THE "CHATBOX"

[brianv]

Don't forget too that the company styling itself "the USA" is just a pimple on the arsehole of this planet! It's another display of their boundless arrogance in trying to tell the rest of the world what's good for them and what's not! ...and hypocrisy being that they export all that's evil in the world!

[Mercurial]

Bloody hell, I was about to start a mild defense of wiki but thought I better check something out first, thank bollocking bastards I did!

Frankin Scandal. When I first checked this article it was quite a complete piece and though it had the word hoax through it, it at least covered the related facts of the allegations and made reference to the never-aired Granada TV documentary and DeCamp's book etc, as well as references to the deaths of so many involved in the prosecution of the case including former FBI director William Colby.

I checked the article early last year and the word hoax was gone - the implication was that there had in fact been a cover up - hence my inclination to jump to their defense.

Just looked again and article's barely there at all.

Looking at the history is fascinating - a war has been waging there on this one for years. And boy have the naysayers won. (Although I don't really understand how the deletionpedia site works it does say that a wiki article with more than 200 alterations should be on there - there must be over 1,000 changes to this one, there's way over 200 last year alone - and nothing. I think perhaps the fact the article's title has changed so many times confused the delete detection bots. ???)

Nice one wiki, covering up a cover up. I am now happily firmly back in the I hate Wickedpedia camp! A joke indeed, and a very poor joke at that.

On a positive note I saw somewhere that schools are banning citations from wiki pages. That sends puts a pretty good message out there not to trust the pigs.

[fbenario]

An excellent article I recommend to all of you:

The New American Divide

The ideal of an 'American way of life' is fading as the working class falls further away from institutions like marriage and religion and the upper class becomes more isolated. Charles Murray on what's cleaving America, and why.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... P_review_0

Hoi, I think you will agree with certain of his proposals near the end, which focus on the need for society to have a cooperative aspect.

(I trust none of us share his moralizing about those less fortunate.)

[pdgalles]

Since mid-January the BBC has presented its more discerning, intellectual viewers (I'm not being sarcastic here) with the following multi-part docu-series. The timing is... coincidental?

*

Putin, Russia and the West

How the great Soviet superpower, crushed and humiliated, has been resurrected in the form of Vladimir Putin's new Russia.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b434y

*

Sicily Unpacked

Art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon teams up with chef Giorgio Locatelli to embark on a journey around Sicily.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019f8vm

*

Jonathan Meades on France

Jonathan Meades scrutinises the 95 per cent of France that Brits drive through and don't notice en route to the 5 per cent that conforms to their expectation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b1gg4

*

Europe's Choice [forthcoming]

Allan Little looks at key moments and issues that brought the EU to the current crisis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b8xvy

*

Earthflight (Europe episode)

FIRST BROADCAST: 12 Jan 2012

Earthflight departs on its grand European tour, using a host of techniques including taking extraordinary footage from microlites as they fly alongside imprinted birds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019j59m

*

The Crusades

The story of the Crusades is remembered as a tale of religious fanaticism and unspeakable brutality, but using fresh evidence, Dr Thomas Asbridge re-examines this medieval drama.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b3fpw

*

Too many here to choose from but these were all broadcast prior to Captain Rollerskate's shenanigans: http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/schedule/?page=2&q=cruise

Edit: added url.

Sorry! for derailing the Costa thread.

[simonshack]

Sorry! for derailing the Costa thread.

No problem. I just moved this post of yours to the chatbox - hope you don't mind.

[fbenario]

Onions, anyone?

Congress Passes Natural Disaster Digital-Enhancement Funding

July 9, 1997

WASHINGTON, DC—Congress approved legislation Monday allocating more than $30 billion for digital enhancement of natural disasters. "It's bad enough losing loved ones to a volcano," Sen. Mike Dewine (R-OH) said, "without also being underwhelmed by bland, unimpressive disaster footage." Under the new law, all future tornados, mudslides, earthquakes, and other natural disasters must be rendered in the highest-resolution, most state-of-the art manner possible. The legislation comes just in time to satisfy critics of the recent floods in Texas, panned by many as "fake-looking" and "a B-grade disaster, at best." Congress is also debating whether to fund an $180 million remastering of 1979's Hurricane David in time for a 20th-anniversary re-release.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/congre ... emen,4252/

[pdgalles]

Onions, anyone?

