>You refer to 'this stuff' as a distraction - why is it any more of a
>distraction than the fact that Ralph Nader spoke at the Council on
>Foreign Relations, something you reported about here.
He gave an on-the-record talk with media present. i recorded the damn thing and broadcast 20 minutes of it on the radio (and you can listen yourself at <http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html>. There was no arcane knowledge involved. He criticized U.S. foreign policy in intelligent, spirited, but well-known ways, and the CFR members asked him questions. The CFR publishes a journal - a journal whose managing editor had a public debate with Tariq Ali a few months ago. We have a very good idea of how they think. I listen because they're important and influential. But it's all in the open.
You ask what conspiracism is. A lot of it is contained in this passage from the Asia Times piece you posted:
>An influential Jewish European banker reveals that the ruling elite
>in Europe is now telling their minions that the West is on the brink
>of total financial meltdown
Not just a banker - but a "Jewish" banker - there's something about conspiracism that can't help bringing the Jews into it, since they're the ultimate secret society. But what special knowledge does this banker have? Anyone following the financial scene knows the relative balance of risks. The bogus revelation of supposedly secret knowledge. Yawn.
Doug