FEMA Prison Camps

A skeptical look at the claim that FEMA maintains a network of prison camps in readiness.

Filed under Conspiracies

Skeptoid #145
March 17, 2009
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Today we're going to have a look at more than 800 sites inside the United States, said by some to be prisons operated by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), for the purpose of holding as many as ten million American citizens prisoner, with no criminal charges filed. YouTube carries videos (like this, this, this, and others) of such empty prison compounds, and dozens of web sites like libertyforlife.com and abovetopsecret.com showcase photographs and reports by independent investigators. These alleged prisons are hidden everywhere in plain sight: A train yard or shipping terminal mysteriously surrounded by barbed wire; a closed military base with some new construction happening; or even just a vacant site that seems like it could be a good location. A paranoid conspiracy theory, you say? Perhaps. But might there actually be reason to believe that plans for just this scenario really do exist?

When I first heard the FEMA Prison Camp conspiracy story, it seemed ridiculous and paranoid at face value. But when I finally dug in to research it, I started by searching for the origins of the rumors, and found to my surprise that nearly all of the legal foundation and precedent for such a plan does in fact exist. One primary source of fuel for the fire is Garden Plot, the Department of Defense's civil disturbance plan to assist local authorities during times of civil unrest, natural disasters, or other emergencies. Garden Plot has been notably activated after 9/11, and also during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Garden Plot's authority comes from Article I of the United States Constitution, that states in part "Congress shall have power... to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections, and repel Invasions." Taking it one step further, Title 10, sections 331-334 of federal law authorize the President to suppress insurrections, rebellions, and domestic violence by executive order. In recent years, the Insurrection Act and the Posse Comitatus Act, which limited executive powers to deploy the military for purposes of law enforcement, have been amended to broaden the scope of exceptions.

Periodically, the government conducts interagency readiness exercises to prepare for such contingencies. Past examples of such exercises that are frequently cited by Prison Camp conspiracy guys include Rex-82 Proud Saber (where Rex-82 stands for Readiness Exercise, 1982), and Rex-84 Night Train. In these exercises, agencies deal with such problems as major strikes and unlawful assemblies. They may impose martial law, arrest large numbers of people, and handle mass relocation of civilians. Now, obviously, there are times when this is a good thing and we want it to happen. A lot of us were glad that the National Guard came in to help quell the L.A. riots. If a large force of Oklahoma City style militiamen started blowing up a city, I'd want the Army to have pretty extensive powers to put a stop to it. But, unfortunately, everything is a double-edged sword. For the government to have this level of power when it's needed, it means they also have it when they say it's needed, and when you and I might not necessarily be in favor of it. What if Congress suddenly made all guns illegal? They would sure as hell need prison camps to hold ten million rioting citizens. Such powers necessarily do exist.

So there's our legal authority and precedent. If FEMA decides they want 800 prison camps maintained in readiness, they have the legal right to do so, and to use them if ordered. But do they? Do they actually anticipate this need to the point that there really are 800 manned prison camps ready to go? That's another story.

Despite the reasonable plausibility, most of the sources trumpeting FEMA prison camps are clearly delusional, blaming the "Illuminati" for the prison camps, and claiming that they are to support the "new world order". One online list of prison locations describes a Mojave Desert location as a "Fully staffed full gassing/cremating death camp with airstrip, dedicated to the termination red/blue list under martial law," and states that it was recently toured by "high level Illuminati Luciferians". A camp in Alaska is said to have a capacity of two million, despite Alaska's total population of less than 700,000.

And now that President Obama is in office, the charges now fall onto his shoulders. One report says that Obama has already ordered the immediate opening of America's "vast gulag of concentration camps" to handle the "social upheaval" caused by the "economic collapse", and is in the process of incarcerating 775,000 citizens as part of "Project ENDGAME". Fear that this mass arrest and execution of Americans is already in progress is commonly expressed on a lot of these web sites. You might remember former U.S. Representative and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, perhaps best known for her 2006 punching of a Capitol police officer who stopped her when she refused to show proper credentials while bypassing the Capitol's metal detectors. Following Hurricane Katrina, she announced that 5,000 New Orleans prisoners had been executed by the military:

Her son's charge by the Department of Defense was to process 5,000 bodies that had received a single bullet wound to the head, and these were mostly males... The data about these individuals was entered into a Pentagon computer. And then reportedly the bodies were dumped in the swamp in Louisiana... I have verification from insiders, who wish to remain anonymous, at the Red Cross, that this is true. (Because clearly, the Red Cross would be deeply involved in such a plot - BD.)

McKinney was also the driving force behind the 2005 Congressional briefing where she presented testimony and numerous witnesses claiming that the U.S. was behind the 9/11 attacks. In fact, when you search the Internet for FEMA prison camps, you find a lot of the information is deeply interwoven with 9/11 conspiracy theories. The same familiar names appear: Like when Halliburton announced its fourth quarter results for 2005, one of the line items was a $385 million five-year contract to support temporary detention capabilities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Conspiracy theorists jumped on this and said it was proof that the prisons are being built. I don't know how many prisons you think can be built, staffed, and operated for $77 million a year, but our local megachurch here has spent more than that alone just building a parking garage and a bookstore cafe.

