Official acknowledgement of ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’ is becoming more commonplace
After a viral video was shared massively across the internet, now the Pentagon has confirmed that the footage showing what appears to be UFOs is authentic. Even more significant is the fact that the pyramid-shaped unidentified flying objects were “stalking” the guided-missile destroyer USS Russell in coastal waters near California in July 2019.
In an interview with Fox News Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Gough said “I can confirm that the referenced photos and videos were taken by Navy personnel. The UAPTF [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force] has included these incidents in their ongoing examinations.”
“I can confirm that the referenced photos and videos were taken by Navy personnel. The UAPTF [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force] has included these incidents in their ongoing examinations.
Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Gough
“Whoever is operating these technologies are far more advanced than anything we have in the U.S. arsenal and that should be a warning sign. We need to find out the intent of the operators of these vehicles.”
Jeremy Corbell, UFO researcher and filmmaker interviewed on Fox News
The public acknowledgment of the incident, that happened near San Clemente Island, where five different U.S. warships were operating at the time, was a required act. This is due to the new provision in the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2021 which requires the U.S. to disclose what it knows about UFOs.
According to the provision the director of national intelligence (DNI) must work with the secretary of defense to create a comprehensive report of what information the U.S. government has regarding unidentified flying objects. The full report is due on June 1, 2021.
A highly sophisticated aerial display leaves doubt and open questions as to the origin of the objects
The incident that is seen in the footage involved unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or “drones”. In addition to the otherworldly appearance, the UFOs were observed flying around the U.S. warships for multiple hours, longer than would be possible based on the maximum flight time of most commercial drones currently known and available.
Highly coordinated and precise movements were also noted, raising the question of what methods of control were being utilized. Further questioned were raised by the calculated range of more than 100 nautical miles that would have been required, under conditions of very low visibility, that would have been required during the time elapsed during the encounters.
Though investigations have been conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, Nave and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the mysterious UFOs and their behavior continues to perplex.
The new openness required by the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2021 is a welcome change and more details are bound to surface regarding these phenomena. Since August 2020, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) is known to be operating and putting further official resources behind the study and analysis of UFOs and other “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”.
The growing mistrust of institutions is a breeding ground for Disinformation, Kooks and Dangerous lack of common sense
Conspiracy theories have been around as long as so called civilization, although they are not an artifact that exposes the best of our species. Typically conspiracy theories begin to form when there is fear, mistrust and anxiety, uncertainty or even feelings of powerlessness. It is no surprise that for many Americans, there are warranted reasons to hold any of the above feelings.
This has laid the groundwork for misinformation, disinformation and propaganda to hold the new name “fake news” a moniker embraced by the most fake and most blatant propagandists. You can almost hear them chanting “I know you are but what am I” like some deranged schoolyard manic. Qanon, Cults and simple ignorant lack of recognizing simple lies, such as the “Michigan Man of the Year” award Trump has repeatedly claimed to have won (there is no such award) are seemingly everywhere.
Some theories turned out to be real – such as the Watergate Conspiracy that was simply covered up, and those examples are what make it so hard, particularly for the average person, to differentiate between the “wacko” and the plausible.
The serious study of propaganda, particularly in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia is a great place to start to unravel the mess that seems to swirl all around us. Many of these, mostly simple, techniques are being reused with a digital amplifier and algorithmic acceleration.
The Future remains Fertile Ground for even more Outrageous Theories
Regardless how 2021 will soon look with US elections finalizing, becoming familiar with the “dark arts” of how to initiate, propagate and benefit from “fake news” will be highly useful going forward.
To that end, we’ve assembled some suggestions for reading and reflection on the subject. Perhaps understanding the telltale signs of misinformation can be useful even if you are not considering a career as a CIA operative or anti-propaganda czar. Or maybe the past examples of extreme theories, and how they caught the imagination of so many, can serve as entertainment for any who are fascinated by the possibility of a trip down the rabbit hole.
Click here to see “1984” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell’s prophetic, nightmare vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever.
“1984” is still the great modern classic “negative Utopia” – a startling original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing from the first sentence to the last four words.
