{"id":141162,"date":"2019-08-26T12:01:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T11:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=141162"},"modified":"2019-08-23T14:10:16","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T13:10:16","slug":"conspiracy-theories-from-the-elders-of-zion-to-epsteins-youngsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/08\/conspiracy-theories-from-the-elders-of-zion-to-epsteins-youngsters\/","title":{"rendered":"Conspiracy Theories from the Elders of Zion to Epstein\u2019s Youngsters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

17 Aug 2019 – <\/em>Following Jeffery Epstein\u2019s alleged suicide last week we have been deluged by a tsunami of narratives that do not adhere to the\u00a0shifting\u00a0official reports\u00a0of his death. Presumably a few of the intimate secrets of the most powerful people on this planet will be buried with Epstein. While it is rational to believe that people powerful enough to impoverish continents or launch world wars that kill tens of millions could easily arrange the death of a single registered sex criminal in a NY prison cell, anyone who advanced such a scenario, however plausible, was immediately denounced as a\u00a0\u2018conspiracy theorist.\u2019\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eQmfd-KSJSQ<\/p>\n

\u2018Conspiracy theory\u2019 is how the mainstream media characterizes any narrative that differs from their reporting of the official line.\u00a0 What is a conspiracy theory? Can it be defined in categorical terms? Can a conspiracy theory be validated forensically or refuted by similar means? What criteria can be used to differentiate between a conspiracy theory and theoretical musings?<\/p>\n

The labelling of a theory as \u2018conspiratorial\u2019 is an attempt to discredit its author\/authors and deny its validity. A \u2018conspiracy theory\u2019 usually involves an explanatory thesis that points to\u00a0a malevolent plot\u00a0often involving a secretive interested party.\u00a0 The term \u2018conspiracy theory\u2019 has a pejorative connotation: its use suggests that the theory appeals to prejudice and\/or involves a farfetched, unsubstantiated\u00a0narrative built on insufficient evidence.<\/p>\n

Those who oppose conspiracy theories argue that such theories resist\u00a0falsification\u00a0and are reinforced by\u00a0circular reasoning, that such theories are primarily based on beliefs, as opposed to academic or scientific reasoning.<\/p>\n

But this critique is also not exactly based on valid scholarly principles. It isn\u2019t just \u2018conspiracy theories\u2019 that resist falsification or are reinforced by circular reasoning. The philosopher Karl Popper, who defined the principle of falsifiability, would categorically maintain that Freudian psychoanalysis and Marxism fail for the same reasons. The Oedipal complex, for instance, has never been scientifically proven and can\u2019t be scientifically falsified or validated.\u00a0 Marxism also resists falsification. Despite Marx’s \u2018scientific\u2019 predictions,\u00a0the proletarian revolution never occurred.\u00a0 I\u00a0have personally never come across anyone who refers to Marx or Freud as \u2018conspiracy theorists.\u2019\u00a0 \u2018Resisting falsification\u2019 and \u201creinforced by\u00a0circular reasoning,\u201d are traits of non-scientific theories and do not apply only to \u2018conspiracy theories.\u2019<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Oxford English Dictionary<\/em><\/a>\u00a0defines\u00a0conspiracy theory\u00a0as “the theory that an event or phenomenon occurs as a result of a conspiracy between interested parties;\u00a0spec.<\/em>\u00a0a belief that some covert but influential agency (typically political in motivation and oppressive in intent) is responsible for an unexplained event”.<\/p>\n

The Oxford dictionary does not set forth the criteria that define a conspiracy theory in categorical terms. The history of mankind is saturated with references to hidden plots led by influential parties.<\/p>\n

The problem with refuting conspiracy theories is that they are often more elegant and explanatory than the official competing narratives.\u00a0 Such theories have a tendency to ascribe blame to\u00a0hegemonic powers.\u00a0In the past, conspiracy theories were\u00a0popular mostly amongst fringe circles, they are now becoming commonplace in\u00a0mass media. Alternative narratives\u00a0are widely disseminated through social media.\u00a0In some cases, they have been disseminated\u00a0by official news outlets and even by the current American president.\u00a0 It is possible that the rapid rise in popularity of alternative explanatory theories is an indication of a growing mistrust of the current ruling class, its ideals, its interests and its demography.<\/p>\n

The response to the story of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s suicide is illustrative. The official narrative provoked a reaction that was a mixture of disbelief expressed in satire and inspired a plethora of theories that attempted to explain the saga that had escalated into the biggest sex scandal in the history of America and beyond.<\/p>\n

The obvious question is what has led to the increase in popularity of so called \u2018conspiracy theories\u2019? I would push it further and ask, why is a society that claims to be \u2018free\u2019\u00a0is\u00a0threatened by the rise of alternative explanatory narratives?<\/p>\n

In truth, the question is itself misleading. No one is really afraid of \u2018conspiracy theories\u2019 per se.\u00a0 You will not be\u00a0arrested or lose your job for being a \u2018climate change denier.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0You may speculate on and even deny the moon landing as much as you like. You are free to speculate about Kennedy\u2019s assassination as long as you don\u2019t mention the\u00a0Mossad<\/a>.\u00a0 You can even survive being a 911 truther and espouse as many alternative narratives as you like, however, the suggestion that \u2018Israel did 911\u2019<\/a>\u00a0will\u00a0 get you into serious trouble. Examining \u2018The Protocols of the Elders of Zion\u2019 as a fictional, however prophetic<\/a>, piece of literature can lead to imprisonment in some countries. Digging into the true origin of Bolshevism and the demographics of the Soviet revolution is practically a suicidal act. Telling the truth about\u00a0Hitler’s agreement with the Zionist agency<\/a>\u00a0will definitely result in your expulsion from the British Labour party and you will be accused of being\u00a0at the least, theoretically conspiratorial\u00a0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I suspect that one is allowed to deviate from the official narrative and speculate on hidden plots on any given topic except probably the Jewish related ones.<\/p>\n

This is where things become complicated because there are no Jewish conspiracies, all is done in the open.\u00a0 Israel, Zionism, Jewish institutions and individuals operate in the public eye and don\u2019t conceal their actions.\u00a0 AIPAC doesn\u2019t attempt to hide its agenda nor do America\u2019s elected politicians make an effort to\u00a0cover their shameless capitulation at AIPAC\u00a0conferences. Labour Friends of Israel is acting against \u00a0the Labour party and its democratically elected leader<\/a> is mainstream news. The Israeli jets that attacked the USS Liberty on 8 June 1967 were decorated with Jewish symbols. Jeffery Epstein didn\u2019t disguise his \u2018Pedophile Island\u2019. He operated in the open. I am afraid that there is not much evidence of Jewish conspiracies. But there is plenty of evidence of institutional suppression of any attempt to discuss any of this. AIPAC\u2019s agenda is openly avowed, criticising its agenda is strictly forbidden. The same applies to other Israel Lobby activity, Israeli war crimes\u00a0and even crimes committed by Jewish individuals. Jewish power, as I define it, is the power to suppress discussion of Jewish power.<\/p>\n

For obvious reasons Jews are alarmed by theories that focus on their politics, culture, religion, folklore etc. It seems that Jewish bodies have been sufficiently forceful to silence most attempts to criticise Jewish and Israeli politics. That leads to the question of why Jews, Zionism, Judaism and Jewishness are so often the subject\u00a0of conspiratorial theories. Is it that anti Semitic prejudice again or is there perhaps something about Jewish ideology, culture and politics that invites such theories?\u00a0 It is worth consulting Jesse Walker\u2019s\u00a0The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory<\/a>.\u00a0According to Walker there are five kinds of conspiracy theories:<\/p>\n