TIGHAR

Amelia Earhart Search Forum => Alternatives to the Niku Hypothesis => Topic started by: Monty Fowler on April 05, 2014, 08:33:34 AM

Title: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Monty Fowler on April 05, 2014, 08:33:34 AM
I have been devoting some serious thought to the upcoming Niku VIII trip (cross country flights are good for longgggg contemplative periods) and have centered on one particular idea and the possible outcomes of it.

What if TIGHAR is right ? - and this time comes back with the conclusive, no-way-it-can-be-discounted, any-idiot-artifactTM? What effect will that have on what I have dubbed The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex - TECTIC for short.

In a normal world populated by reasonable, rational people, the any-idiot-artifactTM would seem to demolish TECTIC at all levels, since it utterly refutes and destroys all assertions and foundational premises that TECTIC in its numerous permutations is based on. In a normal world.

But as anyone who has been involved in/following this two-decades-plus saga can attest, when it comes to TECTIC, words like normal and reasonable do not always apply. Take the time to review even a fraction of the many, many websites, listservs, blogs, etc., devoted to any facet of TECTIC. TIGHAR shows up fairly regularly, and the comments/assertions/statements directed at TIGHAR and its current Earhart hypothesis are generally anything but kind. Some border on what I would consider an almost pathalogical hatred.

How will those people involved in TECTIC to any degree react when then entire foundation of their known Earhart universe is abruptly and definitively removed, by irrefutable proof?  I can see two possible outcomes:

1) It will make absolutely no difference. The TECTIC true believers are true believers in every sense of the word. Not even God himself could shake them from their convictions. The any-idiot-artifactTM will be viewed as a temporary setback, nothing more.

2) The more reasonable of the TECTIC true believers will acknowledge that they were wrong. Those who do so will exhibit a commendable level of humility and grace by admitting that they are, in fact, human, and thus more than capable of making mistakes.

It's going to be an interesting summer ...

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 CER
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: JNev on April 06, 2014, 11:42:08 AM
As usual, Monty, you raise an extremely interesting point.

I'd say "TECTIC" is a very real thing.  Look at the hordes who remain transfixed on the probability, if not certainty as they see it, of a singular outcome for Earhart and whom so readily contest others who view it differently.

I'll not exclude myself from some of that, lest anyone take offense - I certainly do have a bias in terms of what I think happened, among other possibilities (well, duh, just follow a few of my posts... "it shows!" - Cap'n Ron).  But beyond us armchair weenies is a whole level of kingdoms, each crenelated in its own ways to hold fast to and defend the notion.  Add to that some very real property rights, e.g. copyrights, etc. to rather extensive writing in support of this or that 'answer' as to the lost aviatrix and it raises the stakes in a real way.  It is an industry, and it's complex alright - and to the point, quite organic.

I may have overlooked something, but so far as I've been able to tell to-date, TIGHAR may be the only one who openly holds her notions as hypothesis, something to not be concluded without further showing per se, but tested.  I pray others will point me to the evidence of my error if I have overlooked this approach in other seeking organizations.

To shinny a bit further out onto that limb, I'll add that only one outfit has laid hands on anything that could be sho' 'nuff evidence of an Earhart presence - all others still argue solely on a view of apparent probabilities, as they interpret the knowable (and sometimes speculated) actions of that flight that fateful day.  Not that some haven't tried - hats off to Nauticos, and those who dug at Saipan, etc.

Mostly the more common theme seems nested in a visceral conviction: as man gazes out on the scene, it cannot be missed that the Pacific is expansive, and my belief is that the human mind overlooks the focus of a Noonan to find land when in a land plane and the presumption is "so much water, that has to be it."  And yet Saipan and the Yellow Peril are irresistible hand-maidens in so many accounts, of course.

Are we all mad?  No, not enough to be committed, mostly, but fascinated - and as humans cannot seem to resist the apparently genetically-imprinted urge to encamp and industrialize ourselves in various clusters; and we cannot escape the human leaning that if we only work hard within our tribe we can gather more berries than the next, and therefore survive as the fittest.  So blindly in some cases, no doubt, that some will take any eventual smoking gun as a mere temporary set-back to their own pursuit ("...you'll see - we'll prove that thing washed up in a storm, she wasn't there...").