No one can deny this novel’s power, its hold on the imagination of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions – a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.Click here to see “1984“ and help Independent Bookstores.Also available on Amazon.
Jesse Walker’s The United States of Paranoia presents a comprehensive history of conspiracy theories in American culture and politics, from the colonial era to the War on Terror.
The fear of intrigue and subversion doesn’t exist only on the fringes of society, but has always been part of our national identity. When such tales takes hold, Walker argues, they reflect the anxieties and experiences of the people who believe them, even if they say nothing true about the objects of the theories themselves.
With intensive research and a deadpan sense of humor, Jesse Walker’s The United States of Paranoia combines the rigor of real history with the punch of pulp fiction. This edition includes primary-source documentation in the form of archival photographs, cartoons, and film stills selected by the author. Click here to see “The United States of Paranoia” and help independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Nazism was deeply rooted in German culture. From the fertile soil of German Romanticism sprang ideas of great significance for the genesis of the Third Reich ideology–notions of the individual as a mere part of the national collective, and of life as a ceaseless struggle between opposing forces. This book traces the origins of the “political religion” of Nazism.
Ultra-nationalism and totalitarianism, racial theory and anti-Semitism, nature mysticism and occultism, eugenics and social Darwinism, adoration of the Fuhrer and glorification of violence–all are explored. The book also depicts the dramatic development of the Nazi movement–and the explosive impact of its political faith, racing from its bloody birth in the trenches of World War I to its cataclysmic climax in the Holocaust and World War II. Click here to see “Understanding Nazi Ideology” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Click here to see “Hidden History“ and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Starting with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Don Jeffries chronicles a wide variety of issues that have plagued our country’s history. Whether it is the assassinations of MLK and RFK, Iran-Contra, the Oklahoma City bombing, TWA Flight 800, voting fraud, or 9/11, every major disaster or war that we’ve witnessed has somehow been distorted by those who are supposed to be protecting us.
Jeffries also delves into extensive research on the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr. – and what he finds will shock you. So whether you’ve only heard bits and pieces of these stories or you’ve read several books on the topics, Hidden History is the book that belongs in every conspiracy theorist’s library, as the information included here has never been collected together in any other published work available. So sit down, strap in, and get ready to be shocked and awed by how much has been hidden by our government over the past fifty years. Updated, this version features a new introduction by political insider Roger Stone. Click here to see “Hidden History” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Reprinted to coincide with the release of the new Aaron Sorkin film, this book provides the political background of this infamous trial, narrating the utter craziness of the courtroom and revealing both the humorous antics and the serious politics involved.An afterword by the late Tom Hayden examines the trial’s ongoing relevance, and drawings by Jules Feiffer help recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the courtroom.
Opening at the end of 1969–a politically charged year at the beginning of Nixon’s presidency and at the height of the anti-war movement–the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which started out as the Chicago Eight) brought together Yippies, antiwar activists, and Black Panthers to face conspiracy charges following massive protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, protests which continue to have remarkable contemporary resonance. Click here to see “Conspiracy in the Streets” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Click here to see “Caste” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.
Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people–including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others–she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. Click here to see “Caste” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Click here to see “Chaos” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Over two grim nights in Los Angeles, the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people, including the actress Sharon Tate, then eight months pregnant. With no mercy and seemingly no motive, the Manson Family followed their leader’s every order — their crimes lit a flame of paranoia across the nation, spelling the end of the sixties.
Manson became one of history’s most infamous criminals, his name forever attached to an era when charlatans mixed with prodigies, free love was as possible as brainwashing, and utopia — or dystopia — was just an acid trip away. Twenty years ago, when journalist Tom O’Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up behind the “official” story, including police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents. Click here to see “Chaos” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Russia and others speculate on what will become of ‘Trumpusha’
When Trump leaves the White House come January 20th, he will undoubtedly have many obstacles to face, both legal and in his business concerns. Meanwhile, it still remains unclear if Trump has plans to try and preemptively pardon himself (and that point is moot since it only covers federal crimes), as he stands to face charges for numerous offenses related to fraud, tax evasion and sexual assault.
