9/11 CultWatch

Welcome To The 9/11 Cultwatch Blog

Thank you for visiting the 9/11 Cultwatch blog.

We have watched with alarm the spread of the 9/11 'truth' movement. We oppose its venal analysis, lazy research, dubious politics and the anti-semitism that lies at its core. Unopposed these ideas will spread - the 'truth' movement has already spawned a ginger headed stepson - the 7/7 'truth' movement - other flawed campaigns will no doubt follow.

From the e mails and personal approaches we are receiving, it is obvious that the message of 9/11 Cultwatch is spreading.

You too can help us. We value information on 'truth' activities. If you have a blog or website, why not link to this site? Lacking the financial backing of wealthy cranks like Jimmy Walter or Belinda Mckenzie, means this blog takes adverts to pay its way. If you see any Google Ads here that interest you - click on them. We earn money from that.

Finally 9/11 Cultwatch will consider approaches to speak at conferences, public meetings and to the media about the 9/11 'truth' movement and its offshoots. Feel free to get in touch.

You can follow me, this blog and the I Intend To Escape blog on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/MrPaulStott

Boston Conspiracy Theories: Apprentice Bites Sorcerer

It seems Webster Griffin Tarporley really has outgrown Lyndon LaRouche, as this tweet on the alleged perpetrators of the Boston bombings illustrates: 

 

#Boston: Even the chickens know #CIA sponsors #Chechen terrorism vs #Russia-but not #LaRouche, who blames #UK & #Saudi, whitewashes #Langley

— WebsterGTarpley (@WebsterGTarpley) April 24, 2013

Still you have to give Lyndon LaRouche full marks for consistency - as per usual it is all the Brits fault!

Boston, Infowars, and Skulls

The Boston terrorist attacks and their dramatic aftermath has demonstrated that truth activists, when in situ, are still capable of taking the ball and running with it. In this case, in ever decreasing circles. 

This brief article will focus on one example of this - the linking of private security company Craft International to the attacks, most prominently on the Info Wars website run by arch American conspiracist Alex Jones. This appears to be conducted solely on one tenuous strand - that two men were seen in the crowd at the Boston Marathon carrying rucksacks and one is wearing a logo on his clothing of Craft International. 

Alex Gucciardi, who wrote the 18 April 2013 Infowars piece, produces within it pictures of two men carrying rucksacks in this notorious article. A plain white skull on a black background is apparently seen on one of the men's caps:

The first problem with this approach is that it is not exactly the same logo as that of Craft International. Here is their logo:

The wording which appears in the Craft logo is absent from that of the man in Boston. 

Perhaps anticipating this, Gucciardi also informs us that Craft International's Chris Kyle sports the exact same logo in this picture from the Craft International website:

It is not exactly the same, but even if he does. So what? 

Just to show that Twitter can be used for countering, as well as spreading nonsense, I am grateful to @tanith for informing me that the logo on the man's cap is that of The Punisher comic book hero. Here is The Punisher logo:

Something very similar is also used by several figures in the music business. Consider Underground Resistance or Metalheadz:

We might even add video game Resistance 3:

Of course Infowars does not state that Craft International carried out the Boston bombings. They do not need to - the inference is enough, in conspiracist circles, to set that particular hare running. And all the evidence needed to do this? 

One man, carrying a large backpack, wearing a logo that is similar to Craft International's. And Resistance 3. And Metalheadz. And Underground Resistance. But that is actually the logo of The Punisher. 

Conspiracy Theory: The Times Gets It

The Times today ran a front page, editorial and page 4 article on Labour peer Baron Ahmed of Rotherham.

In an interview with a Pakistani TV station, Lord Ahmed has allegedly blamed his prison sentence for dangerous driving in 2009 on a Jewish conspiracy, brought about because of his work in support of the Palestinians. He appears to have believed a Judge was sent from London to sentence him as a result of pressure from Jews.