So yes, 'tis something Eisenhower might have been concerned with - "TECTIC" seems to be with us.  I guess I prefer to see it as a blow for liberty that it is, however, and not so much a threat.  Let the buffalo chips fall where they may, and may the most able tribe gather the most. 

One thing about 'chips - they may not taste so great, but they burn well.  So here's to seeing Ric come on one night with the great news of "there's plenty of buffalo chips" - it will be an interesting day in TECTIC.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Monty Fowler on January 31, 2015, 09:55:45 AM
The level of vitriol that TECTIC directs at TIGHAR continues to amaze and dismay me. The furor raised over the recent Smithsonian article is just one example. The sheer viciousness of the comments, many of them pointedly personal, makes it clear to me that there will most likely never be common ground where we can all meet in the middle.

Which is sad. Because all of us want the same thing, ultimately - to find out what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. They deserve to have the final chapter of their story written.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Don Dollinger on February 06, 2015, 10:45:01 AM
Quote
What if TIGHAR is right ? - and this time comes back with the conclusive, no-way-it-can-be-discounted, any-idiot-artifactTM? What effect will that have on what I have dubbed The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex - TECTIC for short.

I saw a Kennedy Assassination Documentary a few years ago and one of the narrators stated (paraphrased) that if the truth ever comes out that so much misinformation has been put out over the years that no one will believe it.  He went on to state further that the conspiracy theorists are so emotionally invested in their belief that they will adjust their conspiracy theory to fit any new unrefutable evidence.  IMHO even the AIA will not convince some people. 

As proof of this, I saw video footage and stills on the internet from the recent China moon landing.  They flew over the area of the first US moon landing and you can still see the footprints as well as the tire tracks of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) and the the LRV itself.  Following a link to a conspiracy theorist website had them all abuzz about how they could prove that the video and photos were faked because we never actually landed on the moon.

Depending on what is discovered during the next expedition it could prove to be a very entertaining interesting year watching the alternate Earhart theory forum websites.

LTM,

Don
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: James Champion on February 06, 2015, 06:30:06 PM
It's similar to the conspiracy theorist who say that Amelia's flight was a cover for secret US reconnaissance of military bases on Japanese held islands. They never consider basics of their premise; 1) her plane did not have a large format high-quality camera (only Amelia's personal tourist-grade one), 2) her flight plans would have put her over most islands at night, 3) there were no hatches in the belly of the plane,  4) as we know from 2-2-V-1 research, the best window for photography was covered before she left Miami, and, 5) a single plane trying to do significantly-useful general reconnaissance is like trying to win the lottery by buying a single lottery ticket.

When it comes down to it, the conspiracy-type personality doesn't want to consider anything that might disprove their viewpoint, especially facts.  That's why I like Tighar and it's scientific approach to the investigation.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Don Dollinger on February 09, 2015, 02:33:06 PM
Quote
When it comes down to it, the conspiracy-type personality doesn't want to consider anything that might disprove their viewpoint, especially facts.

Not to mention that I have read in multiple places that her friends stated that she was a known pacifist.  Doing anything that aided the "military industrial machine" would be completely counter to her pacifism.

LTM,

Don
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Craig Romig on February 09, 2015, 05:02:18 PM
Let us suppose this senario. Two planes
 Four aviators. Two directions. Amelia was the decoy flight. Or cover story. The other flight ended up in or on Mili Atoll. This was something that came to my mind the other night.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Don Dollinger on February 10, 2015, 01:58:57 PM
Let us suppose this senario. Two planes
 Four aviators. Two directions. Amelia was the decoy flight. Or cover story. The other flight ended up in or on Mili Atoll. This was something that came to my mind the other night.