What will happen with Trump as he makes his likely final exit as president is a question on many people’s minds, including at the Kremlin, interestingly.
Russian state media have expressed concern about their dear “Trumpusha” or “Comrade Trump” as he is sometimes referred to. During a state-run TV talk show ‘Russia-1’, Olga Skabeeva brought up the “serious” possibility that the soon to be ex-President should seek asylum within Russia in order to avoid the prosecutions that will surely follow him at the end of his term.
Other Russian leaders also had more to say, such as Defense Ministry’s Public Council Igor Korotchenko, who also spoke out to defend Trump; which is reportedly a stark contrast to his traditionally combative stance toward other Western leaders.
“Russia can offer political asylum to the persecuted former president of the United States, Donald Trump. But let him not simply arrive to Rostov or elsewhere, but also transfer his capital here and finally build his famous Trump City somewhere in our New Moscow.”
Day by day the options for Trump dwindle and recede, it seems…
U.S. laws may or may not allow Trump to roam free after he is no longer protected by presidential immunity to prosecution. Yet in Russia, a country who’s laws have the ability to stretch and blur leaders’ accountability, like the constitutional amendment barring any criminal liability for Putin, should he ever step down, that was recently advanced.
The amendment that would secure immunity from any type of criminal prosecution not just within the tenure of the country’s former presidents, but lifetime criminal immunity. Which is just the kind of thing Trump might be wishing for right about now.
During the Russia-1 TV show, politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky spoke to the idea of potential last-minute surprises that could still be unveiled prior to the 20th of January.
“You don’t know Trump, he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve and can still cause lots of damage to America and the entire world.” This could be an indicator of the reason why Putin held out for as long as possible in acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden.
Ever the Trump cheerleader, Putin has some encouraging words
During an annual news conference, Putin, on center stage, spoke of Trump, future U.S.-Russia relations, as well as continued to deflect questions stemming from the long-standing allegations of Russia’s involvement with hacking and interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
When asked about the U.S. elections and what Trump’s future would hold, he seemed very optimistic on Trump’s possible future options when he said:
“He is an experienced man both in domestic and foreign policy, and we expect that all the problems that arose, or at least some of them, will be solved with the new administration. Trump, in my view, doesn’t have to find a job, almost 50% of the [US] population voted for him if we count the number of voters, not the electoral college. He has quite a large base of support in the U.S. and, as far as I understand, he is not going to leave the political life of his country.”
Dirty Politics and crazy hunt for voter fraud conspiracy ‘proof’ continues
Mark Aguirre, a former captain for the Houston Police Department (HPD) was charged with assault after running an A/C repairman off the road and then holding him at gunpoint. Aguirre was fired from HPD back in 2003 for a botched raid on illegal street racing. The reason for the violent altercation? Aguirre claimed the man was the mastermind of voter-election fraud scheme. He was nothing but an AC Repairman going about his business.
In the Fox news account, however, there was no mention of the fact that the man was not involved with ballots or the election.
According to the affidavit, the defendant stated the driver held “approximately seven hundred and fifty thousand fraudulent mail ballots and is using Hispanic children to sign the ballots because the children’s fingerprints would not appear in any databases”.
What was actually inside the A/C repairman truck? Police inspected thoroughly and found that his vehicle was filled with air conditioning parts and tools, zero ballots, nor anything resembling such items.
While the above information implies the possibility that the allegations by the defendant could have some kernel of truth behind them, they fall apart completely and show the opposite when the most glaringly important fact is omitted.
This story was first broken by the Associated Press and then picked up and expanded on by many others, including the Washington Post and, of course Fox News. The Fox News version was notable for a very significant omission: they chose not to mention that the ‘ballots” were never in the truck and there were no ballots. Here are some of the comments from the Fox News thread:
“Here is the key detail that was omitted in this description of the story: KTRK (Houston): “According to court documents, there were no ballots in the truck. The truck was filled with air conditioning parts and tools.”
