Regarding Denial of Ignorance

I thought I should post this - just to explain a few things about me. Some of you may find my posts a little anti your theories at times. Forgive me - I do this only in my pursuit of the truth.

I spent a lot of my life in academia and when dealing with the delicate subject i did - International Conflict and Racism I learnt never to judge a book by its cover.

For me a few simple checks help -

1) Check the date of posted material - its amazing how many times - "the XXX will happen in 1998" is posted here even in 2003.

2) Check the URL - sometimes documents are merely remenants of long defunct web sites whoose owners have given up on their own theories.

3) Check logs - it is astounding just how many "Conspiracy" sites died pre 9/11 - ie something happened in the real world that really brought home to the posters that seeing MIBs on every corner was a little diferent to it happening in REAL life.

That being said there are a lot of good people out there posting and you all do a good job of finding the salient ones. I guess Im just asking people to look at the material first - I offer this in best will to all of you.

I love the site and will continue to enjoy it even if you choose to ignore this post . FOr anyone enflamed enought to hate me for this - plese U2U me - lets keep the bad words out of here. For those who dont care carry on - I wont be offended.

Respectfully

Silk

nice post silk. Tryin to steer them straight eh?

And to add one item...

4) Go offline. Any main branch of any fair sized city's library system is a wealth of research information. Learn how to use it, and visit often. Librarians love people who know how to research, and will be exceptionally helpful.

LOL not really - just a few thoughts that cross my mind - for example -

the so called detention camps - web page dated 1998 - nothing said since

the so called UN vehicles - Old site - explained by UN vehicles returning from Kosovo

as for steering people clear - i prefer the phrase education - if you dont know how to look then how will you ever know what you will find. Remember the phrase see the wood from the trees - all im trying to do is clear a few trees.

nuff said ?

William - you are correct - I did my training on Primary Source in German etc . But not everyone wants to read the Pentagon Papers or the Psychological Effects of Nuclear war (as illustrated in one of my threads).

Originally posted by Quicksilver
nice post silk. Tryin to steer them straight eh?

Trying to steer people straight in a world run by the crooked?...What'll we think of next?


Still, this basically goes along with the very same idea that's been occasionally popping up...*Check your sources* in as many different ways as you can think of!

Thanks for the vote Midnight - thought this might be a cry in the wilderness

indeed,
good post,
I find that if i have anything "new" to bring to the table, I usually run it by seekerof or someone of that caliber first, otherwise, i make jokes about the old stuff.

Your not makeing a "cry in the wilderness", as you put it.

In fact, you are exactly what this e-communty is about.
In my opinion any ways. Judgeing by the replies, I'm not alone.

Originally posted by William
And to add one item...

4) Go offline. Any main branch of any fair sized city's library system is a wealth of research information. Learn how to use it, and visit often. Librarians love people who know how to research, and will be exceptionally helpful.

Excellent point William, but as is apparent here at ATS, as is with all other big message boards of this type, the internet has the "real" truth......libraries are ancient history. People easily swallow the BS feed to them, courtesy of the information highway. People seek information that they can easily chew or swallow....that they agree with, that fits their views and thier ideas, etc. Any good, decent library has access to information and data that cannot be found on the internet or is not being put on the internet for obvious reasons.....
The internet is the new age 'Bible' to kids and most people today.....and that implies that many believe what they read. The become impressioned with these ideas and when they run across information that counters these "now-engrained" ideas and beliefs.....it automatically becomes BS, a conspiracy, not fact, etc......

Yeah....I agree, anyone worth a gnats azz and is really seeking the truth or the "real" facts needs to visit a decent library and do some extensive research.....amazing the amount of information that can be found that IS NOT on the internet and shatters alot of these BS conspiracy ideas and myths...


regards
seekerof

This is all nice but don't expect the truth to be in libraries or to come from savory characters in the broad daylight in a language we can all understand.

Certain things are hidden and not easily accessible and even if we could find them we would have to wade through some sewers to get there.

That is always a constant theme in the entertainment industry and for good reason, who better knows where truth lurks?

At best you can string togther a bunch of coincidences and then come to a reasonable hypothesis using the academic method.

to each their own I say.

Advisor - I am humbled and flattered by your words. Thank you.

I try to be as objective as I can - and that does mean at times pricking balloons - sorry for that guys. But the aim of this site as i see it is to deny ignorance - and if that means deflating a Rense quote et. al. then I will continue to do it - with the mods grace.

As for librarys - TheNeo - you cant actually find everything on the net - and most of what is posted is ofton subjective - Librarys do allow access to source data not transfered to electronic media - so they cannot be discounted.

Silk,

agreed that you cannot easily find everything.

but hackers can find anything I think.

also the most current info these days is on the web period.

also anybody with access to the web in any fashion can publish on the web almost anything they want. Trouble is finding it that's all.

The web will soon take over from print at least as an informations source for many people.

I gave up on newspapers years ago. I do read them in the coffee shop etc., but I do not subscribe to them anymore.

The best source of info is from insiders, talk to people, the best source of all. You won't meet those people in your library I doubt.

Silk's correct, Neo... you can't find a lot of stuff on the Internet. There's also the Invisible Internet (which you can search) but there's lots of things in books and journals that you don't have access to... a staggering amount of material.

And while *anyone* can put up any lie on the Internet, when you deal with publishers they won't put up with nonsense. Because real people can sue if the information in a "truthful" book is false (and have sued), the publishers make any nonfiction author jump through hoops to prove their sources.

And you're overestimating the skills of hackers. There's a lot of databases on the Invisible web that they can't get to, and they couldn't find old information in old books (the Frank S Buck books on superpredators... man eating tigers. Not on the Internet -- I know, because I've looked.)

Silk, nice to see another academician here.

TheNeo thanks to contributing to this thread

I wasnt advocating only useing libraries etc but rather that we should check our sources - by all means possible. Primary source material is crucial to any analyses - and yes I agree that means talking to people involved.

Bryd - thanks for the thumbs up - likewise glad to meet another who belives through research is better than tabloid spin.

Still, the library (newspaper archives, etc) can still give you the record of history that backs up theories about current events. The data in a library may not be up-to-the-minute info, but since history repeats itself so much, you might be able to find out about similar events in history to more solidify the truth of events today.

I deliberately tried to work 'library' research into my recent debates... After all, it didn't require me to go very far during the day...

Anyways, THENEO, many libraries subscribe to online databases that are are not publicly available. The raw media itself is the internet, but the information is pulled from peer-reviewed journals. Using such resources, you can, usually, pull articles/papers at your local library from most of the world's scientific journals.

In the end, the media itself is less important than the credibility of the source... and the coherence/logic of the idea being discussed, itself. Many good ideas come from outside of the academic world, but NO idea is good just because it goes against what authorities say or says what you'd like it to say.

For all who have posted here thank you -

Im quite hertened by those of you who do agree that primary reseach helps the cause.

On that note Happy Halloween - Im off to eat some candy

Wow Silk.....I was going to say.....
Geezus dude, I went to bat for you in a "heavy way" and got no 'thanks' till now and that was a "everyone" thanks.......

No problem though....I am easily unseen and often times a unheard entity here at ATS.......

Great post and alot of great thoughts posted here by all.



regards
seekerof

[Edited on 31-10-2003 by Seekerof]

well heres a personal thanks from me

much appreciated

(want some candy ?)

no seriously i appreciate it - and will do the same for you someday