As so often with such arguments, the facts are somewhat different. The judge who sentenced Ahmed, Mr Justice Wilkie, was the Presiding Judge of the North East Circuit. Encouragingly, in its editorial The Times demonstrates that it actually grasps that what often appears to be merely conspiracist nonsense actually has a political impact :

"There will not be lasting peace in the Middle East with a just settlement between a sovereign Palestine and a secure Israel while conspiracy theories about the Jews are disseminated. Inoculating young and impressionable British Muslims from the theocratic hatreds of al-Qaeda requires the confronting of hoary anti-semitic myths. How shameful, how scandalous that a British parliamentarian should be promoting them."

 

 

 

Fight Terrorism - Boycott The Licence Fee?

There are lots of sound arguments for boycotting the BBC's licence fee.

Perhaps the easiest to make is that it is a regressive tax - everyone pays the same, regardless of their income or ability to pay. As the licence is compulsory for all households watching television or TV programmes via a computer, we all pay the same whether we want to watch the BBC or not. Thirdly the BBC as an institution represents a rather narrow cultural elite - overwhelmingly middle class and London based, it grows fat on money taken from working class licence payers across the whole of the United Kingdom.
Perfectly sensible alternatives, such as the abolition of the licence fee and the BBC becoming a subscription service, exist. There is also an e-petition against the licence fee.

For the 9/11 Truth movement, such sensible arguments are of course irrelevant. The text below comes from the latest kick-start to Ian Henshall's Reinvestigate 9/11 campaign:

Congratulations to Anthony Rooke of Christians for 9/11 Truth. Anthony is refusing to pay his TV license on the grounds that, by suppressing the truth about 9/11, the BBC is aiding and abetting terrorism. Under Section 15 Article 3 of the draconian Terrorism Act 2000, if there is any possibility that you might be aiding terrorism you are obliged to refuse. 

The outline of Tony's case has been accepted as arguable, and a full hearing is scheduled for the morning of Monday 25 February at Magistrates' Court, Horsham, West Sussex in front of a judge.

Sadly we are not told who has 'accepted the outline of Tony's case is arguable' - presumeably someone who takes the view the taxpayers has limitless funds to entertain conspiracy theorists. It seems 25th February will bring some of the truth movements 'stars' to Horsham - Niells Harrit and Ian Henshall are both poised to give 'evidence'. Sadly, as with any truth movement intervention, the biggest fear for activists is not the state but the potential problems posed by other activists. Reinvestigate 9/11's email warns:

"You are invited to attend and respectfully show support for Tony. Please do not assume the judge is biased against us. Even if he finds against Tony he may make comments which could be very useful in confronting the BBC Trust."

There are plenty of things the BBC Trust should be worrying about. The BBC's coverage of 9/11 is not one of them.

 

It's The End of the World As We Know It

............and I feel fine.

Come on all you Mayan conspiracy buffs, do you worst!

 

9/11: Croydon North Speaks

Good morning to Simon Lane, who wakes up this morning £500 worse off, after losing his deposit in yesterday's Croydon North by-election. 

Standing as Simon Lane: 9/11 Was An Inside Job, Mr Lane came 11th out of 12 candidates, and scored a massive 66 votes - or 0.27%. He was saved from the embarrasment of coming bottom by beating the Young People's Party by three votes. 

Full marks though to Croydon Today, who interviewed Mr Lane and manged not to ask him a single question on 9/11, but instead to focus on his views on an incinerator on the Croydon/Sutton border and youth unemployment in the constituency! 

 

Health Conspiracies In Africa

If it were just people talking about UFO's, it would not really matter. But conspiracy theories can be a serious business, especially when they effect the take up of immunisation programmes, or medical treatment.  

On Tuesday 13 November the London School of Economics hosts a discussion "Conspiracies, Distrust and Suspicions of Health Programmes in Africa". The event is free, and is scheduled from 6.30 - 8pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House. The suggested twitter hashtag for the evening is #LSEAfrica.

