Government Secrets/Conspiracies

[Thomas]

With this whole bin Laden business going on and the talk that he was killed last week and not this past Sunday, it got me thinking about what the government tells the general public and then what they actually do. There has been a lot of rumors lately that bin Laden was actually killed last week.

• Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
• Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
• What other things do you think they keep from us?
• Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?

Discuss.

 

[Steven]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
Of course.

Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
I am for it if I see how it would be better for the general public to not know.

What other things do you think they keep from us?
I don't know, I am not really a conspiracy theorist despite the part where I acknowledge that all governments have their secrets. I'm sure they try to keep anything that makes them look bad to their public or to the world is buried if possible.

Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?
All do. There is no such thing as a 100% open government, although some are more open than others.

 

[Azure Revolver]

With this whole bin Laden business going on and the talk that he was killed last week and not this past Sunday, it got me thinking about what the government tells the general public and then what they actually do. There has been a lot of rumors lately that bin Laden was actually killed last week.

• Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
• Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
• What other things do you think they keep from us?
• Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?

Discuss.

1) Remind me again which government doesn't skew the truth? Of course. The only reason they do skew the truth is to fit their agenda and to benefit them. If they made everything public, things would likely go to hell fast.
2) For and Against. There are some things that we should damn well know, regardless of it being beneficial to their "agenda", but there are also things I don't want to know, and the government keeps them from us which is good.
3) A lot of things. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I can't think up anything, all I know is that every government keeps many secrets from the general public.
4) All governments do it, refer to the answer to the first question.

 

[lx_theo]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?

Of course. If you're willing to by that they don't, then there's something wrong there. Not much more to that question.


Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?

To an extent, its okay. Secrets kept for national security, war time secrets (I mean actual war, not beating up on weaker countries to get our way or anything like that), and stuff like that are reasonable. They should not be keeping secrets to further manipulate the public, or from the American people in general.


What other things do you think they keep from us?

Everything they can. Everything is so wrapped up in politics and economics you can't be sure what to trust. But, what you want is a politician that you can trust to be trying to help the country adn be competent in that fact, secrets or no. That's one of the main reasons I support president Obama


Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?

Yeah, it is truly a modern era. Too much corruption on many levels throughout the modern world.

 

[aruchan]

• Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
  Yes, duh.
• Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
  Probably for, as it is more important to win a propaganda victory than to be totally transparent.
• What other things do you think they keep from us?
  Aliens ftw.
• Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?
  All the important ones.

Discuss.

 

[Arlen]

You look at every major operation that has benefited a country majorly, and there is definitely something obscure about it.

For instance, Pearl Harbor was a big one.
Osama's death being stated during this extremely bad moment for the Obama government.
(To be honest their continually changing story is evidence of something being changed).

Every government in the world follows the same rule: Say one thing, do another.
They do whatever they can to win the peoples votes, but from then on they know the public are very limited in what they can object to, and it's pretty much free for all from that point on.

 

[Nutella]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
Without a shred of doubt in my mind. Remember when the American government claimed that bin Laden and Hussein were in cahoots so as to further justify their reasons to invade the Middle East? Since 9/11, I'd imagine things have gotten worse.

Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
It all depends on the nature of the concealed information. There are some things that aren't essential for the general public to know; would just be misconstrued and create frivolous uproar.

What other things do you think they keep from us?
While I enjoy conspiracy theories, I rarely believe any of them. I believe the emphasis is more on making information harder to access or interpreting certain things to suit the public.

Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?
Of course- some more than others, but every government engages in some cover-ups, skewing of the truth, censorship, etc.. For the most part, I like to think their intentions are noble.

 

[Shining Raichu]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
Yeah of course. Every person has their vision of how they want the world to be, and they work toward that vision. You can see it as corrupt or selfish, but if you were a politician, wouldn't you work it the same way?

Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
I don't know... if it's important enough the truth comes out eventually. Personally I don't care whether Osama was killed on May 1 or last week, the point is he's dead.

What other things do you think they keep from us?
I have no idea.

Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?
I would say all governments. I see no reason for any government to behave differently.

