Edition 38 - 2014 E D I T O R I a L

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Edition 38 - 2014 E D I T O R I a L Edition 38 - 2014 E d i t o r i a l Dear Reader The Rabbit Hole They peddle science fiction fantasy as news, build a worldview around their own lies, and then they have the gall to mock Christians! Rabbit holes are man-made constructs which have an alluring power. They are typically built around some religious belief, pseudo-science, event, or even some combination of these, and they have ability to propel truth-seekers down paths of inquiry where nothing of substance is ever accomplished, acquired or learned even though something is always just out of reach. For example, there certainly is truth in many so-called conspiracy theories, such as the fact that Oswald alone did not kill Kennedy or the fact that Israelis and certain government insiders were responsible for the events of a particular September 11th morning. However these things are readily observable from both the circumstances and the behavior of the parties involved and those who were within the periphery of the events themselves, if one can gain access to the hard data required to make such an observation. But in order to distract people from finding the important rudimentary truths behind the causes of such events, a thousand books, articles or items in the electronic media quickly appear trumpeting a thousand different theories. In that manner, if anyone does navigate the labyrinth successfully, the one account which may reflect the truth of the matter is drowned out by a thousand lies. Because of the speed of information and the developments in self-publishing and media observation provided by the internet, the spread of such theories took decades where the Kennedy assassination is concerned, but only weeks in the case of the 911 incidents. At one time a few Jewish-owned-and- operated media outlets controlled the dissemination of virtually all published information, and it took years for self-publishers or small companies to write and print books or distribute recordings offering alternative views. Now the internet allows anyone who can post on a website or forum to express opinions, regardless of how they are formed. But if the powers-that-be can create a few popular “alternative media” websites, they can nevertheless continue to be the largest influence forming those opinions. Once upon a time, the ancient priesthoods of Mesopotamia were used as an adjunct of kings and tyrants in order to maintain power over the people. While the government and military power were in the hands of the king, the priesthood kept its reins on the hearts and minds of the people, thereby keeping them in obedience to the king. The magic arts and specialized astronomical or medical knowledge gained through centuries of systematically recorded observation helped give the priesthood its power, in addition to their traditional role as keepers of the cultural and historical heritage of the people which were encapsulated in their myths and legends. Today there are many websites and media outlets which are fulfilling both of these roles, serving as “alternative media” and also as the priesthood of a new government-preferred religion. Furthermore, as the ancient priesthoods of Mesopotamia undertook the task of giving the king the appearance of having much more power than he actually had, this modern priesthood is doing that same thing by promoting science fiction as actual science, and attributing to the imperial American government unusual powers far beyond those which it actually has. While doing this, the new priesthood also has the uncanny ability of trapping truth-seekers in an endless series of rabbit holes. A perfect example is a recent article in Wired magazine, entitled White House Denies CIA Teleported Obama to Mars. Wired promotes itself as a techno-news outlet for Science and Business, among other things. And while the magazine has an entertainment section, this article was instead published in the magazine's security section, an area usually concerned with military and politics, wars and rumors of wars. Now if the White House denies something in reference to a sitting president, unless some observable circumstance indicates that the claim may actually be true, it should generally be considered non-news. The Nixon tapes and the stain on a certain blue dress come to mind. However while this article in Wired, written by one Spencer Ackerman, is accompanied with a snippet from an old cartoon entitled Marvin the Martian and is obviously included to poke fun at the idea, it nevertheless ends with claims that Obama did indeed “teleport” to Mars. Ackerman develops his themes by saying that “... Obama’s past lies not in east Africa, but in outer space. As a young man in the early 1980s, Obama was part of a secret CIA project to explore Mars. The future president teleported there, along with the future head of Darpa. That’s the assertion, at least, of a pair of self-proclaimed time-traveling, universe-exploring government agents. Andrew D. Basiago and William Stillings insist that they once served as 'chrononauts' at Darpa’s behest, traversing the boundaries of time and space. They swear: A youthful Barack Obama was one of them.” Ackerman talks about how “this all sounds fantastical, absurd, and more than a little nuts”, and then goes on to write “According to Basiago and Stillings, Obama isn’t just lying about his identity. He’s lying about his military service record, too. While his political opponents in 2008 attacked him for never serving, in truth, he was concealing his participation in a hidden CIA intergalactic program hosted at a California community college in 1980.” (In the article is an embedded link to an institution called College of the Siskiyous.) Here Ackerman does something which seems innocent at first, but may indeed have a nefarious effect. Ackerman indirectly attributes to Basiago and Stillings the idea that Obama is lying about his identity, which is true. He also attributes to them the idea that Obama is lying about his military service, which would also be true. But Basiago and Stillings did not discover those lies. The mainstream media outlets ignore or even dismiss those lies to this day, but if they were properly investigated and broadcast by a responsible media [tongue-in-cheek] they may have prevented the re-election of a criminal. But perhaps that is all by design as well. Doing this, Ackerman associates legitimate charges against Obama with the “absurd, more than a little nuts” claims about time travel and teleportation made by Basiago and Stillings. The logically-minded reader, one who won't fall into the sci-fi rabbit hole, may stop reading here, however near-equal doubt is implanted in relation to the legitimate charges. Then Ackerman proceeds by portraying the claims of Basiago and Stillings as if they were of merit, seemingly as if he himself has accepted them. He begins by writing “Officially, the White House says Obama never went to Mars. 'Only if you count watching Marvin the Martian,' Tommy Vietor, the spokesman for the National Security Council, tells Danger Room [the name of Ackerman's column]. But that’s exactly what a secret chrononaut wants you to believe.” Presenting the claims of these men, Ackerman provides details and even rough dates, and makes cynical parenthetical remarks about socialized medicine and birth certificates, a seeming attempt to discredit yet another legitimate charge that has been leveled against Obama. Turning back to the Mars story, Ackerman even goes so far as to include a comment alleged to have been made to the young Obama by one Major Ed Dames. This Dames character was once a regular on the old Art Bell late-night radio program, Coast-to-Coast. That program was, and still is, a sort of New-Age combination of science and science fiction mixed with government, religion and politics. Before the internet grew to become so popular, it was one of the primary vehicles for the dissemination of this new sci-fi techno-religion. Ackerman reveals himself as a mouthpiece for this religion where he concludes, in part: “You can scoff at the idea of Obama on Mars. But it explains a lot.... Ignore Basiago and Stillings at your own peril. If Obama’s reelected, the U.S. is finally colonizing Mars.” With this conclusion, Ackerman is willingly sending at least a portion of his readers into one of the rabbit holes being drilled out by Basiago and Stillings. Major Ed Dames, a supposed “remote viewing” (or RV to the faithful) authority, is one early priest in a growing line of supposedly former government employees professing various dogmas for the new religion. These priests often come from the military, but sometimes come from the Civil Service, men who served as security contractors, scientists or in similar capacities. Another member of the new priesthood is Henry Deacon, who several years after coming forward with amazing “revelations”, now reveals what is evidently his real name, Arthur Neumann. Neumann has made claims that he has “memories of coming from another planet”, and that he “never had any problems intuitively accessing complex scientific information...” He says “I've often found myself understanding complex systems with no detailed briefing or training”. (See the website Project Camelot for this and more.) Neumann was interviewed by one Rafael Palacios (available on Youtube) and claimed that he was involved in projects for the U.S. government which included “pulse electronic weapons”, microwave and neutron bombs, particle beam weapons, sound weapons and more. Neumann claimed in reference to these weapons “that many different technologies that are being used constantly even in the cities and as well as just for specific targets”.
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