Submitted with thanks to James Gilliland
I found this on Michael E. Salla’s Exopolitics web page, you remember that one! A bunch of people struggling with the idea that one might have to find some aliens before we try to negotiate with them. Simply saying over and over again “we know you are out there you mighty space crushing empire and we know you fear our atomic bombs, can we talk?” simply does nothing for anyone, not the aliens, not Joe-public, certainly not the Odd Emperor (although I do get a chuckle out of it.)
Michael E. Salla begins;
A whistleblower has recently emerged alleging secret preparations are underway for a false flag operation to justify a military response to “alien invaders” by August 2007. The whistleblower claimes that s/he was asked “to write up ‘spin’ and propaganda that would help win the country’s leaders over to our new ‘war effort'” against extaterrestrials. The whistleblower posted his/her message at the Above Top Secret forum and has generated immediate interest by many (see: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread288370/pg1 ). While the whistleblower’s statement appears plausible at first hand, there really is little need to demonise extraterrestrials to justify a false flag operation if an upped military response is desired by those in control of extraterrestrial related information.
What’s funny about this is Michael E. Salla and several other luminaries in the UFO biz either don’t know or do not care that the so-called whistleblower has come forward and admitted that the whole thing was a hoax.
The thread on the Above Top Secret board begins with this..(“GhostRaven; a member of AboveTopSecret.com says)
Anyways, what ATS needs to know is that, around early August, a ‘false flag’ operation will occur that will make the ETs/Visitors look like they are attacking america. Do not believe it. We cannot allow ourselves to be drawn into a war with an enemy like that.
Sorry that I cannot verify my position as I have a family and assets that would surely be taken from me if my identity were revealed.
Sheezer! What a dead giveaway! We all know that a real government employee would capitalize America.
This was posted by (apparently) the moderators of the Above Top Secret forum.
The following “story” is the produce of an unethical, patently flawed attempt at a study that exudes the lowest form of deceit. Before you read the HOAX/”story” you will see the admission of the individual who attempted (and FAILED miserably) to fool this community after his ploy was falling to pieces. –
—
What you are about to read is the tawdry work of one who sought to abuse our courteous community and was ultimately handed his hat.
Well, I agree with the mods of ATS Sort of. Iâ’m not sure I would ban the person unless he was getting seriously flamed, (I would really think about banning the flamers.)
Unfortunately things are not so simple in UFO “la-la land. For one thing, I don’t think the hoax failed miserably’“ even after the original poster admitted that he made the thing out of whole cloth, people are insisting that it *might* really be true!
Despite the fact the wording of the original post is so typical of about a hundred other such stories, not to mention this one has been used as a plot for several Science Fiction novels and at least one TV anthology series (Twilight Zone I think.) It was even used by the Germans in the early days of World War II, substitute aliens with Poland or aliens with Saddam Hussein oops! Wrong world war!
The point here is, one would think that people on the ATS board and elsewhere would be more discerning of their so-called evidence. This fellow did not produce a smidgen of verifiable information; he words the thing in such a way to make his statements laughable, I.E I can’t reveal my identity because my/job/family/cat/etc will suffer.†Then, after getting threatened with arrest, harassed and so fourth by the UFO buffs (big surprise; UFO buffs HATE to have their clown-car tipped over) he admits that the thing was a joke (or more lamely, a “social experiment”
Good try Joe! It was a hoax, you are a troll and you laughed your ass off! Admit it!
After all this, some of the more gullible types are STILL chirping about how this could be true, how CNN just MIGHT announce that aliens are about to attack the national Christmas tree and we must all vote republican in the next election, for our own safety you understand! Now, I don’t give the hoaxer points for pulling the wool over people’s eyes, that’s child’s play in the UFO biz. You tell people what they want to hear, validate their forgone conclusions and you are in-like-Flint. Heck I almost never validate people (and get roundly disliked for it) I still get people posting over here saying HEY YOU ARE NOT A REAL EMPEROR! YOUR JOE SHMOE FROM SHMOOO STREET, YOU CAN”T FOOL ME!” Well Duh Alfred! It kind of says so on,.hmmmm EVERY FREAKING PAGE of the this blog and the Odd Empire webpage.
! Think what would happen if I made a consorted attempt at pulling the wool over people’s eyes.
Which kind of illustrates my second point. It doesn’t matter what one says, it doesn’t matter who you are (or who you are not.) It only matters what you say and how you say it. If you happen to be a fantasy prone, belief based person, it only matters that you hear what you want to hear. If you are a passionate advocate of the strange explanations of more or less mundane occurrences, you will probably be taken again and again by people like this guy on the ATS board.