IMHO - Possible, but improbable.  What I have gleaned from that Theory is that it is nearly all supported by eye witness testimony.  I spent years in Asia (Japan, Korea, Phillipines) and if I had to pick an average looking Asian man out of a line up I probably could not do it unless they had a very distinguishable characteristic like a large scar.  My Asian friends would have the same difficulty picking out an American along the veins of "they all look alike to me".  That is not to say that an Asian friend that you spent time with would not stand out to you.  What physical characteristic would AE or FN have that would prompt someone to remember them from a brief glance of them years before?  Your scenario is definately food for thought though...

LTM,

Don
Don
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Craig Romig on February 10, 2015, 04:18:51 PM
I wouldn't put much thought into that senario. I doubt its true. I do wonder where the Mili landing story came from. How it was created.
 Its also interesting to think our government may have thought of a plan like that.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: John B. Shattuck on February 11, 2015, 06:55:26 AM
Quote
Which is sad. Because all of us want the same thing, ultimately - to find out what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan.

I'm not so sure Monty.  Certainly there are many who simply desire to find out what happened and see their final chapter written.  But beyond that, I think a lot of what fuels the TECTIC fires is the desire to be "the ones who solved the mystery"  or at least be on the team that had it right all along; the "winning" team as it were. 
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: JNev on February 11, 2015, 06:56:31 AM
Fertile ground for novel writing, guys... wow.

Me thinks poor old Amelia was, at the core of her public persona, a rather basic aviator who loved flying and did learn to be the master of a transport airplane rather well - if not the full aviator's craft of radios, etc., by the time she perished.  It truly seems she was on a simple mission dreamt up by none other than her own ambitions and love of flying and her rather creative publicist husband, George Palmer Putnam, to do nothing other than fly around the world in a land plane along an equatorial route.  If she were to continue flying, the bills needed paying; a great story was needed.  Strangely, an even greater story came from her tragic end than would have been the case of a footnote triumph - and not one that Putnam welcomed, I'm sure.

If I get lost in the Pacific basin, it's three days of cookie cutter search and rescue effort and a kindly 'well he done it that time'.  Game over, no one left to wonder about it but my heirs.  Amelia gets lost... well, here we all are - nearly 78 years later! 

Funny thing, it seems like the conspiracy notions find new roots as time goes by.  Maybe that should tell us something.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: JNev on February 11, 2015, 10:01:51 AM
Quote
Which is sad. Because all of us want the same thing, ultimately - to find out what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan.

I'm not so sure Monty.  Certainly there are many who simply desire to find out what happened and see their final chapter written.  But beyond that, I think a lot of what fuels the TECTIC fires is the desire to be "the ones who solved the mystery"  or at least be on the team that had it right all along; the "winning" team as it were.

I've watched the 'TECTIC' notion for a while, and while I saw humor in the idea at times, I have to acknowledge the incredible passions and sense of competitiveness that drives much of this.  There's no stopping that - and every comment made about 'TECTIC' only adds more fuel, it seems to me.

Yes there is a greater community 'interest' out there, I think.  I also think they mostly watch silently and that it is a pity - like where religion is concerned and the 'unchurched' won't come in because of what they see that is wrong.  In fact if we're not careful we can resemble the same thing - blind allegiance to dogma, kool aid drinkers - you name it, we can be 'it'.  The ordinary guy on the street won't drop a nickel on that.

I think it is that way among many blogs where issues of most any interest are covered - and we who have much to say - positive, neutral or in vitriole, are the exception: if you consider the numbers that are recorded, far more watch for whatever reasons of their own than will engage - which leaves the engaged interests strapped for meaningful support.  And the more violent dissent that boils over, the more they watch silently and hold back - or so it seems to me, anyway.

So maybe there is something to skipping the whole TECTIC discussion (which I just stepped into, didn't I...) - and trying to do something that might be more positive for more to feel invited to join.  A 'broader community' might not be a bad thing to want.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Craig Romig on February 11, 2015, 01:37:24 PM
Exactly Jeff. The bashing of theories makes me kind of sick. I just want to know the truth. Reading about how others try to disprove theories is very upsetting to me as a reader. 
Bashing for use as a advertisement to a side or theory. May keep the search to the top. But the bashing drags it back down. Once you get there.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: JNev on February 12, 2015, 06:11:11 AM
Good points.  Especially as to bashing of theories.

