9 ms·

It's this kind of incident that gives me faith that the military isn't hiding aliens and in fact pretty much any grand conspiracy that requires secrecy across a

by jmyeet 7mo ago

It's this kind of incident that gives me faith that the military isn't hiding aliens and in fact pretty much any grand conspiracy that requires secrecy across a large group of people for long periods of time can pretty much be dismissed immediately. One of my favorite examples are the soldiers who leaked classified information to win arguments on online forums [1]. Similar incidents have occurred with a Minecraft Discord [2]. [1]: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65354513 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65354513 [2]: https://www.ign.com/articles/how-classified-pentagon-documents-spread-through-a-minecraft-discord-server https://www.ign.com/articles/how-classified-pentagon-documen...

dataflow 7mo ago
Are you familiar with the latest news regarding Havana syndrome?
- jmyeet 7mo ago
  Yes [1]. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47341984 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47341984
  - dataflow 7mo ago
    Wow, I admire your confidence. These folks came on TV to tell you what they felt, saw, and heard with their own bodies, and the cover-up they say at the agencies too [1], and you still think it's fake? If the story gets confirmed will you take back anything you've said, give how confident you are of this? And are you also aware of the mystery weapon in Venezuela, which clearly corroborated the story? [2] [1] https://youtu.be/C1jmAj9OUOs https://youtu.be/C1jmAj9OUOs [2] https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/in-the-news/did-us-deploy-havana-syndrome-superweapon-venezuela https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/in-the-news/did-us-dep...
dmos62 7mo ago
What are some instances of a large group of people hiding something for long periods of time and then getting found out? Snowden? Epstein? Are these cases the bulk of the conspiracies or is it the tip of the iceberg? I'd like to think it's the latter, for purely egocentric reasons: conspiracies stimulate my imagination like almost nothing else: keep them coming, please.
- ua709 7mo ago
  Snowden was a good one. A similar leak was a big deal when I was a kid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON Established in the 60s so it was kept pretty secret for a long period of time. It's interesting to think that the government has been using technology to watch us for awhile but now thanks to ubiquitous networks, cheap internet, phone and apps like tinder and strava and a bit of ingenuity, we can watch back. :)
  - dmos62 7mo ago
    Wow, that is a good one. I'm surprised that I've not heard of it. Maybe not admitting something officially really does help in keeping something out of press. The list of intercept stations is comic: all except ~4 are in US or allied countries that are far from any adversaries.
    - themaninthedark 7mo ago
      MKUltra was another government program that was widely run but kept secret. Not so fun fact, the UnaBomber was one of the subjects of that program and it is said that his personality changed drastically afterwards. Note his wiki page doesn't call out MKULTRA or government links by name... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/06/12/the-unabomber-the-cia-and-lsd/ https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/06/12/the-unabomber-the-ci... There are some who claim the dirision associated with the term Conspiracy theory is in fact a Conspiracy.. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.reddit.com/r/philosophy/comments/d5zny6/in_defence_of_conspiracy_theories_and_why_the/&ved=2ahUKEwisn9S4oLGTAxW-l2oFHfnYAMY4ChAWegQIMBAB&usg=AOvVaw0ZJgkNu8PNBnBeQVKaTThn https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=8997844...
      - dmos62 7mo ago
        Unabomber-CIA connection is wild. This is great stuff. > There are some who claim the dirision associated with the term Conspiracy theory is in fact a Conspiracy.. Haha, that's entertaining. I've heard of quite a few stories, some proven, that CIA or similar agencies were fabricating evidence and bribing people to _create_ conspiracy theories. I believe one such case was a diary discovered related to "Richard E. Byrd's North Pole Flight". If I recall correctly the person that found it later admitted that he was bribed or coerced to do so. I can't look up sources now, might try and look it up later today. It makes sense. If conspiracies are leaking, you can create fake leaks and then discredit them. Shaming and marginalization is great too.
Starman_Jones 7mo ago
To add to your point, the War Thunder leaks aren't isolated to one or two incidents; they keep happening! IIRC, every UN security council member has had classified military documents leaked multiple times. Regarding aliens, there's just no way that an E-4 wouldn't have posted dozens of pictures to prove that 'The Grays' are actually more of a purple color.
- amenhotep 7mo ago
  Most of the War Thunder leaks just aren't. What frequently happens is that people go and dig up a manual that's published openly in America but controlled under ITAR (I think), post it, and Gaijin delete the post and ban them because it's technically illegal to "export" the information and trying not to get involved in crimes is usually a good idea. Then, because "someone's leaked classified data on War Thunder again!!!" is a standard story that you can publish with zero effort and get lots of clicks on, people post formulaic articles about it. But it's nothing that would be of any use at all to actual spies, they can just go on the internet and read the manuals themselves. Nothing like as spectacular as the actual classified leaks, which were incredible but have not been anywhere near as common as people think based on reporting.

