Video / 55 Minutes / Spiegel TV
Especially in our modern mass media world and after the 2008 Beijing Propaganda Olympics it’s scary how little TV has changed - or that the Nazis already had figured out the basics of TV brainwashing.
Scary.
Video / 55 Minutes / Spiegel TV
Especially in our modern mass media world and after the 2008 Beijing Propaganda Olympics it’s scary how little TV has changed - or that the Nazis already had figured out the basics of TV brainwashing.
Scary.
Simply mentioning the word ‘UFO’ either provokes a smile or some awe - depending on which side of the discussion you stand. There are four big camps here: the Esoteric UFO nuts, the Conspiracy Experts, the total Deniers and the serious Researchers.
Here are some thoughts about each group. And think about yourself: do you like UFOs, because you want some nice alien alternative to our earthly madness or do you deny their existence, because you are a super sceptic?
Believing in UFOs has become a substitute religion for some people. Some odd cults followed leader either chosen by aliens or who have claimed they are aliens themselves. There is no coherent believe system in this group - it ranges from Inca gods to UFO references in the Bible. Anything goes.
I am the super intelligent life form from Sirius and here to save you my true believer …
Arguments: There is life out there. Aliens brought life to Earth. Aliens are our beloved cosmic ‘parents’ and watch over us.
Material: UFOs in the Bible (video), Erich van Däniken (video) and his Wikipedia entry
These are mostly people who want to believe ’something’. Aliens, Gods and Angels in shiny flying objects is just such a tempting vision not to resist. It is the perfect fantasy for a ‘nice’ future in your head.
A God’s Chariot in the Sky = Alien in a spaceship …
Most of all it’s religious escapism: someone will chose you and take you away from this miserable planet to the heavens. You are a true believer, therefore an Überbeing will reward your faith and give you something special no one else gets. Since ‘God is dead’ (thanks Herr Nietzsche) living aliens are the best ‘mental sugar to fulfil this desire.
Hey, I am just a weather balloon!
The essence of this group can be easily summed up with one question: If Aliens would have visited us, why haven’t they simply made officially contact with us? It makes no sense to fly a gazillion kilometers through outer space to scare some Redneck in Arizona or mutilate cows in Texas.
There are also many serious people out there who have debunked many sightings are natural phenomena or simply aircraft sightings.
Argument: We want a complete UFO and Alien to dissect and study - anything else is not enough to prove their existence.
Material: UFO debunking website, Top Ten Alien encounters debunked, Larry King special with a ‘debunking battle’ at the end (video), fake alien autopsy (video), Roswell Wikipedia entry.
I personally strongly agree with a skeptical approach, since people often love to SEE things that are simply not there. Plus it’s always good to remember the literal meaning of UFO: unidentified flying object - simply something that flies in the sky and you don’t know exactly what it is. It does not automatically imply little green man or an alien god coming for you.
But the Anti-UFO camps often seems to eager to deny everything - that is why so many Conspiracy Experts like to label Debunkers as agent of the dark and secret government.
We need these skeptical minds, because people are willing to believe almost anything, especially the esoteric types and many of the mad conspiracy ideas need to be challenged most of the time.
Heil Alien! (Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Alien!)
UFOs built by Nazis? The existence of UFOs well known and hidden by the Government? Secret technology abused by the rich and powerful to keep us mere mortals enslaved? The Government is building secret weapons based on alien technology?
Sounds all like an episode of the X-Files, right?
But you are in for a shock. Although some Conspiracy Nerds are nuts, some of their points are actually true.
Nazi Germany did experiment with many weird and outstanding technologies back then. The flying wing - like today’s B2 bomber -was one of these concepts.
The Gotha Horton was in the early design stages shortly before the war. It was way ahead of it’s time - and is the forefather of the B2 Bomber.
The same is true for flying saucers. The German Andreas Epp actually developed the concept of flying saucers for use as target drones for the German Luftwaffe.
This research was first used by the Russians and later by the Americans. So military flying saucers are no fiction, there were actually several declassified projects developed like the Cypher and the Avrocar.
But not all these points have a solid foundation like the Nazi flying saucer. A lot - and I mean a lot - of crazy ideas, suspicions and rumors get mixed together in this camp. Any wild idea ranging from Hitler’s secret bases in Antarctica, Freemasons on the Moon to Aliens disguised as humans in our Governments are included.
Some old construction plans from 1956 - based on work during the war.
These outrageous stories illustrate the biggest weakness of the Conspiracy Nerds - that they love to develop one big theory that explains and connects anything to everything. Their own vivid imagination is their biggest enemy. And there still is a big difference between connecting different theories and having definitive proof. Too often vague ideas seem more interesting to them than solid facts.
Arguments: We know that something is going on! We have figured it all out! The Government is hiding everything!
Material: Interview with Andreas Epp (video in German), German Saucer (video) and an article excerpt about the German saucer experiments. UFO conspiracy Wikipedia entry. Some more about Andreas Epp. If you have a lot of time then watch this hardcore video about “Nazi UFOs - how they fly” (video), which mixes Tessla Coils and Nazi UFOs together …
We do need these Nerds to dig deep and connect the wildest ideas and drive out in the desert to shot images of secret military projects. Only a nutty nerd would do that - normal citizens stay at home and watch American Idol.
Area 51 Warnings - a total Nerd magnet!
As much as we need the skeptical debunkers on one side, we need the overactive minds and patience of the Nerds to put all the pieces together. Even when many ‘results’ are weird or false, because sometimes they are right! And conspiracies DO HAPPEN. Sometimes Governments do lie and dangerous people in power will do anything to hold on to power or increase their influence. And it’s not just the Nazis that would do weird and evil stuff …
Hey, I saw something in the sky - and it was not a peanut!