 

[BenjiTheKid]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda? To some extent, I'm certain they do. The government is made up of humans, after all. And humans have a habit of bending the truth and coloring it in "pretty colors".
Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us? Neither. I can understand why they would. To please the masses and what not. On the other hand, honesty is a good policy. But to be realistic, no one is 100% honest. Not even government officials.
What other things do you think they keep from us? I don't buy into conspiracy theories. At all. Not aliens, nor certain things being inside jobs. But admittedly, I don't know "what" they could be hiding from us. I imagine, though, that most of it is trivial compared to the conspiracy theories floating about.
Is it just America, or do you think all government do this? Like I said, we're all only human. No matter which country we hail from.

 

[Percy Thrillington]

Those are some pretty vague questions - I'm not an American but has the government ever admitted to imprisoning innocent people in Guantanamo Bay? If they have, would they admit to it and say the torture of these innocent, unlucky people was necessary for the sake of fighting the War on Terror? If they haven't, would they?

In my country, before our recent general election, everything was very much smoke and mirrors to do with the economy. No one knew what was going on and the government were lying; taking back what they said; lying again... text book politics.

But to think a government could hide something like 9/11 being an inside job is phenomenal; hundreds of people (thousands, even) would have to be involved in something like that and there's no way they'd all remain silent.

Your government shouldn't hide anything from the people. It is the people, elected by the people, for the people. Obviously, I understand keeping top secret missions like the Bin Laden operation etc. low scale to make sure it works out, but to not be honest about the economical future or to outright lie to its people is absurd.

America is definitely not the only country that supposedly does this... America doesn't even come close. Just look at Burma's highly-militarised government or Mugabe's Zimbabwe. There's corruption in a lot more countries but these are the two that stick out to me. Pretty sure there are a lot worse examples out there but the media over here reports on these guys the most so they're the ones that come to mind.

 

[twocows]

Every government has its own secrets. I don't think there's any massive deception to blind the public to anything really important, though. Still, I trust WikiLeaks way more than I trust the US government, that's for sure.

 

[Hikamaru]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda? I think so, Wikileaks slogan on Twitter says "We open governments". Maybe the governments believe in conspiracy.

Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
Maybe for it, but I do have some grudge against Wikileaks - their logo is a detailed hourglass (It's not the documents but Assange - I mean, look at him! Always changing his appearance, his contact details and even known for "no fixed address". He's an Aussie and he's facing a lot of problems lately including that infamous sexual assault case in Sweden). If the Chaser still were on TV they'd definitely satirise this! A perfect target for satirical comedy!

What other things do you think they keep from us? Maybe the rights in modern culture and why the internet has improved our lives. That's all I can say.

Is it just America, or do you think all governments do this? I agree with BenjiTheKid, everyone's different no matter where they're from.

 

[groteske]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
Yes, but more omitting information than outright skewing facts. Safer.

Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
Not every nail in the box is sharp. Some information need not be made public lest most of them draw uninformed knee-jerk conclusions.

What other things do you think they keep from us?
Based on some rather unauthorized and drunken conversations I've had with current and former DOD employees, for your peace of mind's sake just pretend everything is as they tell you

Is it just America, or do you think all governments do this?
Common f-cking sense, this should not be a question

 

[Echidna]

Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?

Yes they do, but that's just me !!

Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?

Well it might be necessary, but yes i am against it.

What other things do you think they keep from us?

They found a exoplanet which is suitable for life
I have no idea.

Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?

I currently live in Lebanon, and i know for a fact it happens here too, so not just the states.

 

[Seki]

• Do you think the government bends/skews the truth to fit their agenda?
• Are you for or against them keeping this kind of information from us?
• What other things do you think they keep from us?
• Is it just America, or do you think all government do this?

Firstly, I am talking about the Singapore Government. So don't flame me :P
And I hope they don't find out this.
1) Yes they do. All government does this! (IMO)
2) As long as it concerns me, YES!
3) Why do they bankrupt everyone that is in the opposition party. They made people live in exile, bankrupt them, made them lost their presidency, made them to jail for the stupidest reasons ever.
4) Yes! They hide everything negative from the press! (Apparently, they have a state-controlled press and television.)

"They" means the ruling party of my country which I do not want to name. I scared they black mark me. My mom always warns me not to talk about this in public.