Category: military

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10 of the Most Bizarre Declassified Government Documents

Some people are really into conspiracy theories – or more prone to believing that the government is hiding certain truths from us, maybe – and still others have just watched too many episodes of The X-Files to trust that we’re being told every last detail.

But if these 10, slightly terrifying declassified documents are any indication, people are definitely right to ask questions, because the truth is often buried behind miles of red tape.

10. Okay so this needs to be a movie, if it isn’t.

In East Germany a committed freedom fighter and her husband had dealt with having her home raided while she was away, being arrested on the way to protests and all sorts of state sponsored harassment. After the wall fell she was able to read the documents the Stasi had kept on her and found out her own husband was an undercover agent and had written many reports on her activities with a bloodless banality.

9. Everything about the Challenger explosion is horrible.

When the space shuttle Challenger was destroyed, it was reported that all 7 astronauts were killed instantly. It was revealed decades later that some, if not all of the astronauts survived the initial explosion, as the cockpit cabin had enough protection to not be breached. For 2 minutes and 45 seconds, they were awake and aware, as they plummeted toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Understandably, NASA knew that the news of their terrifying death would have crippled the space program even more than it already was.

8. Evil people sometimes have security clearance.

Canadian here… The Somalia Affair Not sure if it was ever classified but definitely a horrific scandal. A now disbanded division of the Canadian military torturing a kid to death in the 90s, and taking hero pics with him while doing it… I think it’s important to remember when your country does something shitty – it’s not always the “bad guys” who can be fucking evil.

7. This seems awfully small and petty when, you know, actual life should scare people enough.

Devil Eyes

The plan after 9/11 to make figurines that look like Osama Bin Laden and give them to kids in South Asia. After it’s left in the sun for a certain amount of time, it’s face would peel off to reveal a “demon-like visage with red skin, green eyes, and black markings,” basically a demon. The objective was to scare kids and their parents so Bin Laden and Al Qaeda would lose support.

6. This idea was actually floated, so what’s not possible?

Operation Northwoods; A plan for a false flag operation that came from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Department of Defense in 1962 and given to JFK who turned it down. The plan called for the CIA to commit terrorist actions against US Civilians across the United States and frame Cuba, allowing us the right to invade and depose Castro and the communist government there. It was declassified and can be found online at the JFK Library. Terrifying that no one knows or seems to care that this was suggested by our government to the President.

5. We have to prepare for all contingencies.

The Nixon Administration had a speech prepared for if the moon landing had failed, and it’s chilling.

You can read it here

4. The Manhattan Project was terrifying from the ground up.

My hometown was littered woth radioactive waste by the federal government as part of the Manhattan project. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/01/nyregion/big-atom-waste-site-reported-found-near-buffalo.html

then we wonder why cancer and thyroid conditions thereare the norm.

3. It really seems likely that we’re going to wipe ourselves out on accident.

There are over 50 mishaps with nuclear weapons by the US Airforce in the 1950s alone.

2. So as you can see, we’ve never been a society that puts children first.

They tested Iodine on “retarded children” as well. In that time, oftentimes orphans and children who were behind in school ended up at these institutions.

The US government also inserted radioactive material into a man after a motorcycle crash and didn’t tell him.

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/03/us/panel-urges-us-to-apologize-for-radiation-testing-and-pay-damages.html

1. Drug testing on clueless citizens. That’s not scary.

Operation Midnight Climax

The government hired sex workers to dose “johns” with LSD for research purposes so to speak

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Midnight_Climax

 

Some of these going to haunt my thoughts for weeks, and you know…the truth is out there, y’all.

Are you into conspiracy theories? Do these documents tickle your sixth sense? Let us know!

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An Archaeological Dig on MT. Zion Revealed the Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem

One of the most significant events of the Old Testament is the fall of Jerusalem, including the destruction of King Solomon’s temple. The Babylonian siege ended in 586 (or 587) B.C.E. and cost much of the local population their lives or their freedom. Exile in Babylon lasted 50 years, and the entire event is commemorated by the fast of Tisha B’Av, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.

The event has again been verified by a new excavation that found layers of ash, smashed pottery, Babylonian arrows – even an earring left behind in the panic.

Image Credit: Mount Zion Dig

The archaeological site is located on Mount Zion, inside the walls of the old city, and Dr. Shimon Gibson of the University of North Carolina says they’ve likely only scratched the surface of what it holds – and that they’re sure the finds reveal details about the Babylonian conquest.

Image Credit: Dig Mount Zion

“Nobody abandons golden jewelry and nobody has arrowheads in their domestic refuse. It’s the kind of jumble that you would expect to find in a ruined household following a raid or battle. Household objects, lamps, broken bits from pottery which had been overturned and shattered…Frankly, jewelry is a rare find at conflict sites, because this is a rare find at conflict sites, because this is exactly the sort of thing that attackers will loot and later melt down.”

