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Originally Posted by die Nullte
Oh, SpitfireIX, as you know, you've touched on one of my favorite "conspiracy" topics. I'll just have to bite my figurative tongue.
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Well, if you really want to talk about it, we can start a thread in BABBlings :-)
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This gives me a chance to slightly modify/clarify my earlier post: I'm generally skeptical of large-scale government conspiracies, particularly those involving the US Govt. Clearly ("clearly" to me, anyway) conspiracies happen. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by one; the WTC was brought down by one. But these were carried out by small groups of private individuals who can keep (for awhile) a secret, and whose commonality of purpose and sheer zeal can carry the day. But in my view the US Govt is so vast, so compartmentalized, so compromised by turf-protecting empires, so weighted down by the sheer inertia that afflicts all large bureaucracies, that it's literally impossible for the US Govt to conspire to do the things they've been accused of. NASA couldn't conspire to do an Apollo Hoax and keep it a secret if they wanted to!
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You raise a good point--when we speak of conspiracy theories, it's generally understood that we're referring to conspiracies perpetrated by governments, or similarly powerful (or allegedly powerful) organizations. But in actuality, a conspiracy only requires two people--technically, two shoplifters who plan to take turns distracting a sales clerk while the other one steals merchandise are conspiring (although it's often difficult to meet the legal standard of proof of the existance of a conspiracy in such cases).