Are there any conspiracy theories that you just think could have an element of truth?

[AhhhHereItGoes]

I love all things conspiracy theory - from a psychological/social point of view it's interesting to see what makes people fearful or pessimistic.

But I often do see some conspiracy theories a bit like Urban legends in that they could be an exaggerated truth.

Are there any conspiracy theories or rumours that you just think 'maybe...' or even ones you're completely sold on.

hopes nobody thinks the Queen is a metamorphic lizard alien

MisConduct ketchup with steak?! That man is dead to me now

I did a lot of research into fires for work (before Grenfell) and honestly the shocking thing about it was how many people died, not how low the (in my opinion appalling) casualty figures were. Buildings like that are supposed to be able to withstand high temperatures and compartmentalise the fire to delay its movement. Anyone who paid attention to the expert evidence at the inquest would know that there was no cover-up, but it is still a scandal. There were several issues with the structure and maintenance of the building, the fire service's response and the handling of calls in the 999 call centre. The shelter-in-place advice used to be the gold standard but after the Lakanal fire the fire service began to advise people to evacuate if it seemed safe in their opinion to do so. The Grenfell fire was so high in fatalities because a single central staircase was wholly inadequate to evacuate so many people in a short space of time. It was compromised with heat and smoke, so people collapsed and died on the stairs, blocking it. The conditions in the stairwell meant fire fighters couldn't move up to the upper levels and return safely. Vulnerable people who couldn't evacuate quickly were left to die because they couldn't be rescued. However, the initial evacuation response from residents saved a lot of lives too. Even very late on, survivors walked out of the building. But the inquest drew attention to failings in many areas - I'm not sure why they would need to disguise 200 deaths as 72. That seems bad enough.

I highly recommend Dr Richard Shepherd's book Unnatural Causes if anyone wants to read up on very high profile British deaths/disasters. He was the pathologist in many major incidents in the last three decades and also consulted on Princess Diana's post mortem. And he's very good on conspiracy theories!

I think there is some truth in all conspiracy theories, which is what fuels them. People just don't trust those in high places to tell the truth anymore.

I need convincing that the Americans went to the moon in 1969 with the basic technology they possessed then. I want to know why no other high rise building, which has been on fire, has collapsed in on itself. I want to know why Saddam Hussein was publically put on trial and executed but Bin Ladin was assassinated by American soldiers who said they dumped his body at sea. I want to know why some parents get into trouble for leaving their children alone and going out drinking but others don't. I want to know why Diana's bodyguard put his seat belt on just before the car went into the tunnel and so on....

NorthbyNorthwest22 yes that sounds very similar to my dfs experience of a catholic school. Sexual abuse was par for the course. He said you’d always know who been the latest victim when they appear with a new watch etc. Years later he had a good friend whose daughter was raped at a very well know private school (not catholic) by one of the teachers. The police refused to investigate, and went to great lengths to try and discredit the family (finding out about the dds mental health history, claiming her father was harassing the school) before any case investigation had even been brought. Df always believed it was because the man in question was a Freemason.

You can just work out if a conspiracy theory is really a conspiracy with maths, apparently. (Unless of course that's just another conspiracy )

www.livescience.com/53494-how-to-tell-if-conspiracy-theories-are-real.html

J E Hoover died in 1972. So served only two further Presidents.

Sorry - I didn't look it up so I belive you.

I just remember five with J E Hoover and JFK - no idea why .

I don't think JFK was only president to think about getting rid of him apparently Truman had previouly - so I think it unlikely he assassinated JFK - though may have been owned a few favours if there was some kind of coverup – but it was a big theory at some point he had.

Northern Runner given what happened to SAS man I wouldn't be passing on that info

A very old story, discredited years ago.

they didn't take her to hospital quickly which always seems odd to me

What, so the French ambulance crew and hospital staff were in on it too?

@Littlepond-Why do you believe that about Paul M?

interesting going through the list of conspiracies discussed last year when similar topic was posted: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3171892-Which-conspiracy-theories-do-you-believe

here's a PM one, but there are loads.
worldnewsdailyreport.com/former-beatle-ringo-starr-claims-the-real-paul-mccartney-died-in-1966-and-was-replaced-by-look-alike/

If I wanted to arrange the death of a troublesome princess I’d do something far more certain.

A drink chauffeur driving too fast and no seatbelts did the job. Of course the bike who possible caused the crash buggered off.

they didn’t take her to hospital which always seems odd to me

Standard practice in France at the time.

im still quite surprised at people insulting the ones that question the moon landings.

So you believe that because the moon reflects back to earth that there are small mirrors on it?

That alone doesn't exactly scream plausibility.

Conspiracies are conspiracies for a reason. Cover ups.
Enough money and you can keep people quiet.

They are still testing unmanned space flights on Orion now to see if they can get humans that far and back alive.
Orion that they have been developing for years and had its first launch in 2014 and is the same spacecraft they plan on taking men to the moon with in 2023.

Yet the mission to the Moon in the 60's just took a few years. They started Apollo in 1961 and was 'successful' in 1969.

1969 - The same year that the jumbo jet had only just been invented.

love the paul macartney ones. I spent days carefully comparing photographs a few years ago.
All i could decide from that was that he has had work done

So you believe that because the moon reflects back to earth that there are small mirrors on it?

No.
It involves the use of lasers, that require polished reflective surfaces to bounce back.

I met Paul McCartney a few years ago. He was taller than I thought he'd be. May be it wasn't really him...........

911 and princess Diana

If someone can make money or protect a vested interest by lying they probably will.
Conspiracy theories can be all too plausible because frankly we can't trust governments or the media, or big business, to be honest, we all know we are lied to and maniupulated, we're just never too sure what the truths really are.
And it's probably in someone's interest to stir up ridiculous conspiracy theories to deflect from the actual conspiracies.
For my twopenneth - David Kelley was murdered. Something dodgy about Jill Dando. Something dodgy, though not necesserily murder going on with Princess Di. I think the moon landing probably did happen, but perhaps a lot of luck was involved that just can't be banked on again.
As for the cancer thing, I've seen a few of these pop up over the years. Firstly there will always be 'snake oil' merchants claiming a cure. But secondly, if an individual doctor or small team does hit on something, there's no way big pharma would let it out if it wasn't under their control. They would definitely act to suppress any treatments they couldn't get their mitts on for some reason.

I remember trying to buy stevia leaf, before it was popular, as a healthy sweetener. It was illegal to buy it for human consupmption so I had to buy it as a 'pet additive'. There was a theory going around that the big sugar/sweetener companies were deliberately blocking its availability throughout the EU, as they had plans to use it profitably. (I was buying a kilo for a couple of quid). And of course now there's loads of products with stevia in, selling at a premium price. Not a huge conspiracy, but it's always the same, it's about the power and the money.

I don't believe any specific conspiracy theories. I think anything can look like a conspiracy if you unearth enough facts and put enough spin on them.

The only thing I am convinced of is that we have no idea what our government is up to and are kept occupied by minor stories in the media so we don't ask too many questions.

We see the likes of the Daily Mail scoffing at the scandals involving the governments of less developed countries but I suspect that our government (along with most others) is equally as corrupt. We're just a little bit more sophisticated at hiding our treachery. We probably don't s**t on our own doorstep too often either - prefering to exploit people further away from home.

Aside from that I suspect that Simon Cowell might be the antichrist.

@Catastrophejane interesting... any ideas on why someone would want Hendrix dead? Not disbelieving you by the way just wondering what the motive could be.