The 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing was supposed to be the work of a lone extremist Eric Robert Rudolph, a radical anti-government survivalist who, we are told, managed to pull off a terrorist attack in the middle of the Olympic Games using little more than a pipe bomb and backpack. But, as with so many stories of national tragedy, this one follows a very familiar script: an explosion, a rapid scapegoat, a media feeding frenzy, and government response that – coincidentally, of course – expands state control.
Insert different names and locations, and you could be talking about Oklahoma City, 9/11, the Boston Marathon Bombing, or any number of suspiciously convenient crises that just so happen to lead to increased surveillance, stricter security measures, and a general tightening of the noose around personal freedoms.
Eric Robert Rudolph was born 9/19/1966 (?) in Merritt Island, Florida which is already suspicious, because it means he grew up in the shadow of NASA, an organization that has never been involved in any shady government projects…right? He later moved to the depths of North Carolina, a state famous for government mind-control experiments and the kind of mountains that are just perfect for hiding a fugitive.
So, what do we actually know about Rudolph? Run a search on Intelius, Whitepages, or any other people-finding service, and Rudolph is nowhere to be found. We can chalk that up to his incarceration, digital footprint limitations, or the fact that he might not even be a real person. His family members? Also MIA on people search databases. Now, maybe they all just opted out, or maybe records of anyone remotely connected to Rudolph have been quietly scrubbed.
What we are told is that Rudolph was a former U.S. Army member, though his military career was short-lived. That alone raises some questions. What did he learn? Was he promoted? He was later tied to the Christian Identity movement, an extremist ideology that, strangely enough, has been linked to government informants, provocateurs, and “useful idiots” throughout history. Could he have been a known entity – an asset even – who was allowed to operate until he became inconvenient? And when he was finally caught, what did he do? He pleaded guilty. No trial, no drawn-out proceedings, no deeper investigation into his possible connections. Just a neat, tidy resolution.
As far as the bomb itself, official reports describe it as a crude pipe bomb filled with nails and gunpowder – the kind of thing you’d expect from a 14-year-old trying to impress his friends. So, a guy with military training and anti-government connections couldn’t have gotten his hands on something a little more sophisticated? And then there’s the placement. The bomb was “hidden” in a green U.S. military ALICE pack (very subtle). Is it just a coincidence that the only casualty of the bomb was ALICE Hawthorne? (There also exists a Hawthorne Army Depot that stores explosives).
In another wild coincidence, spectators had gathered at the park for a concert by the band Jack Mack and the Heart Attack. And then, a Turkish cameraman – a guy who had literally survived war zones in Azerbaijan, Bosnia, and the Persian Gulf – suffers a heart attack while running to cover the scene…not exactly a marathon if you know what I mean.
Oh, and NBC News just happened to be broadcasting live when the bomb went off. What are the odds?
Within hours of the bombing the FBI magically identified their prime suspect Richard Jewell, a security guard who had actually been helping people evacuate the area before the bomb went off. And wouldn’t you know it? Jewell ended up dying at 44, the exact age as Alice Hawthorne, the only casualty of the bombing. In 2019 a film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood titled “Richard Jewell” was released. So now we know the event was legit because Eastwood would never stoop to propaganda or attach his respected name to a false narrative.
If we take a step back, the real question isn’t who did it? but who benefited from it?
Before 1996, public events were big, open, and relatively free. After the Olympic bombing, that changed overnight. Suddenly, increased security surveillance and police presence became the norm.
The media also loves a good crisis. And what better way to boost ratings and induce fear than to milk a terrorist attack for all it’s worth? Jewell was publicly crucified, and when that story fell apart, the media simply moved on.
And, of course, every tragedy brings more funding for counterterrorism, private security firms, and surveillance programs. The Olympic bombing was a perfect test case – a smaller scale event that paved the way for what we now consider “normal”: metal detectors, facial recognition, and the slow erosion of personal freedoms in the name of safety.
The official story is simple: A terrorist planted a bomb. An innocent man was wrongly accused. Justice was eventually served. But if bullshit narratives like this have taught us anything it’s that truth is rarely simple.
Piece of Mindful 
When we left Kenya, I had my passport checked five times, and luggage scanned three times. One of the passport checks was to allow me to purchase a bottle of water. We were in Nairobi, and surrounded by millions of dollars of scanning equipment and scores of people whose job is to make sure we don’t bring water through the scanners. I think that money came from the U.S.
I had to laugh outloud one time standing in line in Anchorage, as a guy went through the line asking people “Are you going to Dallas?” There was a large queue of people in close quarters, and I thought that if someone really wanted to harm us, that is the place to do it! Not after security scanning, but before.
It is all because of these fake events that they can watch us so closely, and fear us. Why do they fear us? They must know on some level that free people often (scratch that … sometimes) learn to think and reason, so better to keep them in fear to keep those faculties deadened.