Hmm, is the Onion for telling the public the truth in a jokey, Daily Show-like manner, or just more conspiracy-feeding, mocking-the-public nonsense?

Anyway, good find. Here's some more:

*

Pre 9/11:

Shi'ite Terrorists Cross County Line
MAY 7, 1997 | ISSUE 31•17
http://www.theonion.com/articles/shiite-terrorists-cross-county-line,1636/

U.S. Populace Lurches Methodically Through The Motions For Yet Another Day
MARCH 31, 1999 | ISSUE 35•12
http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-populace-lurches-methodically-through-the-motio,758/

Brutality-Desensitization Process Nearly Complete
MAY 5, 1999 | ISSUE 35•17
http://www.theonion.com/articles/brutalitydesensitization-process-nearly-complete,734/
"The human mind's ability to be disturbed by such atrocities, the study found, will most likely vanish from the American psyche by the summer of 2001, if not sooner."

Insurance Executive Fakes Own Life
APRIL 12, 2000 | ISSUE 36•13
http://www.theonion.com/articles/insurance-executive-fakes-own-life,1497/

*

Post 9/11:

HOROSCOPE
09.12.01 | ISSUE 37•32
http://www.theonion.com/articles/horoscope-for-the-week-of-september-12-2001,11650/
"Aries
You will receive frightening news regarding the U.N.'s Council For The Prevention Of Nuclear Terrorism. For one thing, it doesn't exist."

Neverland Ranch Investigators Discover Corpse Of Real Michael Jackson
MARCH 16, 2005 | ISSUE 41•11
http://www.theonion.com/articles/neverland-ranch-investigators-discover-corpse-of-r,1303/

U.S. Dollar Drops Against Counterfeit U.S. Dollar
FEBRUARY 25, 2007 | ISSUE 43•09
http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-dollar-drops-against-counterfeit-us-dollar,5609/

Smart, Qualified People Behind the Scenes Keeping America Safe: 'We Don't Exist'
AUGUST 25, 2010 | ISSUE 46•34
http://www.theonion.com/articles/smart-qualified-people-behind-the-scenes-keeping-a,17954/

Construction Complete On 9/11 Truther Memorial
SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 | ISSUE 46•36
http://www.theonion.com/articles/construction-complete-on-911-truther-memorial,18034/

Edit: added bold.

[reel.deal]

.

[pdgalles]

U.S. Not Planning To Attack Iran, Says U.S. Iran War Czar
MARCH 12, 2008 | ISSUE 46•26 ISSUE 44•11
http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-not-planning-to-attack-iran-says-us-iran-war-cz,6058/
"...Jacobs said while studying a video simulation of what a wide-scale assault on Iran would look like."

FBI: Terrorist Attack On Golden Gate Bridge May Have Been Green-Screened
JUNE 2, 2009 | ISSUE 45•23
http://www.theonion.com/articles/fbi-terrorist-attack-on-golden-gate-bridge-may-hav,2737/
"We are looking into the possibility that the noticeable hole in the top right-hand corner of the sky might not have been a naturally occurring phenomenon," Mueller said. "But, until we are certain, I advise all Americans to stay alert. If digital imagery was not behind 5/16, there is still a 2,000-foot moth out there capable of creating a mushroom cloud that looks exactly like the one at Hiroshima."

U.S. Authorities Can't Really Fault Al-Qaeda For Deadly Bombing Of Carnival Cruise Ship
'Those Things Represent Everything That's Wrong With America,' Officials Say
FEBRUARY 9, 2011 | ISSUE 47•06
http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-authorities-cant-really-fault-alqaeda-for-deadl,19105/
"Thus far, Americans have praised President Obama's calm in the wake of the tragedy. According to a CNN poll, 95 percent of U.S. citizens who wouldn't be caught dead on a cruise ship said he made the right decision to continue reading to schoolchildren upon hearing news of the blast."