As they dig deeper, expect more exciting information from the site – they’ve also managed to reveal basements from around the time of the last King Herod, and part of the defenses used to keep out Crusaders in 1099.

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Sweden has “gay sailor” defense…

Sweden has “gay sailor” defense system in the Baltic Sea. Underwater dancing gay sailor neon sign sends a Morse code saying “Come here if you’re gay”, targeted to Russian submarines detected regularly in the area.

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The US Military still uses…

The US Military still uses 8 inch floppy disks on outdated IBM computers to run the nuclear missile systems. It’s because they are incredibly hard to hack. The computers are essentially air-gapped and the old IBM computers are reliable. They could run for another 40 years with spare parts.

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The US military was already…

The US military was already using UAV drone technology in WWII. The primary manufacturer at that time, Radioplane Company, had a drone assembler named Norma Jeane Dougherty, who eventually changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

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Take a Look at These Commonly Used Words That Are Actually Acronyms

Did you know there are words in the English language (recognized by Webster) that were once acronyms? I suppose they could still be considered acronyms, but our lexicon has adopted them as pieces of vocabulary in their own right.

Here are a few interesting words that were once abbreviations.

5. L.A.S.E.R

Photo Credit: Pixabay

LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The first laser was invented in 1960, but had a different name: LOSER. The “O” stood for ocsillation, because a laser (light) is technically an optical oscillator not an optical amplifier. But as the acronym rapidly spread, oscillation was later replaced by amplification. For obvious reasons.

4. C.A.R.E. Packages

Photo Credit: Pixabay

CARE packages started in 1945 after the end of World War II. Care stood for the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, a group that started preparing packages filled with leftover “humanitarian aid to millions starving in post-war Europe.”

History.com explains, “These first ‘CARE Packages’ contained everything from whole-milk powder and liver loaf to margarine and coffee. The contents of CARE Packages soon expanded to include soap, diapers, school supplies, and medicine as well as fabric, thread, and needles to allow recipients to make and mend clothes.”

3. Navy S.E.A.L.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The SEALs are a group of America’s toughest and most elite navy professionals. Their name stands for “SEa, Air, and Land”. This special operations force adopted the name “SEAL” because of their training and duties spanned “all environments (sea, air, and land)”.

2. S.C.U.B.A.

This well-known activity has been around since 1939. It was first used in military applications, but is now widely enjoyed by vacationers for entertainment, biologists for scientific research, and in many other circumstances. But it wasn’t coined “SCUBA” until 1952.

Wikipedia states, “In the U.S. Major Christian J. Lambertsen invented an underwater free-swimming oxygen rebreather in 1939. In 1952 he patented a modification of his apparatus, this time named SCUBA (an acronym for “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus“).

1. Z.I.P. Codes

As we all know, this term is used to help the post office designate what township or region a building or home location resides. It means Zone Improvement Plan Code.

The ZIP code “was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently and quickly (zipping along) when senders use the code in the postal address.”

Before ZIP codes’ inception, delivering mail was taxing. Robert Moon, a career postal employee, created the first codes, consisting of only 3 numbers that notated each central mail processing facility. It wasn’t until 1963 that the ZIP codes expanded to five numbers so as to have more combinations available to accurately reflect area.

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The Worst Shark Attack on Record Happened During World War II

When you think of shark attacks, you probably imagine surfers, divers, or other people who choose to be in the water with the giant predators when they’re mistaken for food – but the worst shark attack in history is actually the result of an event far more sinister.

And in this case, the sharks weren’t making mistakes – the humans beings treading water were, in fact, their intended prey.

The USS Indianapolis had delivered components of the atomic bomb that would later level Hiroshima before leaving Guam. It sailed alone toward the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, where it was supposed to meet the USS Idaho and prepare for an invasion of Japan.

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The USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a heavy cruiser of the United States Navy in World War two. The ship was named after the City Indianapolis and was a ship of the Portland-class. The commissioning was on the 15th of November 1932 and had a length of 186m, a width of 20m and a draft of 7m. With her 8×White-Forster boilers, she had a maximum speed of 32.7 knots (60.6 km/h; 37.6 mph) and had a displacement of 10,110 tons. USS Indianapolis had a armament of 3×3-203mm guns, of 8×127mm AA guns, of 16×28mm AA guns, of 24×40mm AA guns, of 14×20mm AA guns and of 2×3-pounder 47mm guns. ======================================= After her commissioning, the ship was under the command of Captain John M. Smeallie and had a lot of training maneuvers, for example off the Chilean coast or in the Guantánamo Bay. She also escorted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on three different cruises, one trip to the Campobello Island, one trip to a naval review and one trip to South America. During the last cruise, President Roosevelt underwent his crossing the line ceremony on the 26 November 1936 with the words: "an intensive initiation lasting two days, but we have all survived and are now full-fledged Shellbacks". After the beginning of World War two, USS Indianapolis operated together with carrier task forces in the South Pacific and supported the New Guinea campaign with the attacking of Lae and Salamaua. Then the ship was transferred in Alaska area and supported the Aleutian Islands campaign with the attacking of Kiska Island and other operations, for example the conquest of Amchitka. In February 1943, she was on a patrol with two destroyers in the near of Attu Island and had sank the Japanese cargo ship Akagane Maru (3,150 t). Later in 1943, USS Indianapolis became the flagship of 5th Fleet and took part in many operations, for example the conquest of the Gilberts, Marshalls and Marianas Islands. The ship also took part in a lot of attacks on Japanese positions, for example the bombarding of the Kwajalein Atoll in January 1944 and participated in the Peleliu invasion in September 1944. ??????????????????