Now of course, we do know that the U.S. government has, in the past, set up prison camps into which law-abiding American citizens have been forcibly relocated, by Presidential order. This happened between 1942 and 1945, when people of Japanese ancestry were rounded up and placed into concentration camps to prevent them from aiding the Japanese during World War II. I recently visited Manzanar, the best preserved of these sites, which is now operated by the National Park Service. You can tour the grounds and they have a great museum, with very frank exhibits that make no excuses for what happened. There is no secrecy or coverup about it. Even today, the U.S. government operates detention facilities around the world, like Guantanamo Bay, which is well known and fully disclosed. Garden Plot and the readiness exercises are all matters of public record.

But there are other sites, such as Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean, for which reasonable evidence exists that it's been used as a detention facility, but that no official admission is made. In fact, it's denied. Whether true or not, the existence of Diego Garcia would not constitute good evidence that concentration camps exist inside the United States; there are significant differences. Whatever might happen on Diego Garcia happens behind closed doors, whereas the claimed concentration camps are right out in broad daylight. And if you're going to illegally rough up a terrorism suspect, a small room overseas is a great place to do it; but a wide-open concentration camp in the public eye, designed for tens of thousands, would be a rather poor choice. So, to a responsible skeptic, the other examples of government behavior that we have constitute pretty poor support for the existence of domestic concentration camps.

At the time Japanese Americans were rounded up and put into Manzanar, it was a reasonable precaution according to the standards of the times. I used to find it hard to believe that people could think so differently only a few decades ago, but in 1999 I bought a house in a neighborhood laid out in the 1930's, and in the original deed was a clause that the buyer may not to sell the house to "a Negro, a Jew, or a Chinaman." Times change. Manzanar would never happen today, and although the government technically has the same powers to do it now as it did then, it's not realistic to be concerned about it recurring.

Our man Benjamin Franklin famously said: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither, and will lose both." Having to take off your shoes to get on a plane and not being allowed to have a water bottle are infringements that Ben would have deemed unacceptable first steps, but they are also a far cry from millions of civilians being thrown into prison camps. We choose to elect politicians who don't want us to bring water bottles onto planes, because (for better or for worse) that's what's important to our society right now. I don't remember anyone electing a politician who wants to throw millions of Americans into prison camps. To make effective electoral decisions, you need to maintain a healthy skepticism, and not go off the deep end and suppose that every Halliburton contract is a slippery slope leading to Americans being gassed in military concentration camps. If you see barbed wire around a train yard, consider the possibility of other explanations (like the train company doesn't need stuff being stolen) before you conclude that the Illuminati are out to kill you.

You should follow me on twitter here.

Brian Dunning
Brian Dunning

© 2009 Skeptoid Media, Inc. Copyright information

References & Further Reading

Aaronovitch, D. Voodoo History: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Modern History. New York: Riverhead, 2010.

Arkin, Wiliam M. Encyclopedia of the U.S. Military. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. 574-575.

Barkun, M. A culture of conspiracy: Apocalyptic visions in contemporary America. Berkeley, Ca.: University of California Press, 2003. 73-74.

Irons, Peter. Justice At War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. 25-47.

Jacobs, J. Socio-legal foundations of civil-military relations. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, Inc, 1986. 51-62.

Reference this article:
Dunning, Brian. "FEMA Prison Camps." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, Inc., 17 Mar 2009. Web. 6 Sep 2010. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4145>

Discuss!

Remember, you should always read with skepticism the comments of anyone too lame to put their real name & city.

Well, that comment is better than the ones on the Contrails Conspiracy page.

Adam D. Jones, Dallas, TX
March 17, 2009 11:42am

Fox News (specifically that imbecile Glenn Beck) has been pushing this theory recently. (I'm sorry, is "imbecile" seen as a personal attack? In his case, it is a fact.)

Greg Martinez, Gaineville, FL
March 17, 2009 11:46am

Maybe we should secretly remove the barbed wire from around the trainyards in "aplace" where "aguy" lives and let Darwin's theory take it's course...

Oh yes, that's right. We can't because the illuminati will get mad at us and throw us into the massive US prison camp otherwise known as North Dakota. (Or for all of you from the Dakotas "You know...that piece of Canada that you took from the Sioux.")

Kate, Des Moines, IA
March 17, 2009 12:29pm

When the controlled demolition of the U.S. economy is complete, there will be millions of people fighting over scraps of food.

Those FEMA camps are for those who have no means to feed themselves, those who choose to do combat with the powers-that-be.

If you dig deeper, you will discover that each camp is connected by railways to crematories. Some of these crematories can burn up to 3,000 bodies per day.

However, do not focus on the the coming storm, but rather, focus on the treasure that lays in wait of those who can see past this illusion of power, those who refuse to kill another, for any reason!

Its good to be skeptical, but its far better to use eyes to look around, to see the patterns, and is even far better to use ears to learn rather than the mouth.

http://www.focusonrecovery.net

Travis, Northern Cal., USA
March 17, 2009 4:12pm

I am so happy that the ratio of loons in the USA seems to be slightly greater than here in Australia.

Truth be known you might already have a theory that the FDA is withholding drugs that can fight infection because they are infiltrated with big Pharma..

Yes it appears off topic, but is it? Is the truth of the FEMA network to hold christians who didnt quite make rapture in 2012?

What ever the perceived imaginary origin of large complexes are, many people would rather look to the fringe for their information than just check the facts out.

I have a theory about fish that evolved into human like beings.. but that is for another day

Henk van der Gaast, Sydney, Ausralia
March 17, 2009 5:51pm

Probably the most insane theory I've ever heard. What is it with you Americans? Seriously? This would /never/ happen here.

