I too was about to make a realistic comment about HAARP creating earthquakes. No good. Doesn't make any difference.
I know people who come from the poorest places in Paraguay, who literally cover their mirrors during a thunderstorm. When asked why, they are amazed that I don't know that the lightning is attracted to mirrors and could kill everyone in the house if something isn't done about it.
Those who have very little understanding about the world around them, particularly related to science and how nature works, will grasp on anything that has some little bit of logic thrown in amongst the other (possibly irrational) claims as something that "makes sense" and refute anything that anyone who has real knowledge of the world (such as actual scientists) as obviously being in cahoots with the conspirators.
Nothing you can do about it - the memes are too strong.
My ex-wife is a strong believer in chem trails and HAARP and many other really bizarre (to me) conspiracy theories.
Including belief in an extra-terrestrial race called Reptoids, or Reptilians, who have come from outer space, don some kind of super-technological disguise, and have been secretly replacing world political and economic leaders to effect their own ends here on Earth for decades. (Her particular brand of belief - there are a few "branches" among Reptoid believers).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilians
According to the (even for many Reptoid believers) extreme group with whom she hooked up at one point, fiberglass resin disks, shaped from muffin tins as molds, containing crystals and bits of metal suspended in the resin, would "short out" the Reptoids' disguises and render them visible for what they are. It didn't matter how many times they got near to someone they thought was Reptilian and put a "Magic Muffin" under their car seat, in a drain near the house, etc, they never changed into their Reptilian form. Some of the "technology" that these people invented to battle the Reptoids was quite intricate.
The "leader" of this particular group my ex-wife followed had a web page by which he maintained all of his fan(atic)s in the loop as to what was happening with his "revolution." The guy would write, for example, that the Reptoids (or their agents) were getting close, he didn't know how much longer he'd be able to maintain his communication or even remain free, and then for a week or two no news would come from him on his website. People would write comments on the site, be very worried about his well being, wish him the best of luck, etc. Then, miraculously, he would re-appear, having "successfully eluded" the "forces of darkness" and continue to comment on his private little war.
The thing is, there is enough bizarre crap that goes on in this world as it is. We humans are a messed-up lot, we teach our young how to be human - it's not instinct like other animals. Hell, humans who aren't taught at the age of language development how to talk grow up with stunted, little or no ability to communicate during their adult lives.
Our beliefs and the change of those beliefs are created and maintained through millennia of mental evolution, not some kind of universal "truth". Once someone believes something that cannot be demonstrated it becomes a matter of faith, often as strong as that which many religions have developed, and under which great good, as well as great evil, can be the result.
I consider myself a man of science, but am not so full of hubris to think that I have all the answers, either. Just as I say "how can people not see that cause and effect can't be reversed just to make a theory work out" (in the case of HAARP and that "technology" causing earthquakes - I'd be happy to discuss this sometime, but not here, or at least not now), other people look at me and say "how can you believe this world came from nothing and was created without a divine purpose? The miracles around you show that the world MUST have been created."
My belief is there is a lack of evidence (on their part), their belief is it's a lack of faith (on my part), equally important to them as my proof is to me. There's no winning for either "side".
Woe to mankind and its thoughtful manner,
from a heart of ignorance they flock to banner.
Take a babe in its cradle, doomed to repeat
what its folks teach it, no lesson replete.
We come unprepared, empty thought, a vessel
it's no wonder when filled, with reality we wrestle.
The wolf is more sure of its rightful existence.
It has no doubt, its thought from persistence
of experience handed down through ages,
its habits just that, not from wise sages,
just accumulation of what works and what not...
and also a complete lack of conscious thought.