The Fatal Flaw In Conspiracy Road Trip

Can anyone spot what is wrong in the following sentence, from the Sunday Times Culture magazine?

In a preview of Monday evening's Conspiracy Road Trip: UFO's on BBC3 at 9pm, we are told about a Swindon man storing food in case of alien invasion: 
"He is one of five Brits here who believe in extra-terrestorial encounters, conspiracy theories or official cover-ups about monsters. Will a journey to America and reasoned argument change their minds?"

With the probable exception of Pakistan, no country in the world is as receptive to conspiracy theories as the United States. What I don't get about conspiracy road trip is that in this series they look to challenge and/or debate the beliefs of those who accept creationism, 9/11 conspiracy theories or UFO's. And they do that by taking adherents to ................ the home of those belief systems, where they are more likely to be reinforced than critically discussed.

Still, it's a nice trip for the BBC staff involved. 

London 2012: The False Flag That Did Not Fly

The email below was posted to my University of East Anglia account on the 31 July 2012, from the email address anonymous@freeanons.org

You can find out more about the ostensibly useful work of the Freeanons website here.

Needless to say, the predicted false flag attack during the Olympics did not happen, although the amount of times the word 'may' appears at key stages below indicates this individual was rather hedging their bets. Some may be relieved that the alleged G4S plans to evacuate London did not need to be enacted!

Hopefully, 9/11 Cultwatch's publication of this email will give 'anonymous' the posterity their work deserves:

Multiple indicators suggest that the 2012 London Olympics may be used as a stage for false flag operations: the environment is primed for insider attacks, the security plans are flawed, and the threat indicators match other false flag attacks.

Large amounts of troops, contractors, and weapons may provide cover for insider agents to carry out attacks at the 2012 London Olympics. Excessive amounts of force and materiel combined with the last minute changes provide a chaotic environment in which equipment may be staged to carry out terrorist attacks. Such a chaotic environment is also ideal for subversive agents that have security credentials to operate in, because it provides them with cover stories for their activities and possible inconsistencies in their behavior.

Security plans for the 2012 London Olympics are flawed. An independent investigation of the G4S security contractor by Ben Fellows has revealed that the company is implementing measures that are inconsistent with their stated security objectives. G4S is reported to have 200000 casket linings on standby - a measure that indicates a plan to fail at security. G4S is reported to have plans for evacuating London - another indicator of planned failure. G4S is well documented as failing to provide adequate security staff. The combination of these factors suggests that instead of providing qualified security staff to prevent attacks, G4S has been focusing on controlling the effects of an attack. Mitigating large scale disasters is usually handled by the government. It is suspicious that a company that fails at its direct responsibilities expends its limited resources on measures that are outside of its competence and stated objectives. These indicators are especially alarming, since!
  security contractors have privileged access and are therefore well placed to carry out large scale terrorist operations, to plant false evidence, and to destroy real evidence.

The threat indicators present at the 2012 London Olympics are consistent with the false flag terrorism operations carried out in the past. The film "7/7 Ripple Effect 2" provides a thorough analysis of a recent false flag operation in London and provides a publically available primer of some of the tradecraft that may be used for other false flag operations. Some examples of documented tradecraft include using security credentials to manage subversive agents, using security operations to stage equipment for attacks, using security credentials to place false evidence, using security credentials to destroy real evidence, and fabricating public reports. These examples of tradecraft match the threat indicators present at the 2012 London Olympics and support the concerns for the safety of the public.

False flag operations are typically conducted to manipulate public opinion. False flag operations are frequently used as pretext for war. It might be too late to provide an effective deterrent for the possible attacks at the London Olympics at this point. Even if it is too late to prevent such attacks, vigilance is needed to mitigate the risk of false flag operations being used as pretext for even greater bloodshed and to bring the responsible parties to justice if such attacks take place.

On The Road To Nowhere?

After some speculation, the BBC's programme on 7/7 conspiracists airs on Monday 1 October on BBC3 at 9pm.

More details on '7/7 Bombings: Conspiracy Road Trip' from the BBC website here.