In recent years there is a growing movement of ’serious’ people, who want the governments to more open about UFOs in general. First let’s look at my claim of ’serious’: one wouldn’t consider Shirley Maclain are serious expert, especially since she has been very ‘new age’ and hardly qualifies as an technical expert. But one would consider military and civilian pilots as well as former government officials as ’serious’ or experts on either Government dealings or things that fly.
But just seeing something unidentifiable in the sky is no proof of anything - especially not any government involvement. But these people often have seen unexplainable phenomena close up or on their radar screens - AND have experience their governments murky response to it (like denying it ever happening or confiscating documents). Any such behaviors fuels of course suspicions.
It looked like a flying triangle …
Many ‘Black Projects’ like the F-117 and the B-2 Stealth Bombers certainly look like flying saucers when viewed at certain angles. And they are supposed NOT to appear on the radar screen. So it would be no surprise that the American Government would deny or suppress any sightings or ‘proof’ of these once top secret weapon projects.
This is less about little green man, it’s more about Government secrecy.
Argument: We want some proof and the government to deal openly with this.
Material: former Pilots and Official ask the US Government for reopening UFO investigations (BBC News article) and video
Disinformation, secrecy and smokescreens are pretty normal political tools for any Government. We can’t expect the Government to be open about everything. Secrecy is important and black operations are needed to deal with enemies within and outside the country. But this is not a carte blanche to do anything.
Especially in our days and the hyped up fear about terrorism it’s necessary to watch all governments even closer. It doesn’t matter if it is about UFOs or something else, the people at the top need to be controlled, military projects and spending have to be regulated as well.
After the Nazis took power they not only burned books, but also introduced the concept of ‘entartete Kunst’ (degenerate Art - great website covering this topic). This kind of art was of course ungerman, unpatriotic, sick and almost an act of treason.
So I always shake my head in disbelief, when I hear American pundits screaming about unpatriotic and unamerican art. But the same applies to other cultures as well. Anyone remember the fatwa against Salman Rushdie?
Art and self expression still have great power - that is why clerics and politicians still fear them and suppress artists (and ideas), which can endanger their ‘pure’ path of domination.
Diversity of opinions, races and ideas is still facing an uphill battle - but it’s unstoppable and that is why the control freaks are so desperate.
I just don’t get it. So many people are into Nazi porn, buying Hitler’s dinner plates, Wehrmacht medals or old German Helmets. I understand the fascination for weapons - but not for a perverse political dogma that ruined Europe.
Obviously there is hardly any Jewish culture left in Germany. Most of it is tucked away and hidden. Plus the old guilt complex makes any ‘normal’ exchange painful.
German Jews were always an important aspect of my country - until that maniac came along. The brain drain thanks to the holocaust as well as immigration was incredible. The intelligentsia, as well as artists and academic sector was depleted of thousands of important people.
We badly need that Jewish humor and wits back - plus a normalized relationship again, like in pre-war Germany before 1933.
Gee, I loved this game. I even wrote a book about it - a long time ago (1990). I somehow miss these games with primitive visuals and weird 8-bit sounds. There was still enough space left to use your imagination. Todays 3D-Surround-Sound-Virtual-Worlds are just too perfect.
via Moby Games
[Warning: long rant ahead ... skip if you are bored by politics ...]
For years now political blogs have branded the Bush regime as a fascist elite - transforming the US of A into a Brown State.
If you search Hitler+Bush on Google you get a gazillion articles and images - plus reports like that (father of a fallen soldier beaten up by pro war citizens) and this (student gets tasered by the police asking annoying questions) seem to support the argument. The US is slowly turning into a new Nazi Germany.
I think it’s fundamentally wrong to compare modern forms of Fascism always with old ones from the Hitler era. Like Democracy all forms of government change and adapt - even the bad ones.
For example: today society ‘exists’ more in a virtual form instead of ‘the street’. So you no longer need many thugs or brown shirts to push your agenda. Mental control and groupthink work today much better then 1933 - especially in a ever more complex and diverse media world. There is much more entertainment, hobbies and consumerism out there to distract you from ‘real’ life and politics then 1933.
Most people are afraid of real freedom and complexity. They love almost anything that ‘makes nasty stuff and thoughts’ go away. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pill against restless leg syndrome or immigrants - something easy to swallow is preferred over anything complicated or personal involvement.
Dude, this Democracy stuff is hard work …
Typical right wingers or conservative have this symptom ("We are the good ones, all others are bad.") as well as those who are so called green and progressive types ("Back to nature, modern science and/or corporations are destroying us!").
One of the biggest insult for any modern politician is to called Nazi or a Goebbels like figure. In the later case it’s not only an insult, but also a compliment. Joseph Goebbels obviously stands for extreme and dedicated propaganda to serve and create an evil Reich - but he was smart, witty and extremly skillful.
He not only pioneered several new propaganda techniques like the Volksempfänger, he masterminded the mental seducation the german people. He and Hitler were masters of mass psychology. Goebbels ministry was everywhere - Propaganda was not simply creating advertisement for the government - they formed, educated and developed german society - every detail of it.
It is hard to understand his skills until you heared and analysed some of his speeches. They are really impressive, moving and captivating. The collage ‘Totaler Krieg‘ is a bit more authentic.
Watch this short documentary about Goebbels: Part 1 and Part 2 (although the pathetic music in the background is almost unbearable.
More? Joseph Goebbels @ Wikipedia and a Collection of his Speeches