Joseph, London
March 18, 2009 7:21am

you live near a mega church?... you have my simpathy. i'm not giveing you much, since i don't know you to well. but i ignolage you problem.

salamandra, south
March 18, 2009 8:33am

I'm not sure why or how conspiracy theories become all encompassing like this. As soon as you have one conspiracy theory crop up (9/11, FEMA prison camps, holocaust deniers) the rest of them are never far behind. Often a site will start out "asking questions" about 9/11, and by the end they think that Jewish Reptoid Illuminata married bigfoot to an alien and created 9/11 in order to cover up their theft of the towers gold, which was needed to pay for the honeymoon. And while they were at it they faked a moon landing and a holocaust.

When I first heard 9/11 conpsiracy theories they didn't seem too extreme, since the idea that the US could have done more but inter-agency pissing contests cost many lives isn't impossible, but the more I learned about them the more crap like this popped up. What discredits conspiracy theories most is that those who believe one often believe them all.

Pat, Peterborough, Canada
March 18, 2009 12:09pm

Joseph,

Two words for you, David Icke.

Craig, Washington DC
March 18, 2009 12:58pm

We will happy to announce that the fist men that will put in a FEMA camp is no other less then Illuminati lakey and disinfo agent:

Brian Dunning

hero of the day

(look he even has the all-seeing eye as a weblogo symbol, NEED TO SAY MORE FOLKS!)

Brian Dunning, the kind of person that in the twenties said it was ridiculous to state that Stalin
was building camps to rape, torture, slaughter and murder non-jewish Christians, non-marxists, non-atheistic, non-materialist & non-bols-jew-ist

Well this freemasonic kind is all around us. The even make websides!
You are on and in it at the very moment. So don't worry be happy!!!

"By the art of deception thou shall fight war"

Mossad credo

Handyman, New York
March 18, 2009 3:07pm

I just wanted to point out that your quote attributed to Ben Franklin was most likely written by someone else. There is some controversy on the subject at present. See link below on the person with the best data up to now:

http://www.futureofthebook.com/stories/storyReader$605

Niveque C Storm, San Diego
March 18, 2009 6:18pm

Handyman, did the Nazis kill about 3 million Jews in extermination camps?

Max, Boston, MA
March 18, 2009 8:33pm

Perhaps you're right that if today guns were made illegal we would have riots. Hopefully we will eventually realize that such action would help to dramatically reduce violent crime and be able to peacefully accept that kind of law. It's funny you mention guns, because one of my favorite athletes (Carl Landry) was recently shot in the leg!

Will Tomlinson, Houston, Texas
March 19, 2009 7:40am

Well I guess Handyman is a candidate for a listener feedback postcast.

Robert Clary, Tillsonburg Ontario Canada
March 19, 2009 9:22am

fema death camps! high altitude woo.

david erardi, milford,ma
March 19, 2009 3:48pm

I am skeptical that Ben Franklin would find that having to remove one's shoes before boarding a plane would be a loss of liberty. If shoes shouldn't have to go through the x-ray machine, then why would anything have to go through the x-ray machine?

You are allowed to have a bottle of water on the plane or in the airport, as long as it is acquired after you have been through security, unless the laws have changed recently.

Mike, Yorktown, VA
March 20, 2009 9:24am

According to Wikipedia, Franklin said, "They who can give up ESSENTIAL liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Those who can't give up even a little liberty to obtain long-term safety are the ones who will lose both.

Max, Boston, MA
March 20, 2009 2:52pm

Dave Neiwert of Orcinus and Crooks and Liars had a great blog post about this subject just the other day. Strangely enough he traced the start of this conspiracy all the way back to the X-Files movie. He does a good job of debunk several of the alleged "detention centers".

http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2009/03/fema-concentration-camps-militia-good.html

Jason, Indianapolis
March 22, 2009 12:55pm

It has been rumoured for some time now that plans are afoot to remake the "V" miniseries from the 80s as a blockbuster Hollywood movie. I eagerly anticipate this for many reasons, but this discussion has given me one more.

Perhaps if the movie is released, conspiracy theorists will conclude that the FEMA camps were created to house human food for our evil reptilian masters from another world.

White mice and scientists - BE AFRAID!

H. Tiberius Miser, Secret Underground Lair, Earth
March 23, 2009 7:51am

I fail to see how any of my natural rights or those specifically granted to me in the Constitution are even infrigned apon by having to have my shoes x-rayed to board a plane.

On the other hand, another great podcast Brian. I commend you for managing to be so balanced about something so wacky.

Morgan, Tracy, CA
March 23, 2009 10:30am

Morgan, presumably TSA's warrantless searches of every passenger's shoes, and seizures of water bottles without probable cause violate the 4th Amendment.

TSA says the searches/seizures are reasonable.
http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/optout/spp_faqs.shtm

Even prior to the passage of ATSA and the Federalization of the screening work force, Federal courts upheld warrantless searches of carry-on luggage at airports. Courts characterize the routine administrative search conducted at a security checkpoint as a warrantless search, subject to the reasonableness requirements of the Fourth Amendment. Such a warrantless search, also known as an administrative search, is valid under the Fourth Amendment if it is "no more intrusive or intensive than necessary, in light of current technology, to detect weapons or explosives, confined in good faith to that purpose," and passengers may avoid the search by electing not to fly. [See United States v. Davis, 482 F.2d 893, 908 (9th Cir. 1973)].