Assange Cultism?

Writing about 9/11 truth, and its offshoots, has always produced a consistent response from 'truth' activists.

Larry O'Hara, Heidi Svenson and myself have all at some stage encountered 'truthers' who have drawn a whole series of conclusions about our politics from the fact we disagree with their interpretation of 9/11. The most common of these is to assume that we are pro-war - my email exchange with David Rose of Goldsmiths University, reproduced in the current Notes From the Borderland, is a recent example of this phenomenon. To hold the position that attacking Iraq and Afganistan was a poor idea, but that Al Qaeda carried out 9/11, appears to be inconceivable.

There are some signs that a similar absolutism has begun to infect some of those who support Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Owen Jones' article in The Independent that Assange should go back to Sweden and face the music produced a whole series of over the top responses from the Australian's supporters, including accusations Jones might be working for the security services. Is it not possible for Jones to innocently dissent from their position? The Blog That Peter Wrote has travelled similar ground to Jones, where comment on Wikileaks has been followed by an avalanche of bizarre claims and unfounded assertions. The term 'Assange Cultism' is used to describe the response.

These are worrying developments, and a sign of the 'truth' approach to politics beginning to infect not just issues around terrorism and counter-terrorism, but questions such as extradition law and the prosecution of sexual offences. This blog has always taken a consistent approach to the dangers posed by the truth movement - if unchallenged, its method and its ideas will spread. Don't say you were not warned...........

US Libertarians Getting Wise To Danger of Obama Conspiracy Theories?

Firstly - an apology. I have been laughing so hard I neglected to post a link to the superb research of US Tea Party activist Jerome Corsi, who revealed to the world a few days ago that Barack Obama was secretly married to a gay Pakistani man. I guess that makes Michelle Obama not so much the First Lady as the first beard!

I have never taken the view that the Tea Party is an entirely rotten egg - some of the principles its disparate followers have articulated are healthy - small government and self reliance are invariably better than the alternatives. But the type of nonsense put forward by Mr Corsi is hardly unique - as anyone signed up to any US libertarian email lists will be aware.

It is refreshing therefore to see Mike Riggs on Reason taking a switchblade to some of this nonsense, and in particular the ramblings of former Libertarian Party Vice Presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root. Riggs not only has no truck with this type of 'thinking' - if we can call it that - but writes:

"This awful, weird, conspiratorial column, just linked by Matt Drudge, will probably be the most widely read thing Root has ever written. Its existence is a tragedy for Libertarians and libertarians."

Tragedy is too strong a word. In exposing it, Riggs begins the fightback. There are other voices, and to defeat conspiracists it is neccesary to make them heard. Often.

Gary Johnson is the Libertarian Party's candidate for President. Perhaps he can build on the work of Mike Riggs, and put Wayne Allyn Root - and like minded individuals - back in their box?

Does Anyone Here Speak Keiser?

Russia Today's financial 'expert' Max Keiser is rapidly turning into my favourite conspiracist.

Like all good conspiracy theorists, Max is an all-rounder. Whilst mostly concerned with trashing the western financial system (whilst saying nothing too critical about Russian gangster-capitalism, he who pays this piper buys his tune) Max does like to swerve into other areas, especially when he is on Twitter. This week this has included being possibly the first person to describe the Burgas attack on Israeli tourists as a false flag attack, plus suggesting HSBC 'funded' the 9/11 attacks. Sometimes Keiser appears to try to disguise his points as humour, although as we all know, many a true word is said in jest. How many in his audience think he is joking?

Discussing the cinema shooting in Colorado, Max today posted this gem:

"American libertarian race-based crypto-fascism encourages mass shootings at movie theaters if it helps media conglomerates make money"

I have read it. I have re-read it. I have carried on re-reading it. The meaning still escapes me. Is there anyone out there who speaks Keiser? If so - help!

 

9/11 Cultwatch To Sponsor David Icke's Website?