The only way to disprove a theory about this loss is to prove another theory correct.

This, and some offline comment I received last night have brought me to think further about the competitve nature of this search and how some seem to embrace that.  It can be as if there is only a puny audience among whom the principles seek sponsorship.  Again, it is as if one could just knock the other theorist's off, then the 'right' theory could gain the sack of marbles. 

That is a form of 'zero sum budgeting' in my view that is false, and may help explain why public contributions are such a struggle for all (not that they would not be a struggle anyway - resources are not resources if not scarce).

I'm not well understood in the broader point, so I'll try once more: if the principals of these various searches could think positively in terms of a greater community of interest - one that is a large tent covering the whole of the various 'camps', they might attract more serious interest - and potential for support - in broad terms. 

Instead, we have a great deal of fairly negative critical commentary by this one and that flying about at times, and I believe the 'community, such as it is, just looks silly to the average lurker.  I know that because I've actually stepped back for a bit to observe this - and have real empathy for that point of view now.  Don't take my word for it, ask your not-so immersed friends and neighbors to look in for a while at this whole arena and then give their thoughts.  A few among them may already have thoughts: "interesting, but looks mostly like a bunch of people with different ideas trying to disprove the next guy, but not much positive in it; I'll just wait for the press to tell me if anyone finds her..."

Conversely, if the various principals - and again, I'm not singling any out - were more careful in dealing with their promotions to keep a positive image, a larger and more serious base of support might be fostered for themselves and all.

Goodwill can go a long way.  It is like cooperation among otherwise competitve air carriers during a major storm: pick each other apart and none will fly; help your neighbors and all may fly.

Not naming names or pointing fingers here, lest any feel trampled by my comments here - but it's in the eye of the beholder.  Perhaps if the beholder is wise and decides the shoe fits, the community may see a tiny shift toward a more positive atmosphere.  In time, should that catch on, those who don't embrace it will be seen more clearly as stubbornly withdrawn and dependent on a shrinking base of potential support.  Those who do embrace the positive and pitch their ideas on the merits of them may find more enthusiastic support.

All very lofty notions - and as I gaze about, I realize how unlikely these poor words are likely to resonate, other than to bring me an email or two or three demanding to know just what the hell I'm talking about...

So I will now go back to my vantage point as a lurker for a bit to simply watch and ponder the 'community', such as it is. 

It is disappointing.  Certainly I believe some search prospects are stronger than others and have my own baises, but when the more nasty criticisms fly I am certanly not drawn more closely to the source. 

So, it is refreshing to step back for a while at times... Not to name names.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Craig Romig on February 12, 2015, 11:24:11 PM
What got me. Was the way the bashing was done on other websites.  In there presentations the bashing was strict and broke up the story that was being told. My first year in college one of our assignments was to go to college events (plays etc). We had to write two paragraphs about each event. One was strictly what the event was about. The second was our thoughts on the event. As a critic basically

So the way they had mixed thier bashing with the subject of the article made me sick. Not only of that article. But of the whole website and theories presented.

However you are right disproving other theories are one way to sway others that your theory may be more credible.  And that can draw advertisement to your theory.

How to do all of this is all in how it is presented. 
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: JNev on February 13, 2015, 05:13:30 AM
It just occurs to me that far more could be done in a positive way to have a more inviting search community.  It is a shame that the search for Earhart (in broad industry terms) has come to be under such a ragged umbrella that onlookers may think, by and large, that we are a bunch of kooks because of the frequent tone of criticism.

And again, I'm not pointing fingers.  If I did I'd have to take heat too for my own sharp tongue at times, so not to be a hypocrit I hope, but simply to say if people are that passionate about this thing, then consider what it is that you do to build (or not) a positive community.