Max, Boston, MA
March 23, 2009 1:23pm

I can't listen to this podcast. Takes me to a blank page and doesn't start the player. Both the podcast before and after this episode play normally. Hope it's fixable. New to your podcast and enjoying it. Thanks.

Paul, Cobb, Ca
March 24, 2009 8:22am

Wow, You mean to tell me that it is really like this:

"There are over 800 of these camps all over the United States. I cannot prove that these things are actually real, but that is not because I have not gone out looking for them. That is your fault for not agreeing with me in the first place.

"Now, let's talk about things that I feel are real."

I see it as another round of 9/11 truth, but in different trappings. I am pretty sure that this might fill a little hole in their tapestry of paranoia.

"Well, inside these Fema camps are the people that were carted off by the government.

Joseph Furguson, Brawley, Ca
March 25, 2009 8:17am

"Remember, you should always read with skepticism the comments of anyone too lame to put their real name & city."

I strongly disagree with this idea. It should not matter what name someone takes, or if they take no name.

All that should matter is the strength of the argument. To me it's a similar idea to avoiding "argument from authority". Once a user builds up a reputation based on their username, that will effect the way people view their arguments. Every argument should be taken separately, and on it's logical and factual merits.

For this reason I prefer semi-anonymized comments, with no user profiles/avatars, to help eliminate these biases.

Don Wan, Albatross Lake
March 31, 2009 4:43am

I see a lot of these guys on other boards and almost all of them will believe literally anything as long you put the gubmint in it. For instance, the FEMA camp guys like to reference a yoututbe video that has a guy filming at a "secret FEMA camp" who gets run off by security after making an ass of himself. The funny/sad thing about this is that the guys are too far into the tinfoil to ask questions like "if its a secret camp how did the guy filming know where to find it"?

Well, I watched the video and the truther accidentally showed the sign for the "secret FEMA camp"; it was a ICE facility outside Dallas. A known (and on the map) illegal detention facility is not a FEMA camp, but the tinfoilers can't be persuaded with logic and evidence.

Try this one: Ask the guys where the FEMA camps are. Ask for street addresses or GPS coordinates. They'll point you to a secret list with about 1000 "camps" on it, but the locations are so vague (like "outside Omaha" or "8 miles from Hawkinsville") that you can't actually go look at it yourself. Same with the alleged railroad cars that are actually prisoner transports; lots of breathless reporting but not a picture of one anywhere.

These people are in serious need of help.

Ray, Kathleen, GA
March 31, 2009 7:32am

I've only ever seen actual evidence of a couple of 'camps', but really, even if there are more, these guys are just jumping to conclusions.

They are far more likely to just be there in case of some disaster like Katrina, or civil unrest in the event of economic collapse, the kind of thing any sensible government will plan for.

Even though I say that and offer more mundane explanations, all that's just speculation, just like the conspiracy guys. There's no proof of anything beyond a couple of 'camp' like constructions, anything else is just speculation, just from these guys, it's irrational speculation.

Don Wan, Albatross Lake
March 31, 2009 8:28am

The Camps are there, the Trains are ready, fitted with Guillotines...glad I live in Ireland!

Strum, Dublin IRE-land
April 09, 2009 2:52pm

Um.... why would you need trains with guillotines and camps?

Craig, Washington DC
April 09, 2009 2:59pm

"FEMA camp" has become a generic term for any government detention facilty.

Where are the Marial boat lift people being held?

Yes the government does & should have contingency plans in place for handling large #s of people in the event of disasters, civil unrest & mass deportations.

The majority of these "facilities" would just using sports stadiums (controlled access / basic plumbing) local schools, (often used by red cross as shelters)

Yhe only question that really matters is "Who gets to go camping?"

Dave Metzger, Irving Tx
April 20, 2009 6:50am

VERY well written. It sort of feels like this is where I'm at. I am very willing to admit this world is a messed up place, but there are too many people convoluting the issues with extra nonsense information about illuminati or *gasp* reptilians.

Either way, it's still a curious sight to see all these camps, and mass extermination has been done before, so why not consider the possibility that it could happen again?

keep that bullshit detector working, Brian!

randomthought, all over
April 21, 2009 7:06pm

This gave me a good laugh and a half. The rail car's he is so freaked out over? They move new vehicals from the plant to the dealerships. Lol, he thinks they are for people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7zR7NEzopw

Greg Droder, Kamloops, BC, Canada
April 29, 2009 7:45am

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-645

National Emergency Centers Establishment Act

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. There is authorized to be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to carry out this Act. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

While its true a lot of delusional people are embellishing the story, one need only follow the money to discover FEMA "camps" are being built. Id hardly characterize the locations as out in the public eye.

Jon, HB, California
May 25, 2009 9:22pm

anyone that doesnt believe in the illuminati has spent less then an hour researching it, the alex jones coverage of builderberg is ALMOST evidence enough. And then 911 should be pretty obvious, if gas melted the steel then how come it didnt melt the people sitting in the big hole 2 seconds after the plane hit. how come no melted debris was fojnd. How come the designers of the building on "science of 911' admitted that it was designed for that and that a plane hitting the building would be like poking a screen door with a pencil. stop using laughter as manipulation for your willful ignorance cause its not funny

andrew, san diego
June 01, 2009 5:33am

I do not buy the Illuminati, the one world government, the shadow government, whatever term Jones used this week for the simple reason that if they exist, they are pretty inept and not deserving of any fear. They had centuries to take over the world and turn us into serfs, a process that would have been easier to accomplish when we were actually serfs by the way, but they are not any closer to that goal from when they started. They have the power to alter human history, take over the planet, and keep people in line and how do they use it? They relocate people into old train yards and house them there instead of idk, underground bunkers or even better, outright killing them? That is so stupid that it is laughable.

