Losing the plot

If I were paranoid, I might start believing that some sinister plot was afoot. It almost seems as though the sheer proliferation of far-fetched, madcap conspiracy theories doing the rounds has been designed by some evil genius to cause "conspiracy fatigue" in the public mind and to discredit the whole idea that our governments actually do conspire. But as I'm not unduly paranoid, I realise that this is a reflection of the fact that there are legions of gullible and disillusioned folk out there who have lost their faith in the establishment.

As we approach the fourth anniversary of the July 2005 London bombings, there is one conspiracy theory that has proven particularly resilient to reason and evidence. According to advocates of this theory, the 7/7 attacks were not the work of a group of disgruntled and marginalised British Muslims angry at what they saw as their government's war against Islam – a variation on the stubbornly persistent "clash of civilisations" theory. Instead, they believe – based on evidence so flimsy you wouldn't sit your coffee mug on it – that the whole affair was staged by the British government (possibly with Israeli help) to draw attention away from the catastrophe in Iraq and shore up support for the so-called "war on terror".

read more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/03/conspiracy-theories-july-7-bombings