[simonshack]

FBI: Terrorist Attack On Golden Gate Bridge May Have Been Green-Screened
JUNE 2, 2009 | ISSUE 45•23
http://www.theonion.com/articles/fbi-terrorist-attack-on-golden-gate-bridge-may-hav,2737/

I don't know if I should laugh at this ... but I'm afraid I just did!

"For now, it appears as if the terrorists have yet to master this technology," the president said. "But as they get better at handling larger composites and become more familiar with Final Cut Pro 6, these attacks will begin to look more realistic. We must work together to make sure that state-of-the-art editing bays and studio spaces do not fall into terrorist hands."

"If that happens, they could theoretically destroy the world," Obama added. "I hear you can do almost anything with that stuff these days."
http://www.theonion.com/articles/fbi-te ... -hav,2737/

[pdgalles]

Genocide Is Such A Harsh Word
BY GEN. MYANAUNG PHAUK
MAY 31, 2000 | ISSUE 36•20
http://www.theonion.com/articles/genocide-is-such-a-harsh-word,10797/

"Now, if you'd be so kind as to leave me be–perhaps until about, oh, September 2001–I have some important business to attend to."

*

New Oliver Stone 9/11 Film Introduces 'Single Plane' Theory
AUGUST 8, 2006 | ISSUE 42•32
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-oliver-stone-911-film-introduces-single-plane,2017/

"According to the film, at 8:46 a.m., a lone commercial airliner flew diagonally through the North Tower of the World Trade Center, maintained a circular holding pattern for approximately 17 minutes, then struck the South Tower before heading to the Pentagon.

After its collision with the center of American military operations, the so-called "magic plane"—which variously and ingeniously identified itself to air-traffic controllers as "American Airlines Flight 11," "United Airlines Flight 175," "American Airlines Flight 77" and "United Airlines Flight 93"—took to the skies once again, landing at a top-secret "black-ops" Air Force base in West Virginia, where it was reloaded with a group of clones from another shadowy government program that Stone described as "shocking.""

*

Giuliani To Run For President Of 9/11
FEBRUARY 21, 2007 | ISSUE 43•08
http://www.theonion.com/articles/giuliani-to-run-for-president-of-911,2152/

"Giuliani's pro-9/11 message seems to be resonating with potential voters. Said Ames, IA voter Alan Benoit: "I remember seeing Rudolph Giuliani's face, on television, saying reassuring things during a highly emotional moment filled with fear and confusion. He's got my vote.""

*

Continental Sports Channel To Hold 10th Anniversary Memorial Service For 'Sports Night' Employees Killed On 9/11
SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 | ISSUE 47•37
http://www.theonion.com/articles/continental-sports-channel-to-hold-10th-anniversar,21316/

"Sports Night was an American television series about a fictional sports news show also called Sports Night."

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

[pdgalles]

Terrorist Bomb Not Defused In Thrilling, Suspense-Packed Final Minutes
DECEMBER 1, 1999 | ISSUE 35•44
http://www.theonion.com/articles/terrorist-bomb-not-defused-in-thrilling-suspensepa,610/

LONDON—An action-packed chase through the subway tunnels beneath London's famed Victoria Station, culminating in a climactic, pulse-pounding fight sequence atop a speeding double-decker bus, did not occur Monday, when a terrorist bomb exploded on a crowded downtown bus after not being defused at the very last moment.

The bombing, which killed 22 and seriously injured at least 30 more, ranks among the worst incidents of terrorism to hit London in years and was not presented in THX digital Surroundsound.

*

Manifesto Coming Along Fine
APRIL 14, 1999 | ISSUE 35•14
http://www.theonion.com/articles/manifesto-coming-along-fine,750/

LIBBY, MT—Ken Hausch, a Libby-area Luddite separatist and conspiracy theorist, announced Monday that his much-anticipated manifesto, My Lonely Battle Against The Mind-Control Slavery Of The Illuminati And Its Footmen In The CIA, KGB, U.N., Vatican, NASA, IRS, AT&T, Federal Reserve, Disney, The Order Of Skull & Bones, And The Rosicrucians, is "coming along fine" and should be completed by fall of this year.