If your secret masters want me to praise them, they need to do a better job at taking over this planet. Until then, I am not going to fear them. To me they are extremely inefficient because a competent group would have done a better job at it.

I know why you need the secret masters. It is a need to feel that random events are not random. If there were secret masters dictating the course of human events, then the world is less chaotic and scary. They take away the insecurity that random events foster.

The secret masters are not real, but if you need them so you can explain why your keys go missing every so often, then be my guest.

Joseph Furguson, Brawley, Ca
June 02, 2009 12:45pm

It's funny you mention bobbed wire fence used for keeping people out but the camp I saw had the wire facing inward suspecting to keep people from getting out!

The previous post saya he don't buy the one world government but the new world order has been comming out of presidents mouth for many years now. If you research secret societies, you will find many that truly exsist.
Wake up and stop being so naive to what may be going on underground. It's not easy being deaf, dumb, and blind in our society today. Sheeple is the perfect word for those just occupying space in our society beleiving all is for the benefit of the people.

Jeorge Rivero, Miami, Fl
June 03, 2009 11:41am

I am amazed that you used an appeal to ignorance in your reply. On top of that it is a moving the goalpost fallacy. The claim he is addressing is that FEMA used abandoned railway stations to house the Katrina victims. Your assertion that they are underground is beyond the scope of the original claim.

Now if you want to find where these underground bunkers are, look for massive drains in the power system. Also, look for places that have an consistently higher than normal trash yield. look for evidence of construction in remote areas. A Bold assertion is not good enough in the weight of evidence. find the evidence and we might believe you.

If your shadow government wants to be taken seriously, then they should do something useful with it. You know they could stabilize a few regions in Africa, turn the Sahara into a garden, or something more useful than that. This business of kidnapping people is not all that scary to me. It reminds me of college fraternity pranks. Is your NWO trying to haze the world or not?

You brandish the label of Sheeple, Jeorge, as though it was a bad thing. I am here to tell you that you are using it wrong. Because we question the validity of this lie we are sheeple. You, on the other hand, listen to the raving delusions of a Colorado shock jock without questioning it. I would say that you are the bigger sheep than we are.

Joseph Furguson, Brawley, Ca
June 03, 2009 7:13pm

I'm honestly iffy on the camps. Not sure if they are true or not. We don't need to believe in the "NWO" to believe that camps might be constructed for a country's citizens. All we need to do is look at history. The Nazi's and USSR used them. NK and Iran have them now.
We now have a Marxist as POTUS now, one who was weaned on the likes of Alinsky and Ayres. These people aren't any different than those meantioned above. Check out the written words of Marx, Alinsky, and a host of others like them. Obama's Black Liberation isn't any better. Each and everyone named in this comment had zero problem killing people over their religion. Neither does Islam. Now that is another story altogether and it comes with a mix of prophecy and mandate from their religious leaders to kill the infadels. They have tried to take over the world once and will try again.

DebCompton, OH
July 23, 2009 5:32pm

The reason the secret societies have not yet achieved their goal is because the one world system of governance will not happen until GOD's appointed time. From the moment Eve bit into the forbidden fruit Lucifer has been working to establish his kingdom.

Don't believe in a extended circle of Luciferians who use secret societies as their cover? Go to YouTube and punch in Bill Cooper and Mystery Babylon or Bill Cooper and the Rose Cross. He reads THEIR writings telling of THEIR plans in THEIR words. Some of their documents are readily available online for you to peruse for your very own self!

Before you totally toss out conspiracy theories, how about you do your OWN due diligence and RESEARCH it for yourself? I often wonder if those who just pooh-pooh the idea of conspiracies do so because they are too scared to find out that they may actually be real. Put on your big boy pants and do your homework!

Kimm, Hudson, FL
July 25, 2009 3:38pm

Let's talk for a moment about reputability of a source. How reputable is YouTube? I mean, SERIOUSLY, can you trust everything on YouTube? Is it really that good of a source? And the point of this episode is that on occasion, a conspiracy theory DOES have some sort of truth to it - there is a legal precedent for the prison camps. And don't you think that Bill Cooper might be making it up? Everyone has an imagination, and everyone can use it. I use mine to look at things from a logical point of view, and seeing as how there are not very many people disappearing without a trace, there doesn't seem to be much of a precedent for the prison camps as of today. Honestly, you just sound silly.

Joseph Bozeman, Norman
July 28, 2009 8:03pm

Without calling Obama a Marxist (oh, c'mon!) or freaking out over the details, I still distrust my government enough to imagine that they might "round us all up" someday--but it seems unlikely.

I think it's more likely that they'll kill us slowly, with a screwed up health care system that's allowed to rip off sick people with impunity. (I'm not suggesting that they're doing on purpose, ya understand...)

Lucky Jean, Pahoa, HI
August 09, 2009 4:34pm

Anyone who thinks there are not powerful people trying to create a world government please wikipedia David Rockefeller. There certainly are many crazy people in the world with crazy theories unfortunately these people are often in charge. If you dont believe this look up the book ecoscience by or new science czar john holdren where he suggests forced abortions and putting sterilants in the water supply, Don't go to sleep because there are no aliens coming to get us.

drew, philadelphia
August 12, 2009 9:06pm

Yeah, right.

