOX!!! So they must do it as well!!! Why don't you understaaaaaand!

/ct

I'm not sure. Perhaps if you teabag me for a while, I'll get it!

 

[Meed]

And it's interesting to note, even with these two false flag attacks, committed by two of the most vicious governments in modern history, they still didn't go out of their way to kill their own people. Near as I can tell, only one guy was killed as part of these plots, and he was described as "a German Silesian known for sympathizing with the Poles, who had been arrested the previous day by the Gestapo."

Plenty of governments have killed their own people, but AFAIK not as false flags.