*

Terror Experts Warn Next 9/11 Could Fall On Different Date
JANUARY 6, 2009 | ISSUE 45•02
http://www.theonion.com/articles/terror-experts-warn-next-911-could-fall-on-differe,2633/

At the conclusion of the press conference, Chertoff urged Americans not be alarmed by the recent news, and to continue living their lives as they have for the last seven years—with the crippling fear that at any moment they, or someone they love, could die in a fiery inferno.

*

Cheney Vows To Attack U.S. If Kerry Elected
OCTOBER 13, 2004 | ISSUE 40•41
http://www.theonion.com/articles/cheney-vows-to-attack-us-if-kerry-elected,1234/

"A war against Dick Cheney would be a long, hard struggle," Bush said. "It would be a difficult battle against a shadowy nemesis who is able to hide among us, loves only death and destruction, and hates our freedom. I have the experience, the leadership, and the Republican nomination required to protect us all—myself and my family included—from Dick Cheney."

*

Saddam Hussein Steps Down Following Sex Scandal
AUGUST 12, 1998 | ISSUE 34•02
http://www.theonion.com/articles/saddam-hussein-steps-down-following-sex-scandal,526/

"What does it matter if President Hussein lifted a woman's veil?" countered Abdul Kifri, a Ba'qubah rice farmer. "The important thing is that he is doing a good job leading Iraq. As long as unemployment is low, crime is down, and the weapons-inspecting U.N. infidel pig dogs are kept away from our secret underground chemical-weapons plants, who cares what the president does in his private life?"

*

Actual Expert Too Boring For TV
MAY 4, 2005 | ISSUE 41•18
http://www.theonion.com/articles/actual-expert-too-boring-for-tv,1764/

Salters was not impressed.

"[Canton] went on like that for six... long... minutes," Salters said. "Fact after mind-numbing fact. Then he started spewing all these statistics about megawatts and the nation's current energy consumption and I don't know what, because my mind just shut off. I tried to lead him in the right direction. I told him to address the fears that the average citizen might have about nuclear power, but he still utterly failed to mention meltdowns, radiation, or mushroom clouds."

"I'm sure he knows what he's talking about," Salters added. "But we have a responsibility to educate and entertain our viewers. In the end, we had to go with someone else."

*

We Must All Do Our Part To Preserve This Climate Of Fear
BY M. WILLARD THORNTON
JANUARY 30, 2008 | ISSUE 44•05
http://www.theonion.com/articles/we-must-all-do-our-part-to-preserve-this-climate-o,11363/

You may say, "I am only one person. What can I do?" But all of our efforts are needed if we are to maintain a state of constant anxiety. We can all do more, but here is a good starting place: Twice a week, for at least 15 minutes, take the time to worry about any Muslims who may live in your area; lose sleep each night thinking about our thousands of miles of unguarded borders; stock up on water bottles and canned goods for no discernible reason other than that vague sense that civilization will collapse any second; as the election heats up, be sure to support candidates whose rhetoric appeals to your base survival instincts and fight-or-flight reflexes rather than to your hopes and dreams.

*

UPDATE: Giant Bin Laden Destroys New York, Washington
500-Foot Terrorist Emerges From Sea To Wreak Havoc On U.S.
MAY 25, 2011 | ISSUE 47•21
http://www.theonion.com/articles/update-giant-bin-laden-destroys-new-york-washingto,20536/

"There were all these soldiers shooting at him, but he was relentless," Kushner said. "Just smashing and smashing. It's like he killed 3,000 people on 9/11 and finally came back for everyone else."

"Isn't that fucker supposed to be dead?" added Kushner, who told reporters she would never forget looking out her office window on the 72nd story of a Midtown skyscraper and seeing nothing but bin Laden's enormous eye looking back at her. "Why isn't he dead?"