Marius vanderLubbe, Nullabor Plain, Australia
August 13, 2009 5:27am

I looked up his wikipedia entry. He wants a one world government, but he will not get it. Also, he is not making any attempts to make one.

How much real power does this David Rockefeller have? He has none, less now that Chase has been bailed out.

You are using scare tactics, Drew. You invoke the name Rockefeller, a name that has meaning to Americans in general, with conspiratorial tones.

Accusations made in a conspiratorial manner is not evidence. I can do that too.

"You notice how Alex Jone's features sometimes take on a reptilian appearance? I am not saying that he is a reptile, but it would be wise to check to see if he knows where the entrance to the underground caves are!"

Is my claim valid? No, because I do not have valid evidence to back me up. All I have are hushed tones and a conspiratorial gaze.

Joseph Furguson, Brawley, Ca
August 13, 2009 7:27am

David Rockefeller has no power? That's a new one. I really don't consider what I said scare tactics I just thought of it as common sense.The United Nations, the European union, NAFTA it seems from just a casual observance that we have been moving in the direction of a one world government for a while. It also seems that more and more people are openly saying that it would be good, The Pope just released a huge statement calling for it. I don't even know if a more united world would be a bad thing. I am just new to this site I found it a bit scary like it was crazy to think that there could really be evil people in the world, or that the government keeps secrets, or that the media spins and distorts the truth.

drew, philadelphia
August 13, 2009 8:05am

The followers of alex jones are seriously unbelievable. Submitted:
http://www.infowars.com/disproof-of-global-warming-hype-published/

Go through the 59 comments and find me ONE person who went and read the original article. I actually read the original article:
http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/200807/monckton.cfm

it appears no one did because they did not notice the disclaimer. This is just one example of why alex jones is so popular. He can sell all this conspiracy theory crap and everyone will just trust him without verifying his research with skepticism. Maybe some people go out and do their own research but conspiracy theories generally breed a style of research that limits the users to "trusted" sources that agree with the conspiracy theory and are not likely to be part of the conspiracy. This may not be true for all of alex jones' followers but i highly suspect its the case for most. THESE are examples of "sheeple."
I cant claim to know if he is generally sincere about his claim but i do know is he is an extremist libertarian with religious style convictions to this ideology. All of his conspiracy theories end up promoting these ideas and seem to be meant to scare the population into distrusting their government enough to become the ideal libertarian government he desires. I don't mean to create a complete ad-hominem argument but it should be a reason to approach his arguments with extreme skepticism.

Eric, Oklahoma City
August 15, 2009 3:50am

Once again Drew. All you are doing is using a little bit of truth, some lies, and a little outright slander said using some hushed conspiratorial accusations and tones.

Ever considered why this particular conspiracy used Rockefeller as the focal point? He is a well known name and at one time, that family controlled industry in the United States. Roosevelt stopped that with all of his antitrust laws.

But you know, the must still have power for some reason.

The last time I heard about this conspiracy it was the Carnegie family that was creating the camps. The next time it will be the Morgans, the Stanfords, the Krugers, or the Schwabs that are creating the camps. All the people spreading these lies is a really old name of someone that was important a century ago.

The sad thing is that people will follow them with unquestioned loyalty. All the while, these people will call everyone else sheeple and never once getting the irony of that statement.

Joseph Furguson, Brawley, Ca
August 15, 2009 7:14am

wow I am really confused. Exactly what conspiracy am I stating? Where are my lies or slander? I said David Rockefeller is a powerful man which I believe you would have to be brain dead to think he was not and I said he was interested in pushing for a world government because he openly and plainly says that he is. Do you really think anyone worth several billion dollars with the connections he has is just another average joe? I said the Pope is another powerful person(he seems to have some influence with people right?) who has called for a world government because he openly and plainly has done so. Other than that I said that governments sometimes keep secrets and the media sometimes is unbiased. I can't imagine any thinking person could disagree with those statements. I do not worship Alex Jones nor do I worship MSNBC. By all means debunk the unfounded conspiracies but I think you have gone a bit overboard there Joseph.

drew, philadelphia
August 15, 2009 1:07pm

Drew-
"David Rockefeller has no power? That's a new one." How about positive evidence before just shrugging this one off?
"The United Nations, the European union, NAFTA it seems from just a casual observance that we have been moving in the direction of a one world government for a while." This is not a casual observance. This is a slippery slope fallacy. How exactly will these things move us toward a one world government? There is a difference between collective agreements between countries and a "one world government."
"The Pope just released a huge statement calling for it." This is untrue. This is cherry picking his words. Here is what the media probably did not cover:
"We must promote a DISPERSED political authority."

"I am just new to this site I found it a bit scary like it was crazy to think that there could really be evil people in the world, or that the government keeps secrets, or that the media spins and distorts the truth." Textbook straw man argument. We recognize these truths, including BD (Ep 107, 125, etc...) Also read the paragraph about Diego Garcia. Nobody denies any of these claims. In fact you displayed a misinterpretation by the media as fact earlier (Pope speech). The difference between skeptics and you is that skeptics don't assume slippery slopes.