by jmyeet 7mo ago

dataflow 7mo ago

Are you familiar with the latest news regarding Havana syndrome?

jmyeet 7mo ago
Yes [1]. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47341984 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47341984
- dataflow 7mo ago
  Wow, I admire your confidence. These folks came on TV to tell you what they felt, saw, and heard with their own bodies, and the cover-up they say at the agencies too [1], and you still think it's fake? If the story gets confirmed will you take back anything you've said, give how confident you are of this? And are you also aware of the mystery weapon in Venezuela, which clearly corroborated the story? [2] [1] https://youtu.be/C1jmAj9OUOs https://youtu.be/C1jmAj9OUOs [2] https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/in-the-news/did-us-deploy-havana-syndrome-superweapon-venezuela https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/in-the-news/did-us-dep...

dmos62 7mo ago

What are some instances of a large group of people hiding something for long periods of time and then getting found out? Snowden? Epstein? Are these cases the bulk of the conspiracies or is it the tip of the iceberg? I'd like to think it's the latter, for purely egocentric reasons: conspiracies stimulate my imagination like almost nothing else: keep them coming, please.

ua709 7mo ago
Snowden was a good one. A similar leak was a big deal when I was a kid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON Established in the 60s so it was kept pretty secret for a long period of time. It's interesting to think that the government has been using technology to watch us for awhile but now thanks to ubiquitous networks, cheap internet, phone and apps like tinder and strava and a bit of ingenuity, we can watch back. :)
- dmos62 7mo ago
  Wow, that is a good one. I'm surprised that I've not heard of it. Maybe not admitting something officially really does help in keeping something out of press. The list of intercept stations is comic: all except ~4 are in US or allied countries that are far from any adversaries.
  - themaninthedark 7mo ago
    MKUltra was another government program that was widely run but kept secret. Not so fun fact, the UnaBomber was one of the subjects of that program and it is said that his personality changed drastically afterwards. Note his wiki page doesn't call out MKULTRA or government links by name... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/06/12/the-unabomber-the-cia-and-lsd/ https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/06/12/the-unabomber-the-ci... There are some who claim the dirision associated with the term Conspiracy theory is in fact a Conspiracy.. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.reddit.com/r/philosophy/comments/d5zny6/in_defence_of_conspiracy_theories_and_why_the/&ved=2ahUKEwisn9S4oLGTAxW-l2oFHfnYAMY4ChAWegQIMBAB&usg=AOvVaw0ZJgkNu8PNBnBeQVKaTThn https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=8997844...
    - dmos62 7mo ago
      Unabomber-CIA connection is wild. This is great stuff. > There are some who claim the dirision associated with the term Conspiracy theory is in fact a Conspiracy.. Haha, that's entertaining. I've heard of quite a few stories, some proven, that CIA or similar agencies were fabricating evidence and bribing people to _create_ conspiracy theories. I believe one such case was a diary discovered related to "Richard E. Byrd's North Pole Flight". If I recall correctly the person that found it later admitted that he was bribed or coerced to do so. I can't look up sources now, might try and look it up later today. It makes sense. If conspiracies are leaking, you can create fake leaks and then discredit them. Shaming and marginalization is great too.

Starman_Jones 7mo ago

To add to your point, the War Thunder leaks aren't isolated to one or two incidents; they keep happening! IIRC, every UN security council member has had classified military documents leaked multiple times. Regarding aliens, there's just no way that an E-4 wouldn't have posted dozens of pictures to prove that 'The Grays' are actually more of a purple color.

amenhotep 7mo ago
Most of the War Thunder leaks just aren't. What frequently happens is that people go and dig up a manual that's published openly in America but controlled under ITAR (I think), post it, and Gaijin delete the post and ban them because it's technically illegal to "export" the information and trying not to get involved in crimes is usually a good idea. Then, because "someone's leaked classified data on War Thunder again!!!" is a standard story that you can publish with zero effort and get lots of clicks on, people post formulaic articles about it. But it's nothing that would be of any use at all to actual spies, they can just go on the internet and read the manuals themselves. Nothing like as spectacular as the actual classified leaks, which were incredible but have not been anywhere near as common as people think based on reporting.