The police found nothing but HVAC material in the guy’s truck. Read basically every other article on this and you will see they found ZERO BALLOTS.
The reason that Fox omits this statement of fact from the article is that they know a good percentage of their base believes in these crackpot theories. They can’t be calling out their base for being insane, so they just dance around the facts in this article so that they can avoid alienating that part of their base.
Go read some of the comments. The fact that Fox didn’t put the fact that there were no ballots in the truck is enough to make people think they DID find something but they are keeping it quiet because it’s all part of the bigger conspiracy.
It took them 2 months and they only charged him with assault. How about willful reckless driving, unlawful detainment, kidnapping, use of a weapon to commit a felony.
Fox left out part of the story that was mentioned in every Texas paper. “There were no ballots in the truck,” according to the Harris district attorney’s office press release. “It was filled with air conditioning parts and tools.” There, you have the rest of the story.
From all appearances,’crazies’ are being recruited, then go over the edge trying to fabricate “evidence”
Trump has spread so many lies about the election being “stolen”, “rigged” and riddled with “fraud”, all baseless to the point of insanity, if viewed from a sane perspective. Yet this story shows how there are always “unintended” consequences. Trump’s GOP base and MAGA followers, because of his crazy rants, have gone to ever more extreme measures to try to prove what cannot be proven, that the election was somehow corrupt.
The story is even more bizarre, once the facts emerge, such as how it was revealed Aguirre received a payment of $266,400 from a GOP mega-donor, a Houston organization, Liberty Center for God and Country.
The CEO of the organization, Steven Hotze , reportedly hired Aguirre to investigate voter fraud. Hotze sued, and was unsuccessful, in an attempt to have nearly 127,000 votes deposited at drive-thru polling sites invalidated.
Aguirre told police that he assembled a group of friends to set up a post at the Marriott hotel where they conducted 24-hour surveillance on the repairman for 4 days.
Nothing about Aguirre’s allegations matched up and the Harris Country District Attorney Office called the story “bogus”. District Attorney Kim Ogg commented “He crossed the line from dirty politics to commission of a violent crime and we are lucky no one was killed”.
On Dec. 16 he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, Aguirre can face up to 20 years in prison.
Disinformation, Kooks and Dangerous lack of common sense
Conspiracy theories have been around as long as so called civilization, although they are not an artifact that exposes the best of our species. Some theories turned out to be real – such as the Watergate Conspiracy that was simply covered up, and those examples are what make it so hard, particularly for the average person, to differentiate between the “wacko” and the plausible.
Misinformation, disinformation and propaganda are having a virtual renaissance under the name “fake news” a moniker embraced by the most fake and most blatant propagandists. You can almost hear them chanting “I know you are but what am I” like some deranged schoolyard manic. Qanon, Cults and simple ignorant lack of recognizing simple lies, such as the “Michigan Man of the Year” award Trump has repeatedly claimed to have won (there is no such award) are seemingly everywhere.
The serious study of propaganda, particularly in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia is a great place to start to unravel the mess that seems to swirl all around us. Many of these, mostly simple, techniques are being reused with a digital amplifier and algorithmic acceleration.
An Evergreen Concern, the Future is Remains Fertile Ground for even more Outrageous Theories
Regardless how 2020 and the US elections turn out, becoming familiar with the “dark arts” of how to initiate, propagate and benefit from “fake news” will be highly useful going forward.
To that end, we’ve assembled some suggestions for reading and reflection on the subject. Perhaps understanding the telltale signs of misinformation can be useful even if you are not considering a career as a CIA operative or anti-propaganda czar. Or maybe the past examples of extreme theories, and how they caught the imagination of so many, can serve as entertainment for any who are fascinated by the possibility of a trip down the rabbit hole.
Understanding Nazi Ideology: The Genesis and Impact of a Political Faith
Nazism was deeply rooted in German culture. From the fertile soil of German Romanticism sprang ideas of great significance for the genesis of the Third Reich ideology–notions of the individual as a mere part of the national collective, and of life as a ceaseless struggle between opposing forces. This book traces the origins of the “political religion” of Nazism.