Eric, Oklahoma City
August 15, 2009 10:21pm

Thank you Eric. I guess I just feel like my comments are being misunderstood. I was really in the most general of terms trying to represent the importance of the general public maintaining a critical eye on the established powers. I was not attempting to fear monger that the slippery slope was assumed just backing the idea that a secure and free republic must have informed citizens that don't just assume their leaders always have their best interests at heart. My comments about david rockefeller were only that he was an influential person and they were based on a wikipedia entry that I had mentioned which I thought contained enough evidence that he was at least an influential individual. Perhaps my comments about the Pope were off base. I had only read a ny times article on his writings and they may have been incomplete. it is obvious that this site is visited by highly observant bright people and likely did not not need a lecture from me to keep their eyes open. I'll shut up now.

drew, philadelphia
August 16, 2009 2:04am

Hey Eric and everyone else!

I confess, I am a recent convert from the Jonesian Religion. I'm terribly embarrassed by this because I am actually formally trained in philosophy, I have a B.A. for Spaghetti's sakes!. For some reason, I didn't see all the fallacies. You are totally right about "us" (I use quotes because I have just left the so called 'Truther' movement), I was told what sources to trust and which to not trust or waste my time reading. I would let Jones interpret it for me. He was my filter for the real scoop. How foolish I was!

But I would like you all to know that I am MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE. I have launched a bit of a PR campaign against him, and if anyone would like to support me, please check out my images on Flickr. I plan to keep adding to this as ideas come to mind, but the goal is to 'spam' the infowars comment boards to get the truthers to see their fuhrer in a new light.

First is Joker Jones. He is getting a lot of press with his immature nationwide (worldwide?) vandalism of Obama as the Joker. Well, Jones is the REAL Joker, IMHO. http://tinyurl.com/lh27v5

Second is Audit The Jones. He endorses the campaign to Audit the Fed, which has it's pros/cons, but we should really audit HIM and see just how much money he makes selling lies. I can't believe he gets away with money bombs... wow... http://tinyurl.com/meddot

Please "Digg" these images if you like them! And comment!

Thanks for listening!

Great blog!!

mythstifieD, Canada
August 20, 2009 11:07pm

I've found that I can get my water bottle through airport security as long as it's empty. I simply fill it up at a fountain once through security and in the terminal where they sell bottled water for $4 .

Mark, Los Angeles, CA
August 28, 2009 3:25pm

The greatest problem with truth is that everyone gets theirs from self or man while leaving who wrote breaking news of truth thousands of years ago totally out of the picture. I am 54 and have studied about God and His truths for eighteen years while never being involved with a church or any other person. He is my life, and I survive with nothing other than what He give me to sustain. America is going down soon in horrible ways with the world to follow. In short, the worst times that have ever been are about to strike. Want truth? Ask the creator and not all of the deceived human beings in the world today that know absolutely nothing certain while not knowing who knows all things. Want lies? Just go to church, listen to the media, or believe some low life in politics. Want truth? God is truth.

jeff, chicago, il
September 05, 2009 2:15am

Way to discredit. Wakey wakey

Simon, UK
September 29, 2009 10:45am

No really.. I WANT to see google maps rotes from 800 of this locations whit railways.... you may say that "gov have blacked up secret location from google maps" (yes its gone in secret locations, it must be like this) but... all the railways also ? It's easy to see all the aria AROUND USA most strategical locations but the supposed "crematories can burn up to 3,000 bodies per day" & railways cant be found ? It's a hellova lot of job "they" have made lol...

c'mone people... and WHY in the hell it should be exactly 800 camps not 789 or 821 camps ? Aren't the 800 just nice number people can keep googleing?

people who eat up gov grap is unfortunately even smarter who eat up every random crap that big scam networks post in internet. This is sad.
(yes there is some "camps" but for WHAT they are... well, keep listening delusional Alex Jones - i have seen drug users who talk more logical fiction when they are tripping vs this guy some radio reports..

There is much more real and actually so called conspiracy's going on .. .every day... in tv... in newspapers etc... and you people waste your time on this. No wonder FOX networks and others like that keep supporting many of this kind of websites and Alex... etc. THEY need it :)

Have a good life

Waffa Margus, Estonia
November 19, 2009 10:49pm

Hey; watch out your using the "eye" as a logo.

A clear sign your part of the NWO. .........

Wow that kinda strange isnt it?

anyway, jeff, chicago, il, has it right... Only God has the truth, The USA as we knew it is dead.

carpenter, mpls
November 23, 2009 10:46pm

So what are the camps for? Civil unrest? that's very interesting. David Rockerfeller isn't powerful? Come on! Did he not found the CFR? The Trilateral Commission? Are these benign organisations? ... "The price of freedom is eternal vigliance". I don't believe the reason for the existence of these camps has been explained very well. It would be good to know why they are there. Don't you think?

Barry, Turin
November 29, 2009 4:26am

I am A truck driver. After Katrina nearly leveled New Orleans, I spent the next 6.5 weeks hauling in supplies of building materials, Gen Set, dry wall etc. One the things I learned from a FEMA employee is that FEMA does maintain an inventory of 14ft - 16ft trailer homes for situtations like this. For Hurricane/Tornado response, when not in "USE" they are stored at centralized location until needed again.

In Case you are wondering if I can prove this, I'll answer yes in part as I have my Drive's copies of my DOT logs for that time period. But the chance encounter of the FEMA Employee at the LA. 1 10 eastbound scalehouse I can not.

Raymond Schulz, Memphis, TN
January 19, 2010 2:10pm

I like this article because it maintains a healthy skepticism regarding the claims a lot of these websites make, which, to me seem too much like fearmongering. However the only point i would like to make is that if (and that is a big "if") these camps where to exist were better to hide them then in plain site so that they can easily be dismissed as securing trainyards, installations etc. Something to think about.

