Does the story claim that vast, powerful, evil forces are secretly manipulating events? If so, this fits the profile of a conspiracy theory.  Conspiracy theories are rarely true, even though they have great appeal and are often widely believed. In reality, events usually have much less exciting explanations.

The US military or intelligence community is a favorite villain in many conspiracy theories.

Continued...

An Israel Defense Forces investigation into a shooting attack in Shfaram earlier this month, in which an IDF deserter shot dead four Israeli Arabs, called for the security forces to work together to identify soldiers with "terrorist potential."

The findings of investigative panel, headed by Brigadier General Ika Abarbanel, point to serious flaws in intelligence sharing both between internal IDF branches and security agencies.

The main conclusions reached by the panel were presented Thursday to IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz.

The committee proposed that a number of measures be adopted immediately to increase the likelihood of spotting potential terrorists.

Continued...

Can you demonstrate paranormal ability? Are you interested in earning a million dollars?

One million dollars awaits the individual that can prove, in a controlled setting, that they have abilities that are outside the norm.

The Independent Investigations Group (IIG) at the Center for Inquiry-West assists the James Randi Educational Foundation by prescreening people who wish to apply for his Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.

Continued...

According to Coast To Coast AM, a guy called Tom Biscardi claims to have a Bigfoot in captivity -- worth keeping an eye on this one. *HOAX*

Continued...

Patents filed by an Israeli inventor Amit Weisman and US company Yardeni Associates of Connecticut make scary reading for nervous travellers.

Airport security guards already use hand-held electromagnetic wands to detect metal hidden under clothing. The same wand can also sniff for traces of the gases some explosives emit into the air.

If the passenger is a suicide bomber who realises the wand has found something, the guard might not have enough time to pull out handcuffs or a gun. So the new wand will have a hidden secret –- a transformer which steps the detector’s battery power up to 100 kilovolts and feeds it to disguised metal electrodes at the end of the wand.

If the wand gives a silent warning of explosives, the guard can then subtly slide the pads onto the passenger’s neck or hands and press a shock button. The patent reassures that the effect is "temporary and reversible."

So an innocent traveller who "happened to have a significant amount of metal on his person or happened to treat explosives legally" should wake up shaken but unharmed.

Continued...