If you’ve heard of the Disinformation website then you’ve probably heard of YOU ARE BEING LIED TO (edited by Russ Kick). For those that haven’t this is one of the most worthwhile books you ever could read. These are some of the things I learned from it:
There is no way Timothy McVeigh’s bomb could have destroyed the Murrah building alone. Bombs were placed inside the building.
In Northern Ireland the Loyalists (Protestants) are responsible for just as much violence as the IRA.
George Bush’s grandfather traded with the Nazis in World War 2.
In the war in Yugoslavia the Serbs only killed about 2,500 people altogether. They weren’t responsible for genocide or mass rape.
The Vietcong were responsible for terrible atrocities in the Vietnam War that were “airbrushed over”.
The Columbine High killings are much weirder than they are supposed to be.
World War 2 was not a “good war”. No one really cared about the Jews and President Roosevelt knew the Pearl Harbour attack was going to take place.
There are literally dozens and dozens of other incredibly interesting facts in that book. Sorry if it’s all old news to most people here and my recommendation is a waste of a thread. One thing: the opinions the book contains on Al Qaida are way off the mark. Never mind.
Sounds like an entertaining read, but are we really supposed to accept this as fact? The Serbs only killed 2,500 people during the Yugoslav wars? Listen, I’ve lived for several months in Pakrac, Croatia and spent a lot of time in Mostar, Sarajevo and Gornij Vakuf. My close friends reported out of Kosovo and I don’t even want to describe the carnage I’ve seen on videotape; warehouses full of dead, decomposing bodies. Unless I and they are part of some wide conspiracy, I wouldn’t put much creedence to it.
The Croats killed at least 2,500 people as well, and the Bosnian Muslims, same thing. The Srebrenica massacre alone netted 8,000 dead, courtesy of a UN muck-up and the Serbs. Of course, there are Websites out there which will debate the validity of this claim, even.
Since this isn’t GD, I’ll stop there.
Or am I being WHOOSHED here…it’s possible that you’re being sarcastic, but since “learned” isn’t caged in quotes at the end of your first graph, I’m not sure. I take back my statements in advance if this is the case.
I doubt only your use of the word “facts.” Facts are thing which can be proven or disproven. Conspiracy theories and rumors (two categories which IMHO cover most of the examples you listed), on the other hand, almost by definition can be neither proven nor disproven. IIRC the old winking definition of a conspiracy theory is that it must be true if you can’t disprove it.
I tend to agree with pulykamell, though. This is a thread that belongs in GD in order to be fully explored.
what you list is either false, stretched so far as to have little meaning, not new, or uninteresting. But judging by your enthusiasm, it must be a good read.
Do they actually provide any support for these “facts”? For example, I’ve seen more than one debunking of the “President Roosevelt knew Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked” crap.
This sounds like the book “Lies My Teacher Told Me” which is thought-provoking, but what he’s presenting is simply research that runs counter to conventional history. It’s interesting to hear there might be another story, but I think it would be more appropriate for the author to say “These deserve equal time, BOTH sides need to be told” instead of claiming all the counter information is the only true stuff.
There is also “Everything is undercontrol” by Robert Anton Wilson. More about conspiracy theories and sources to learn about them along with a brief overview of theories, key players, key thoughts, etc. Very amusing book, good quick reference for conspiracy stuff and a nice thing to have around the house for when you absolutely must build the great conspiracy.
Let’s see, two white middle class boys from decent families in an above average high school amass an arsenal large enough to take out a small army without their parents or any other adult knowing about it. They carefully plan a massacre as the logical answer to all their problems. They go to the school where they execute fellow students and teachers like beasts, more or less at random, taunting some of their victims before killing them. Satisfied with their efforts, they commit suicide. And you’re telling me the truth is even weirder than that? My God, this must involve Elvis and space aliens!
pulykamell: The book is a collection of articles by dissident voices like Noam Chomsky, R.U. Sirius and Douglas Rushkoff. The article on Yugoslavia is by Michael Parenti who says: to reject the demonized images of Milosevic and of the Serbian people is not to idealize them or claim that Serb forces are faultless or free of crimes. It is merely to challenge the one-sided propaganda that laid the grounds for NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia".
KneadToKnow and other people who question the facts of You are Being Lied To: I totally agree with that. Just calling someone a dissident or rogue scholar or intellectual outlaw doesn’t mean that person has a greater claim on truth than anyone else unless their claims have been rigorously examined. Their claims are almost always worth reading though.
Columbine High: The weird thing is that two years before the killings a film was made by the son of the FBI agent who eventually headed the Columbine investigation. It basically showed a “pre-enactment” of what took place on the day. Also, there seems to be a consensus of opinion that Klebold and Harris didn’t act alone and that Klebold didn’t shoot himself but was shot by someone else.
That was the result of the brainwashing of teens with serious mental issues by hollywood. The reason they were able to succeed is because they had parents who would throw money at problems instead of spending time with their kids.
This site give some good answers to the Serb numbers, if anyone cares. It is certainly more than 2500. And if offers an explanation of where that perhaps conservative number originated.
As far as the OP saying “you need this book,” I say you need Michael Shermer’s book to show you why you don’t “need this book.”