*

THE ONION NEWS NETWORK CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR EAST COAST EARTHQUAKE AND HURRICANE
August 26, 2011
http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-onion-news-network-claims-responsibility-for-e,21307/

For decades The Onion News Network has been developing a machine called the DXG-479, also known as the Disastronome XG-479, designed to create natural disasters at will. The science behind the machine is too complicated for most Americans to understand, but suffice to say it involves thousands of hydraulic pistons buried deep in the Earth's crust, harnessing the gravitational pull of the moon. This week the world saw the results of The Onion News Network’s initial tests of the Disastronome.

The purpose of building this machine is obvious: It will allow The Onion News Network to become even more dominant as the world's number-one cable news channel.

*

Police: Student Had Embarrassingly Bad Plans For School Shooting
NOVEMBER 10, 2011 | ISSUE 47•45
http://www.theonion.com/articles/police-student-had-embarrassingly-bad-plans-for-sc,26593/

Saying he was not surprised Beyer was unable to recruit a second shooter for the attempted killing spree, Chief Holman told reporters the least the young student could have done was arm himself with something more than an eight-round handgun and a single clip of extra ammunition.

The thought of detonating a pipe bomb in the teacher's lounge before class or the cafeteria at lunchtime seems never to have occurred to Beyer, police sources confirmed.

[simonshack]

*
KIND REQUEST TO ALL CLUESFORUM MEMBERS

Dearest Cluesforum members,

The following is my request for thoughtful advice (especially from long-time members) as to how to best keep this forum online for the foreseeable future (and ideally, forever!). As most of you will know (and hopefully have appreciated for many years), I have made freely available ever since 2007 - when I released September Clues on the web - the full bulk of my endeavours aimed principally at exposing our planet's corrupt media machine. This has been enormously rewarding on many levels but - as you may well imagine, certainly not so on the financial one. All along, for about five years now, I have strived to uphold this idealistic stance - as a matter of principle - and in order to avoid having people say/think that "I'm in it for the money"- which I'm not. As it is, I have been investing considerable amounts of my time and personal savings to keep doing what I do - helped along now and then, I hasten to say, by a few donators - to whom I wish to send, here and now, my warm appreciation. However, and not to drag on about my personal financial predicament, in the last year or so it has become a bit tougher for me to make ends meet - a situation brought about by disagreeable family matters - the details of which I'm certainly not going to bore you with.

As I write this, I'd like you to know that I haven't even yet consulted with my fellow administrators about this - at this moment all I'm asking is for general advice from all members of this forum's community as to how to make Cluesforum at least self-finance itself - and ideally also allow the undertaking of various initiatives to further and improve our research efforts - and their diffusion.

Now, I remember discussing this in 2009 with Hoi Polloi - as he was staying in my house putting together the Vicsim Report. We both agreed - at the time - that to allow advertising banners in the forum was pretty much a no-no, for a number of reasons that, well, I don't think I need to spell out. However, perhaps - maybe - this option could be reassessed, on the conditions (which I simply don't know if they are available) that the advertising clients can somehow be 'selected/filtered': we don't want FOX NEWS to promote their latest TV soap-opera here. Or...maybe WE DO? Come to think of it, that would be marvellously ironic!

Another option (although perhaps equally off-putting/annoying) would be to do what I just discovered the Onion people are doing. After I visited the place a number of times, this pop-up banner came up:

Subscribe Now
Thanks for visiting theonion.com.
You have arrived at your 30-day allowance of 5 free premium pages from America's Finest News Source. If you enjoy our probing and analytical journalism and want full access, we ask that you support our hardworking reporters by purchasing a subscription for as low as $2.95/ month or $29.95/ year.

Now - that's a tad steep, I'd say: $29.95/ year for "America's Finest News Source" - yeah, 'fine' it may be- but it's still just for a laugh or two!

So anyway, folks - please understand I am only at the stage of exploring ways of keeping this forum running smooth and strong - and also to forestall possible future dramas (Gawd forbid!) such as, for instance, some rogue clampdown on forums such as ours, forcing us to set up our own autonomous server station - with all the extra expenses that this would entail.

I will highly appreciate anyone's suggestions/opinions on this (non-urgent) issue.

