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1. Comment by Nick, 19 Sep, 2011

   Hiya John, good to see you've included chemtrails on your list of nonsense to not worry about.

   When I saw that you'd posted this on your website, I felt inclined to have another look at Claire Swinney's website again. Lo and behold, she's making allegations that there are chemtrails in the Rugby World Cup 2011 Guide Photos. Link here. I think that it's pretty clear to anybody with a functional set of eyeballs that every single photo contains clouds. Plain, every day, regular, run-of-the mill clouds. Proof that these hardcore believers are just seeing what they want to see. Though in this case I suspect mental illness as well.

   Also I must mention "Doctor Nick Begich" who seems to pop up as a common "expert" in the field of chemtrails. It's hard to find information on his credentials, and I can't find any links right now, but I have read here and there that his Ph.D came from a university of complementary medicine. Why people take this guy's word over the word over, oh, every atmospheric scientist is beyond me.

   I'd like to draw your attention to the Contrail Science website. I've never seen so much information on the subject in one place that wasn't a dedicated woo-woo site.

   Sadly, as with any conspiracy, the believers are always quite happy to shift the goal posts in order to keep their hobby alive.

   Keep up the good work!

2. Comment by the 'Silly Beliefs' Team, 19 Sep, 2011

   Thanks Nick. You're right about the Contrail Science website. It's excellent and we've included it in the links at the bottom of our article. Of course we're never going to change the minds of the conspiracy theorists, we can only influence those that are prepared to think critically.

3. Comment by Nik, 19 Dec, 2011

   [You ask:] 'What evidence is there for chemtrails?' and [state that] 'I've seen more contrails in one hour in the US than I've seen in my entire life in NZ.'

   John, I live in NZ and see them daily, you really shouldn't mislead people with false statements, when did you actually last look up from your "Science" manuals? you really should use your own eyes and mind and not let some politician do it for you.

4. Comment by the 'Silly Beliefs' Team, 20 Nov, 2011

   Regarding contrails Nik, I was simply stating a fact. When you say you 'live in NZ and see them daily', I assume you only live in one specific place and can't speak for the rest of the country. You probably don't even know where I live and whether I live under flight paths that might under the right conditions create contrails. I have spent much of the last few decades working around NZ and my experience is not of daily contrails where ever I might be. I've seen a few in Central Otago and elsewhere, but they certainly aren't blanketing the country. And this is where you confuse the issue. You start with chemtrails, then immediately switch to contrails. Contrails are real things, and can sometimes be seen where there are commercial flight paths, but chemtrails are evidently the deliberate spraying of the entire country so should be seen everywhere, even where there aren't any recognised flight paths. Why is it that chemtrails only seem to show up where we can expect commercial flight paths, and not over the entire country? And even if contrails are common where you live, what has that to do with the sinister chemtrails?

   You appear to suggest that we should decide what is happening in the skies by simply looking up and applying common sense, and perhaps a pinch of paranoia. That was how they did it in the distant past, but if we reject science as you imply, society would be back in the dark ages before we knew it, believing in all manner of nonsense, such as gods in chariots, witches on broomsticks, and more recently, alien spacecraft and chemtrails. And I'm really quite surprised that you believe we have rejected chemtrails because of some politician. What credible politician or political party might this be? We've never heard a politician even mention chemtrails.

5. Comment by Mike, 23 Mar, 2012

   Just a quick comment about the nature of chemtrails — not all chemical trails are chemtrails. You give the example of an agricultural aircraft spraying fertiliser or weed killer as a chemtrails we would be familiar with in NZ. However that is not what the chemtrails myth says it is about, and it is a little misleading. Chemtrails are supposed to be secret for starters.

   Chemtrails believers regularly try to broaden the "definition" to include any chemical trail in the sky. This seems to be a desperate attempt to get someone/anyone to admit that chemtrails do exist. Having gained such admission they will proudly declaim "See — told you" or similar. Of course they won’t then say that you admitted that agricultural spray "chemtrails" exist — they will use the "admission" to say that all chemtrails exist. They will do this with ag spray, rocket/space shuttle exhaust, fire-fighting and fuel dumps. Of course the "logic" equally applies to car exhausts, fly spray and even your own breath — even though those are mostly invisible!!

   So broadening the definition of chemtrails to include known activities is not a helpful idea.

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