People love believing a good conspiracy theory.
While on the lookout for more conspiracy shows, I realized I had never recapped "Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura". It ran for 3 seasons. Season 1 is available on YouTube. I'm not sure about anywhere else.
The basic premise is Jesse and his team (Alex Piper, June Sarpong, and Michael Braverman) investigate all sorts of conspiracies. Although I really enjoyed the show, it definitely didn't present both sides of each issue. As with "Ancient Aliens" (where everything is caused by aliens), on "Conspiracy Theory" everything is caused by conspiracies. At times Jessie sounds like a paranoid old man. He refuses to use OnStar in his car or to carry a cell phone because he doesn't want anyone tracking him.
There were 7 episodes in season 1 which originally aired in 2009. Episode overviews from Wikipedia are listed below (my notes are in italics):
Episode 1 HAARP
Ventura visits HAARP (the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in Gakona, Alaska to uncover the truth behind rumors that it is being used as a weather modification weapon, an instrument for mind control, or both.
HAARP has been suggested to be a number of different things including: a machine that uses the weather to create mass destruction; a device that via radio waves affects changes in the human body (such as exploding someone's heart); or a tool for mind control that can make the targets paranoid, lose sleep or hear voices.
Episode 2 9/11
Ventura investigates the rumors of a possible cover-up of the black box recordings from the airliners involved in the September 11 attacks which could contain evidence that 9/11 may have been an inside job.
This is a very sensitive subject for many people (including myself). Just for the record, I do NOT believe the information provided in this episode to be true. CT base their conclusions on four items: 1. Explosions occurred inside the Trade Center before the planes hit; 2. The planes' black boxes were never recovered (they interview someone who says he saw them); 3. Traces of super thermite was found in the wreckage (can be used as paint when in liquid form but when dry is highly explosive); 4. Air defenses were on standby mode that morning so did not react immediately.
Episode 3 Global Warming
Ventura looks at some of the purported evidence that man-made global warming is an elitist scam, and the money trail leads him to the doorstep of an elusive billionaire and a former UN adviser residing in Shanghai.
This episode suggests that global warming has nothing to do with pollution but is instead about power and money. Al Gore was mislead about the issue but is getting very wealthy off of it. Maurice Strong is the person that actually started this scare. Per Alex Jones (conspiracy radio host), the Rockefeller's etc want to use the threat of global warnings as a way to instate a one world government and become more wealthy. The carbon trading market is on track to become a multimillionaire business.
Episode 4 Big Brother
Ventura looks into theories about how far the U.S. Government has gone, in the name of national security, to keep an eye on its citizens – including contracting private companies to spy on people and giving special incentives to InfraGard members who report suspicious activity.
This was the most interesting episode because they had cool tech. Since this show aired in 2009 the surveillance state has gotten even stronger. Discussed in this episode:
- Adding RFID chips to anyone traveling to other countries such as Canada (so they wouldn't have to wait as long in line).
- IBM has the patent on a "person tracker" which would be used for marketing purposes. The final outcome is adding a RFID inside each person.
- Echelon is a private satellite network capable of listening on anyone's phone calls. NOTE the controversy caused this year when Edward Snowden said the same thing about the United States mass surveillance program.
- 70% of the intelligence department's budget goes to the private sector (so they have outsourced much of the spy work).
- The higher the terror threat, the more money everyone makes. This did not prove to be true. The terror alert has been at the lowest level for several years now.
- Infraguard is a group of private citizens (from banking, business, telecom, agriculture, transportation, etc) who work with the government as a way of provided additional eyes/ ears on the ground. It was established in the 1990s and had eighty something chapters nationwide. Their mission is to protect the nation's infrastructure. I'm not sure why Jesse was giving these guests such a hard time. This sounds like a good idea to me.
Episode 5 Secret Societies
Ventura infiltrates the Bilderberg Group – a very secretive, annual meeting of elitists who gather in luxury hotels, under heavy security, and supposedly plan the strategies for world domination.
Besides the "9/11" episode, this is the craziest one in season 1. Alex Jones (resident nut ball) is back saying that the Bilderbergs want to create a New World Order (one world government) as a way to wipe out much of the Earth's population. They discuss possible options for accomplishing this, be it through the food supply, the water supply or the medical system. They interview one supposed "physician" who says a flu epidemic will be unleashed by the government. Everyone will need to be vaccinated. When they are, a large number of people will be killed and/or sterilized. They point to the Georgia Guidestones as being written by the Bilderbergs.
Episode 6 Manchurian Candidate
Ventura and his crew investigates rumors that the CIA has restarted the project to turn ordinary citizens into programmed assassins and super soldiers through hypnosis, experimental drugs, torture and other methods. He also meets a man who claims to be a real-life Manchurian Candidate.
Episode 7 Apocalypse 2012
Some believe the world is heading for disaster in 2012 and Ventura looks into rumors that the U.S. Government has a doomsday plan for saving the elite while leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. Ventura also checks out the Denver International Airport where mysterious artwork displayed throughout seems to depict a "road map" of plans for the Apocalypse.
Obviously we're still here so this didn't happen. That has not slowed anyone down though in preparing for the end of the world (regardless of the cause). See the "preppers" label on my blog for additional resources. The Denver Airport segment was the most interesting part of this episode. I had heard of it previously but I'd really like to see what is down there.
Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). Yes they're way out there at times but the show is very enjoyable to watch. There were a number of things mentioned that I had never heard of before.
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