Rob de Graaf, Perth WA Australia
February 06, 2010 2:04am

Live free or die.

Joe Blow, Springfield
February 22, 2010 6:15pm

I have a friend who works for FEMA, and she'd laugh about this episode!

Abby, Austin, TX
February 22, 2010 6:30pm

if you have a friend who works for FEMA..surely they have a reasonable explanation for why these camps are being built?

jr, london
February 27, 2010 1:13pm

Here's your (stupid) sign, and
here is your proof of the bill H.R. 645 on FEMA Camps, on the Library of Congress Legislative website:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h645:

Ben Franklin, Washington, D.C.
February 28, 2010 7:35pm

Reasonable explanation? Read the bill.

Rott, NY, NY
February 28, 2010 11:52pm

Well I disagree with one point. Society does not strongly influence politics in your country. It's not like the people could have decided to take off their shoes or not by voting for party A or B, because both parties would have had the same position. A two party system does not work, and even the traditional 4 party system in Germany had such tendencies. (It's currently a 5 party system and will most likely have 6 parties in the next Bundestag, with one of them beeing the Piratenpartei)

Christian Berger, Langenzenn
March 08, 2010 10:51pm

Dunning you are so much a liar, a fraud and a puppet.

"We choose to elect politicians who don't want us to bring water bottles onto planes, because (for better or for worse) that's what's important to our society right now. I don't remember anyone electing a politician who wants to throw millions of Americans into prison camps."

1.It's important for society to not bring water bottles onto planes? Wtf? Oh no the men in cave are gonna get us, so lets cowardly accept bullshit laws that further strip us of our freedoms.

2. You don't remember anyone electing an politician that wants to throw people into prison camps? Buddy look at the history around the world...it's called the Soviet Union and Nazi-Germany to name a few. Do not think the U.S is exempt from such a thing. LOL

Lian, san franciso, california
March 11, 2010 8:50pm

lian, you do know that when hitler was elected, people didnt elect him because he wanted to throw people into prison camps. the elected him because at that point in history germany was falling apart practically. they needed a leader. also i know i have to be carefull when saying this to avoid people freaking out on me but read carefully: some people would have considered him a genious AT THE START OF HIS REIGN because at that point in time he wasnt crazy.( at one point in his carrer he was proven to have various mental disorders)his plans where so intricate that there was no dennieing that their was a genious behind the darkness. now please dont attak me i hate hitler as much as you do.
ps: water bottles not being allowed on planes is for your safety (ever heard of liquid exsplosives?) so if your idea of freedom is an exploding plane, well then.....

jeremy, ???
April 14, 2010 3:06pm

What about other possibilities? What if some people who won't accept vaccines (because of these same camps and coffins, etc) actually do catch some nasty new variation of a bird flu? I wouldn't mind if these people were isolated from the rest of us for some time and the ones who die as a result get buried to not contaminate more poeple after they die.. I see nothing wrong with that and it is quite possible the governments around the world know just how feasable this scenario is.

Eddie R, Belfast
April 16, 2010 5:52pm

@ Jenny, just for info:
Hitler was already crazy before he was elected, remember what he wrought in prison? A certain book called "Mein Kampf"... He already wrote in that book what he'd do with juifs so please... It is true that that guy was a genious, brilliant in a bad way, if not he wouldn't have been able to organize all that murdering (even though he wasn't alone). N.B.: I'm not a fan of Hitler, def not...

I just read a few comments, for whom are these concentration camps (in the U.S.) built for? didn't get that yet...

Max, LDN, UK
April 17, 2010 1:23am

Jeremy, you are right, Hitler was not elected because he initally promised that he wanted to throw people in prison camps. He was elected because the country was in deep trouble and had been for the last decade. They turned to him because they believed that he could turn around the country. And he did just that, brilliantly anyone would agree. Do you not see the similarities in the US? Poor economy, spending on wars no one wants to fight, having Bush for president for 8 years, public outcry at the injustices occuring, and then all of a sudden-look, a savior by the name of Obama.
Do you not see how frighteningly similar it is? A country down on its knees turns to a man they think can make everything better and then he stabs them in the back.

Bren, Toronto, ON, Canada
April 23, 2010 6:34am

Yeah, Hitler wasn't really elected to lead Germany. The National Socialists were a minority party in a coalition government. He seized power undemocratically after the installation of that government. Two thirds of the population of Germany voted for another party. So before we start drawing parallels between Nazi Germany and he US political process we might want to understand just what actually happened that brought the Nazis to power. Just a thought.

Craig, Washington DC
May 16, 2010 11:28am

I might add that Hilter used a number of 'False Flag' opperations, ie the burning of the Reichstag, to seize power by playing on the fear of the people...

..and speaking of similarities, our 'stormtrooping' police force leaders might want to look into Hitler's 'Night of the Long Knives' and reconsider some of their policies.

Stan, Belleville, ON
July 30, 2010 6:09pm

Yes, because just like on the night of the Long Knives your police are in immediate danger of being dragged outside and shot for planning a military coup. I'm sure I saw that in an election manifesto somewhere...

Tom H, Kent, UK
August 22, 2010 7:17am

Dachau was not exactly "hidden" - All the townsfolk knew it was there and what was going on.

The same can be said for Oswiecism (Auschwitz-Birkenau).If you are going to declare a state of emergency - better that the camps are in full view so that the citizenry is cowed into meek submission - don't you agree?

John, Edinburgh Scotland
August 23, 2010 8:25am

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