David Icke seems to have taken to Twitter like a duck to water - his lucky followers can expect regular updates throughout the day on the great man's thinking.

One tweet yesterday caught the eye of us at 9/11 Cultwatch. Icke is looking for a sponsor for his highly succesful website DavidIcke.com. Who better to sponsor Icke than.......... - 9/11 Cultwatch? Icke surely appreciates debate, and it would raise our own profile in the 'truth' community - a win-win for both sides. At the moment our Financial Development Officer, Heidi Svenson, is working on making Mr Icke an offer he cannot refuse - 50p, a pile of old Coventry City programmes, and all the turquoise material from Ridley Road market than he can handle.

If you feel you can better our offer, do contact David directly at sponsorship@davidicke.com Please note that sponsorship applications will not be accepted from:

1. Israel
2. Anyone whose surname ends in Rothschild
3. Terry Wogan
4. Lizards

 

 

 

A Round Up Of The UK 9/11 Truth Movement

Issue 10 of the UK's leading parapolitical magazine, Notes From the Borderland, is out now.

You can find out more about NFB on its website, and you can order the magazine here.

For those interested in the machinations of the 9/11 and 7/7 'truth' movements, plus related conspiracists, this issue has yours truly giving an update on where some of the leaders of the 'truth' movement have gone, and also looking at some new players. Summaries of Ian Henshall's Reinvestigate 9/11, plus newer 'stars' in the shape of the Freeman on the Land concept and truther academic David Rose will hopefully wet people's appetite for more.

More generally, the two main articles in NFB 10 centre around major investigations. The first is into the death of GCHQ employee Gareth Williams, the second into the split between anti-fascist magazine Searchlight and its former front group, Hope Not Hate. The evidence based approach in these two articles is a world away from the video clip and web forum based approach of so much of what passes for research in the world of 9/11 'truth'.

Don't just take my word for it though. Buy yourself a copy of Notes From the Borderland, and find out for yourself.

I Say I Say I Say: A Joke About Conspiracy Theorists

"A man walked into a public library and circumspectly approached the desk. He lowered his voice. 'Have you any books on Conspiracy Theories?' The librarian leaned forward and murmured into his ear: 'They're behind you'.

I have no idea who came up with this originally, but it is certainly used by David Challice in the May 2012 issue of Independence, magazine of the UK Independence Party.

Discord At The David Icke Forum

I am not aware of a conspiracist forum as popular as that of David Icke. With approaching 70,000 members, it is home to the weird and not so wonderful, as well as a few lurking critics like myself.

All it seems is not well in this forum for discussing everything from 9/11 truth through to Cryptozoology, with the focus, naturally, being on Icke's own work. The trouble at t'mill seems to centre on website users trying to recruit members for rival forums. The following personal message has been sent to all forum members:

Have you been sent a PM inviting you to join another forum or website?

If so please be aware that a small handful of other forums/websites out there have been set-up by individuals with a personal axe to grind, who are out to harm and disrupt this forum by recruiting members on here in order to promote an anti David Icke Forum/David Icke agenda.

If you receive any correspondence from another member inviting you to a place you feel is at odds with this forum please feel free to report it to one of the moderators or admin team on this forum. You can do so by clicking on the red triangle with exclamation mark in the middle (located at the bottom left of the PM) or by simply forwarding the PM to one of the team.

Over the years we've had numerous anti David Icke Forum/David Icke websites spring up and unfortunately a tiny minority of our members get fooled into joining them. Many lies are usually spread about this place and about David in order for the recruitment drive to be successful and as a consequence people get banned in the process.

The reason people were/are banned here is for linking to sites that are predominantly set up to promote an anti David Icke Forum/David Icke agenda and bad mouth site staff or David; And [arrogantly] using this sites resources to promote it!

This is something we simply do not tolerate. Any owners or members of other forums/websites caught doing so will find their accounts banned without warning.

If you would like to discuss this off the forum via email feel free to email me at webmaster@davidicke.com (mailto:webmaster@davidicke.com).