Ultra-nationalism and totalitarianism, racial theory and anti-Semitism, nature mysticism and occultism, eugenics and social Darwinism, adoration of the Fuhrer and glorification of violence–all are explored. The book also depicts the dramatic development of the Nazi movement–and the explosive impact of its political faith, racing from its bloody birth in the trenches of World War I to its cataclysmic climax in the Holocaust and World War II. Click here to see “Understanding Nazi Ideology” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Hidden History: An Exposé of Modern Crimes, Conspiracies, and Cover-Ups in American Politics
Click here to see “Hidden History“ and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Starting with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Don Jeffries chronicles a wide variety of issues that have plagued our country’s history. Whether it is the assassinations of MLK and RFK, Iran-Contra, the Oklahoma City bombing, TWA Flight 800, voting fraud, or 9/11, every major disaster or war that we’ve witnessed has somehow been distorted by those who are supposed to be protecting us.
Jeffries also delves into extensive research on the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr. – and what he finds will shock you. So whether you’ve only heard bits and pieces of these stories or you’ve read several books on the topics, Hidden History is the book that belongs in every conspiracy theorist’s library, as the information included here has never been collected together in any other published work available. So sit down, strap in, and get ready to be shocked and awed by how much has been hidden by our government over the past fifty years. Updated, this version features a new introduction by political insider Roger Stone. Click here to see “Hidden History” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Eight
Reprinted to coincide with the release of the new Aaron Sorkin film, this book provides the political background of this infamous trial, narrating the utter craziness of the courtroom and revealing both the humorous antics and the serious politics involved.An afterword by the late Tom Hayden examines the trial’s ongoing relevance, and drawings by Jules Feiffer help recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the courtroom.
Opening at the end of 1969–a politically charged year at the beginning of Nixon’s presidency and at the height of the anti-war movement–the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which started out as the Chicago Eight) brought together Yippies, antiwar activists, and Black Panthers to face conspiracy charges following massive protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, protests which continue to have remarkable contemporary resonance. Click here to see “Conspiracy in the Streets” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Click here to see “Caste” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.
Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people–including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others–she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. Click here to see “Caste” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Chaos: Charles Manson, the Cia, and the Secret History of the Sixties
Click here to see “Chaos” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Over two grim nights in Los Angeles, the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people, including the actress Sharon Tate, then eight months pregnant. With no mercy and seemingly no motive, the Manson Family followed their leader’s every order — their crimes lit a flame of paranoia across the nation, spelling the end of the sixties.
Manson became one of history’s most infamous criminals, his name forever attached to an era when charlatans mixed with prodigies, free love was as possible as brainwashing, and utopia — or dystopia — was just an acid trip away. Twenty years ago, when journalist Tom O’Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up behind the “official” story, including police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents. Click here to see “Chaos” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
1984
Click here to see “1984” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell’s prophetic, nightmare vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever.
“1984” is still the great modern classic “negative Utopia” – a startling original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing from the first sentence to the last four words.
No one can deny this novel’s power, its hold on the imagination of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions – a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.Click here to see “1984“ and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
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New Ad from Lincoln Project show Trump over the edge in Laura Ingraham Interview
Yet another great Ad from the now infamous Lincoln Project. Based on a real “interview” with Laura Ingraham, the clip shows Trump muttering and conspiratorially whispering various paranoid fantasies about “people in the dark shadows” and planeloads of black uniformed “thugs” on the way to an unnamed city. “I’ll tell you sometime” is the typical con man delivery of the juicy bits that are just too hot to name…. “it’s under investigation right now”. I guess William Barr is all over that ghost plane, at this very moment…
In all seriousness, while this is well within the “logic” of Trump’s wacko talking points; that “Democrat Cities” are on fire and that he is the “Law and Order” candidate, the level of mental devolution is rising and expanding daily. Not just that the strategy exposed and unleashed at the RNC 2020 is based on projected fantasies, but this, coming on the heels of the #soupgate / #bagsofsoup clip that went viral on Twitter, is a step beyond.