[kansasinnovember]

*
KIND REQUEST TO ALL CLUESFORUM MEMBERS

Dearest Cluesforum members,

The following is my request for thoughtful advice (especially from long-time members) as to how to best keep this forum online for the foreseeable future (and ideally, forever!). As most of you will know (and hopefully have appreciated for many years), I have made freely available ever since 2007 - when I released September Clues on the web - the full bulk of my endeavours aimed principally at exposing our planet's corrupt media machine. This has been enormously rewarding on many levels but - as you may well imagine, certainly not so on the financial one. All along, for about five years now, I have strived to uphold this idealistic stance - as a matter of principle - and in order to avoid having people say/think that "I'm in it for the money"- which I'm not. As it is, I have been investing considerable amounts of my time and personal savings to keep doing what I do - helped along now and then, I hasten to say, by a few donators - to whom I wish to send, here and now, my warm appreciation. However, and not to drag on about my personal financial predicament, in the last year or so it has become a bit tougher for me to make ends meet - a situation brought about by disagreeable family matters - the details of which I'm certainly not going to bore you with.

As I write this, I'd like you to know that I haven't even yet consulted with my fellow administrators about this - at this moment all I'm asking is for general advice from all members of this forum's community as to how to make Cluesforum at least self-finance itself - and ideally also allow the undertaking of various initiatives to further and improve our research efforts - and their diffusion.

Now, I remember discussing this in 2009 with Hoi Polloi - as he was staying in my house putting together the Vicsim Report. We both agreed - at the time - that to allow advertising banners in the forum was pretty much a no-no, for a number of reasons that, well, I don't think I need to spell out. However, perhaps - maybe - this option could be reassessed, on the conditions (which I simply don't know if they are available) that the advertising clients can somehow be 'selected/filtered': we don't want FOX NEWS to promote their latest TV soap-opera here. Or...maybe WE DO? Come to think of it, that would be marvellously ironic!

Another option (although perhaps equally off-putting/annoying) would be to do what I just discovered the Onion people are doing. After I visited the place a number of times, this pop-up banner came up:

Subscribe Now
Thanks for visiting theonion.com.
You have arrived at your 30-day allowance of 5 free premium pages from America's Finest News Source. If you enjoy our probing and analytical journalism and want full access, we ask that you support our hardworking reporters by purchasing a subscription for as low as $2.95/ month or $29.95/ year.

Now - that's a tad steep, I'd say: $29.95/ year for "America's Finest News Source" - yeah, 'fine' it may be- but it's still just for a laugh or two!

So anyway, folks - please understand I am only at the stage of exploring ways of keeping this forum running smooth and strong - and also to forestall possible future dramas (Gawd forbid!) such as, for instance, some rogue clampdown on forums such as ours, forcing us to set up our own autonomous server station - with all the extra expenses that this would entail.

I will highly appreciate anyone's suggestions/opinions on this (non-urgent) issue.

Simon.I don't think anyone could argue with the fact that if anyone deserves to be rewarded it should be you and your administrators who support you in your tireless work.As you say you don't want to be judged in the same way as all the others who seem to be profitting from the fraud of 9/11,7/7 & others,maybe a donation button on the septemberclues & cluesforum sites making it clear that money raised will be used purely for the upkeeping of the sites & that any profit would be donated to orphaned kids in Iraq & Afghanistan.
Whatever course of action you decide to take i hope it goes well and is a success.
Wouldn't mind a septemberclues T-Shirt for starters....Dave

[fbenario]

Another option (although perhaps equally off-putting/annoying) would be to do what I just discovered the Onion people are doing. After I visited the place a number of times, this pop-up banner came up:

Subscribe Now
Thanks for visiting theonion.com.
You have arrived at your 30-day allowance of 5 free premium pages from America's Finest News Source. If you enjoy our probing and analytical journalism and want full access, we ask that you support our hardworking reporters by purchasing a subscription for as low as $2.95/ month or $29.95/ year.

I'm surprised you got this popup. I look at The Onion every day, and have never gotten a popup asking me to subscribe.

EDIT: It seems likely that any corporate entity that pays to advertise here could possibly be a Trojan Horse, figuring that once we get used to the steady flow of ad dollars, they could tell us what to do and not do, threatening to pull their funding if we refuse.