*Please note: This PM has been sent to all members. *

Certainly the tone of Icke's message is that of the concerned businessman. How dare someone use his shopfloor to advertise a rival trader? So much for the free flow of thought and ideas. Secondly it would be nice to think that Icke's greed, anti-Semitism and irrational view of the world has prompted these small acts of rebellion. Has it?

Conspiracy Theory In International Politics

CALL FOR PAPERS: Conspiracy theories in international politics

Panels for the ISA's annual convention, San Fransisco 2013

Theme: The Politics of International Diffusion: Regional and Global Dimensions
April 3-6, 2013, at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square; San Francisco, California, USA

http://www.isanet.org/annual_convention/call-for-papers.html/

Co-convenors: Stefanie Ortmann (University of Sussex) and John Heathershaw (University of Exeter)

Conspiracy theories have been identified as an increasingly prevalent mode of social and political discourse which seem to have important transnational and international dimensions. Research has shown that they have proliferated in American society and politics through the twentieth century, and can be found in all regions of world politics, perhaps especially in the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Early analyses suggested that conspiracy theories were pathologies, evidence of a 'paranoid style' of politics or dysfunctions of pubic discourse found particularly in totaliterian societies, subject to social psychological explanations. However, the emergence of Conspiracy Theory Studies since about 2000 has been dominated from scholars in History, Humanities and Cultural Studies. This research embarks from the premise that CTs can be understood in sociological terms as the expression of an increasing lack of autonomy in the face of uncontrollable forces, such as globalization, narratives of terrorist threats etc. In spite of this obvious link to themes of international politics, conspiracy theories have recevied little or no attention from scholars in Political Science and International Relations.

We intend to submit up to two panels on conspiracy theories to address the conference theme of international diffusion, focusing particularly on a comparative study of conspiracy theories in different regions of world politics and considering their transational forms and international diffusions. On the other hand we are interested in the workings of conspiracy theories in Europe and the US, relating to globalization, terrorism, the fall-out from the global economic crisis and similar themes. These are preliminary suggestions: We would like to here from potential presenters interested in submitting a paper on any aspect of conspiracy theories in international politics.

Please contact:

John Heathershaw (j.d.heathershaw@ex.ac.uk)

Stefanie Ortmann (s.ortmann@sussex.ac.uk)

Deadline for expressions of interest: Friday 25 May, 2012

Deadline for full abstracts: Tuesday 29 May, 2012

9/11 Truth? Transcript of My September 2011 Interview With George Galloway

Who said 'truthers' were useless?

One conspiracy site, Living With The Conspiracy 24-7, has been good enough to type up a transcript of my interview on George Galloway's Talk Sport programme on 9 September 2011. There is the odd typo in there, and the transcript slightly mangles my explanation of why we consider 'truth' activists to be a cult, but all in all its probably more accurate than any other 'truth' material to come out this year!

You can read the transcript, and play the interview again, here.

Finally I was greatly impressed by the titles added to the article at the end, as subject headings:

"Published April 21, 2012 9-11 , conspiracy , false flag , lies , Mass murder , scam , sci-fi , spin , war OF terror , Zionist fetish"

I am not sure what 'Zionist fetish' is, but if my wife finds out I have been engaging in it I may be in some trouble..........

BBC Giving Platform To 7/7 Conspiracists?

A couple of different sources have been in touch with 9/11 Cultwatch to tell us about Renegade Pictures, who are working on a programme for the BBC.

The intention of this programme seems to be, at least in part, to give a platform to those who dispute the 'official' story of the 7/7 attacks. The eventual product will be screened on BBC3. Given the somewhat 'mature' nature of many high profile 7/7 conspiracists - Dr Mohammed Naseem, Nick Kollerstrom and Muad’Dib (alias Anthony John Hill) to name but three - Renegade Pictures may struggle to find the 5 activists aged between 18-35 they are apparently looking for.

Anyway - we await any such programme with interest.