Stephen A. Lawrence wrote on 3-13-09: ``Conspiracy theories all have one interesting feature in common: They cannot be disproved. Like creationism, they're intrinsically not falsifiable. This, alone, doesn't prove such theories wrong, of course. (Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're *not* out to get you!)''
Hi All, Regardless of whether or not one believes in original sin, it must be admitted that something is seriously wrong with homo sapiens. That such a creature should have atomic weapons is a cosmic joke, with the punch line to be delivered when the Big Chimps finally lead us to oblivion. Given man's "fallen nature", conspiracy is probably the norm of human behavior, hence the constant plaintive calling for transparency. There actually could be a Science of Conspiracy because of the well-documented conspiracies available for study. In fact, Conspiracy Science 101 should probably consist of case studies. Naturally, with any conspiracy, many of the important details will never be known, since secrecy and disinformation are the essence of conspiracy. (See Russ Baker's "Family of Secrets.") Of current interest are market conspiracies: the bull market "pump and dump," playing on greed; and the bear market "bear raid," playing on fear. The kleptocrats of 2001 - 2008 have engaged in both types of conspiracies, with the first part of this period dominated by shearing the sheep with "irrational exuberance." and the last part culminating in the Great Bear Raid of 2008. (The fall of the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) from 14,164 on October 9, 2007, to 6,547 on 3-9-09 was not some inexplicable act of G_d.) Perhaps the best known bear raid is Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929. See http://articles.wallstraits.net/articles/1287 -- A bankers pool had previously been organized to support stock prices. ``Thomas Lamont ... was forced to deny rumors that the bankers had actually been selling stocks (conducting a bear raid) rather than buying ... (It would later be revealed that Albert Wiggins, the chairman of Chase National Bank and a member of the pool, was personally short several million dollars' worth of stock at the time the bankers sought to organize support for stock prices.) ...'' After the bear raid of 1937, Joseph Kennedy, in 1938, first chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission, formed under the administration of F. D. Roosevelt, had the SEC adopt the uptick rule, more formally known as rule 10a-1, which (loosely) said that you could only short a stock following an uptick in its price. The SEC eliminated the uptick rule on July 6, 2007; and there was nothing to stop the bears piling on as they made fortunes driving down the market. Jack Smith