Why? Because he’s saying exactly what you want to hear. He’s validating things you passionate advocates of the ETH have already decided on. That the government(s)’ have been keeping their dealings with aliens a deep-dark secret and that NOW they have a nefarious plan to TAKE OVER THE WORLD! ..
I suppose governments kinda-sorta have already taken over the world, (other than in places like Mogadishu and maybe Antarctica.) It makes me wonder what they need the aliens for in the first place. Perhaps it’s to trick people into voting Republican.
Yep! That’s got to be it!
Anyway; here is the piece on Exopolitics that started this whole rant.
Here is the thread header on Above Top Secret.
Here is a photo of Oolong the pancake wearing rabbit for no apparent reason. (May you rest in peace Oolong!) I’m sure Regan Lee will miss you!
Share and enjoy!
Hello Emperor of the Odd,
I’m the actual ‘GhostRaven’ who appeared on ATS. I had always intended my hoax to be a benign one… and my plan was always to point out stuff I had learned at the end of it (and yes, you’re right, I’m not a high minded researcher… just a teller of tall tales). I had to end my hoax early, however, when people started to threaten legal action and that whole EAS thing in Chicago started to make it look like I was for real (I was afraid that the gov WOULD take an interest in me at that point). And you’re right… as much as ATS says they ‘debunked’ me they really didn’t. This was a case where I became concerned that, like I said before, law enforcement would take an interest in me after the weird radio stuff happened.
BTW, I don’t think I did a single unethical thing. What the mods at ATS aren’t telling anyone is that, at the very beginning, I tagged the thread with the header ‘False Disclosure’. So I literally telegraphed it to everyone that this wasn’t the real thing. I also, beyond spinning a tale that was obviously intended to play to all of their fantasies, constantly alluding to the Orson Welles broadcast. Seriously… it’s not unethical to fool someone if you are actually trying to point out what a disservice their goofiness is doing for the world. Though the ATS folks are claiming that I hurt the search for the real ETs… the fact is that I pointed out that their board completely undermines any such search with its habit of promoting loads of material about shape-shifting lizards who pose as the queen of england, remote controlled planes hitting the WTC, the illuminati, etc, etc.
There are some pretty smart posters on that board, however. These are the ones who realized that the whole hoax, in and of itself, is worth looking at as a sort of case study in web whackiness. Anyways, I had meant to have a civil conversation with those folks afterwards but I got banned. Feel free to email me if you’d like.
Hey, thanks for stopping by;
I don’t have a really big problem with writing fiction (I’ve been accused of far worse things.) I kind of enjoyed the ruckus over there to tell you the honest truth (and I have not plowed through the 80+ PAGES yet .)
So far I noted (as you say,) several people over at ATS were onto you from the very beginning but many were not. People often react with hostility when they find that they have been bamboozled to their reaction was as we say in the Odd Empire–expected.
So far as ethics, I think it’s a little unethical to shine people on endlessly when you know that the whole thing is made up. Case in point is that absurd Wingmakers nonsense or more recently, SERPO and CARET. these are almost certainly works of fiction that many people are swallowing as real. It looks to me almost like a new art form, interactive fiction where the object is to get as many people possible believing that the tales are reality. The people perpetrating this stuff are simply playing an ego game.
People who have a lively interest in UFOlogy are their own worst enemies in my not-so-humble opinion. They get to the point where all critical thinking is shut down in favor of validation and re-validating their own pet ideas. Then they very often attack anyone who has a different take or heaven forbid,! has a little fun at their expense.
One must use a bit of caution as you probably are aware. One must never – NEVER buy into one’s own deception, along that road are the markers of thousands of would-be gurus, and the monuments of people like Hubbard, Jim Jones, Moon and Koresh. All were (and are) consummate agents of deception who bought their own bull crap right down to their own demise. Many of their followers will argue that “they were sincere so they must be legitimate.”
Strangely enough, some proponents in the UFO biz say exactly the same things.
Thanks again!
Great post Odd Emp!
I just found the GhostRaven thread @ ATS, I missed it as it was going on. I have some questions for GhostRaven (polite) – about his experiment & findings – but unfortunately, as he mentioned, he got banned from ATS, so I have no way to contact him. Would you forward my email address to him and ask him to contact me? I would appreciate it, but also understand if you say no. Thanks!
I didn’t say no….
Done and done!