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So true. A lot of “free” people have simply stopped traveling because it’s just too invasive and unpleasant. A controlling aspect I forgot to mention. Thanks for sharing your first-hand experience.
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The most ironic, and Monty Python like part of security, if you will, is the customs and border agents who are positioned somewhere after you go through the security for an international flight, and before you board. For some reason, they are heavily armed, and wear bulletproof vests. They look quite ridiculous, and act like complete f-ing a-holes ready to shake people down for cash. They target Asians specifically, because many Asians (and probably any foreigner) carry cash home often from their jobs in America. And if you are carrying more than $10,000 in cash, and don’t declare it, they will confiscate it all. I know this because I know people who got snagged, and needed lawyers to get their money back, after a fine and lawyers fees.
And then the food! coming back from Thailand if you bring food these guys will go through all your bags to look for pork products. one year they confiscated all my wife’s thai noodles with pork. But you can bring as much dried fish through as you want. Go figure. I almost feel sorry for the poor bastards working airline security, if they weren’t such douchebags. And I believe all the airport scanners use X-rays – I cannot imagine how bad it is to stand near one of those machines all day. Anecdotally, growing up the dental technicians we knew had very high incidence of cancer. Those X-ray machines in dentists offices likely spray X-rays everywhere, and the poor techs must get massive doses.
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There are already airports with security checks at the entrance, including X ray machines. Cairo, for example. Istanbul too, once I had to go through it to get to the rental car front desk, that was confusing. Ofc these airports got the usual checks also, additional. PS I’m old enough, I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower without the checks and the glass wall, just standing free in the park, arching over the place.
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I’d forgotten, in Nairobi our car was stopped prior to entering the airpart and we were forced to remove our baggage and get it scanned. Our driver said that the local police were snubbed by TSA, and so instigated their own search off-premises
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“Jewell was publicly crucified, and when that story fell apart, the media simply moved on.”
Been awhile since I watched the movie, but I seem to recall that was one of its main messages, no? The media came off badly, exploiting and picking on someone who behaved nobly, in a rush to judgement.. so Eastwoods messaging fit the 2019 landscape, for right-leaning media at least.
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I have not seen the movie, but starting with 2006’s “Flags of Our Fathers” Eastwood’s films became much more pointed and manipulative…and mostly unwatchable for me. (Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Invictus, J. Edgar, American Sniper, Sully, The 15:17 to Paris, The Mule and Richard Jewell).
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They always had some level of messaging I’m sure, but it did seem to ramp up or get more blatant in his.. and he himself took a more direct role, doing that republican convention speech. I like his technical chops though, and some of those titles are new to me, so I might try some of them – depending on what they’re about, the themes or topics.
Its an interesting question whether “art” can be made at all without being propaganda/ messaging.. the difference with Hollywood movies being that the budgets and cultural impact mean it has to align with large scale propaganda on some level.
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Do you think there was ever a time when the unwashed masses didn’t look to their controllers for information and entertainment? Serious question.
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Sometimes I think the main purpose of these events is simply (‘look dad I dug a hole’ famous line from a much subtler movie, The Castle) people doing their jobs. No different to so much of government. Yes there is a grand narrative, perhaps (probably) , but a man’s got to make a living. New industry with fantastic profit needs to be created.
There is plenty of control over the western and eastern peasants already. None of us that are anywhere near capable have any interest in a revolution.
I wonder how much control the people up the top have. I suspect they are kind of like board members or owners at the top level of a large business. They probably have no idea about day to day operations. Especially a ‘bombing that kills one person’. That would be like changing the air filter supplier for the trucks of a supermarket chain. The transport manager probably wouldn’t even know.
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I brainstormed the top psyops of the 90s, here’s my top 6 below. Maybe it’s my American bias, but America did really kick ass in psyops in the 90s.
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This is a real classic that was a turning point in my awakening:
The Gulf War Did Not Take Place – Wikipedia
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2-6 are on my list as well…I also include OJ, Rodney King and Y2k.
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Darn, how could I forget OJ? I truly believe one of the gifts of getting older is forgetting. Who doesn’t want to flush their mind of all this nonsense and just return to a tabula rasa state?
Anyhow now that you bring it up OJ should be #2, or #3. Lady Di’s fake death should be top 3. I still think in terms of scale Desert Storm is the #1 psyop. I can remember around that time thinking if it’s so easy to destroy Iraqs military, then how hard would it be to just kill the leader, Saddam Hussein? `Of course they kept him around another decade for the Bush 2 sequel, the revenge.
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Just like Sharon Tate, who pulled a similar stunt, Denise Brown Simpson morphed into a sister who never existed before the supposed murder. I’ve got pictures to give evidence.
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You posted the Simpson sisters before, seems legit. Grapevine says Randy Roads the guitar player for Ozzy Osborne, became “the sister”. Never believed the plane crash story.
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I had to look it up, it’s actually Randy Rhodes. R is the 18th letter in the alphabet, so it’s double aces n’ eights.
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