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A day later, shortly after midnight, a Japanese torpedo ripped the ship in half.

It sank in under 12 minutes, sending the 900 survivors (of 1196 crew) into the water.

There weren’t enough life rafts to hold everyone but there were life vests to go around, and as the men formed groups and began going through rations and trying to maintain some kind of order, they surely believed rescue would come – and soon.

They were wrong.

Instead, the sharks appeared, likely drawn by the blood and bodies in the water, ready to attack live victims. Their reported aggression leads most historians and experts to believe the sharks in question were oceanic whitetips – a particularly aggressive species that lives and feeds in open water.

The sailors did what they could, pushing the men who died away from the groups to draw sharks and moving away from anyone with an open or bleeding wound. The first person to open a can of SPAM paid the ultimate price, and the rest of the meat rations were tossed after that harrowing spectacle.

Days passed and the Navy did nothing, believing that reports of the ships sinking had been planted in an attempt to draw rescue ships into open water. The survivors dwindled, dying from thirst, heat, drinking seawater and suffering from salt poisoning. Those who were not in their right minds dragged healthy men into the water when they jumped, dooming even more to the depths.

After four-plus days in the water, a Navy pilot spotted the survivors and radioed for help, and when a second plane arrived, it dropped rafts and supplies before landing and attempting to gather the men most at risk – disobeying orders in the process.

Twelve hours later, the USS Doyle arrived and pulled 317 men from the water – nearly 600 had perished in the four days it took the Navy to respond. Not all of them were killed by sharks, with salt poisoning and exposure claiming lives, along with lack of access to clean water, but none of those men would have had to die had the Navy been quick to send rescue teams after the attack.

Lessons learned? Don’t expect that help will be there soon, and don’t mess with the oceanic whitetip shark.

And don’t eat SPAM, but you probably already figured that out on your own.

Also also, Nic Cage starred in a 2016 movie about the disaster called USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage.

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This Is What Would Happen If You Actually Broke into Area 51

Area 51 seems to be all the rage right now.

Talk of storming Area 51 in order to find out the truth once and for all – and also because “they can’t stop all of us” – has captivated the internet recently.

Mostly because we all love laughing emojis.

Aside from the fact that the government has tanks and also nuclear weapons and could, if they wanted to, definitely stop all of us, the idea has spawned endlessly amusing memes and internet jokes.

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Good day at lake??? #fidoop #area51 #xip #gopblo

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That said, if you’re an alien-believer and know the truth is out there…you might be wondering what might happen if people really did push for a peek inside the storied government facility.

First off, the area belongs to the US military, and the Air Force has publicly warned that anyone approaching the area would be discouraged from “trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces.”

US law forbids trespassing on military bases (Section 1382 of Title 18) and says that anyone found breaking the law could be subject to six months in prison, a $500 fine, or both.

Area 51 is part of Edwards Air Force Base, which means it falls into the category protected by said law, and the signs posted around Area 51 suggest the government takes trespassing there seriously. They state that the area is restricted, that trespassing is illegal, and that “use of deadly force authorized.”

Which seems to indicate that you’re taking some pretty grave chances should you decide to storm the place.

An assumption backed up by the fact that, in 2017, the US military opened fire on a man who tried to break into a Royal Air Force base in the UK.

And that was just for a quiet base in the English countryside. It’s safe to say that Area 51 would be at least as rigorously defended.

In 2016, a television crew filming the BBC show “Conspiracy Road Trip” were arrested at gunpoint for approaching the restricted area, made to lie face-down on the ground, and forced to remain there for 3 hours while they passed security checks. They were eventually fined and let go.

Two years before that a tour bus inadvertently (they claimed) drove through the warning signs. The tour was pulled over by military armed with M-16s.

These attempts were deemed harmless and treated as such, but earlier this year, at least one man “with a cylindrical object in-hand” was shot dead near the Nevada National Security Site after failing to stop at a security gate.

If you decide you can afford the fine and want to go ahead with it, well…I guess try not to look too threatening. Maybe don’t carry any cylindrical objects?

Or just don’t. That’s probably the better idea.

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