Less than that means we simply have competing interests who are perpetually trying to elbow the next guy aside in pursuit of what can only be shrinking public interest.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Todd Attebery on February 13, 2015, 11:10:21 AM
I keep thinking of some idea on how TIGHAR could create a "fund-a-skeptic" as a fundraising option.   Something along the lines of $50 to nominate a TECHTIC member, $5 per vote.   If the skeptics can put their money where their mouth is and collectively raise $50,000; the top vote getter gets a place on the boat as a critical observer.  Obviously the "winner" would have to abide by some rules (not sue TIGHAR after the fact, follow the captains rules, behave in civil manor, etc).  Just a random thought but it might be worth two cents.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: pilotart on May 11, 2015, 08:53:11 AM
The level of vitriol that TECTIC directs at TIGHAR continues to amaze and dismay me. The furor raised over the recent Smithsonian article is just one example. The sheer viciousness of the comments, many of them pointedly personal, makes it clear to me that there will most likely never be common ground where we can all meet in the middle.

Which is sad. Because all of us want the same thing, ultimately - to find out what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. They deserve to have the final chapter of their story written.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP
What got me. Was the way the bashing was done on other websites.  In there presentations the bashing was strict and broke up the story that was being told. My first year in college one of our assignments was to go to college events (plays etc). We had to write two paragraphs about each event. One was strictly what the event was about. The second was our thoughts on the event. As a critic basically

So the way they had mixed their bashing with the subject of the article made me sick. Not only of that article. But of the whole website and theories presented.

However you are right disproving other theories are one way to sway others that your theory may be more credible.  And that can draw advertisement to your theory.

How to do all of this is all in how it is presented.
One of the most valuable contributors (over 4,000 great posts) to a site which contains TIGHAR bashing and vitriol has now had it and is pulling himself and his thousands of fantastic photos completely out from the site.

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=55857&p=553464#p553464 (http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=55857&p=553464#p553464)

Quote
(From above site)<....>But something I cannot tolerate or stand by and see happen, no matter if it's my business or not, is to see people use an internet forum (such as WIX) to accuse and slander other people and/or organizations <....>

Hatred is always unhealthy, for both the 'hater' and the vehicle containing it.
Art
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Monty Fowler on May 11, 2015, 02:49:43 PM
Hatred is always unhealthy, for both the 'hater' and the vehicle containing it.
Art

Quite so, Art. For reasons that are unfathomable to me, several members of the WIX forum have singled me out for repeated personal attacks. They seem unnaturally concerned with anyone who would want to support TIGHAR in any way, shape, or form.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Andrew M McKenna on May 12, 2015, 09:03:06 AM
Seems the folks on WIX have done themselves in for the time being... I guess they couldn't follow the simple rules offered by the Editor in his signature at the bottom of his posts.

<<<<<<<<<<
This thread is locked down... yet again. It will remain locked down until the end of the week when I will spend time going through it and editing the posts. Any further topics regard this subject will be deleted. For the time being any subject regarding TIGHAR will be deleted. So lets just allow this topic to cool off for now.

_________________
Scott Rose
Editor-In-Chief/Webmaster
Warbirds Resource Group - Warbird Information Exchange - Warbird Registry - MilitarySciFi.com

Be civil, be polite, be nice.... or be elsewhere.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: JNev on May 12, 2015, 12:12:33 PM
Caught ya peekin' too!

The trouble with 'they' and other labels and boxes is that all of us spectrum-demented folks tend to get thrown into one 'box' when you note things as you have, Andrew. ;)

Not to argue too finely, but a perplexing oddball did show up and rather single-handedly draw the ire of nearly all.  Rather than effectively moderate the rascal, the whole is treated as the least.  I would have welcomed Ric''s mole mallet where that gent was concerned on WIX. 

But as to labels and boxes, so it seems to be with most any blog, at least to some degree.  I'll be labeled as a kool aid drinker by some merely for appearing here just now. 

Well, sanity is where you find it, and this seemed nice in a sea of crazy.  Good to peek in and catch you peeking.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Monty Fowler on May 23, 2015, 01:19:53 PM
I admit to still being baffled by all of the vitriol repeatedly and rather pointedly directed my way by several members of the WIX forums. Some of them seem to take great offense at the TECTIC label, which I charitably ascribe to a simple misunderstanding of the acronym. Perhaps if I had written it this way ...

The Earhart CONSPIRACY THEORY Industrial Complex

... it would have been clearer. I'm simply calling into question the very, very large number of Earhart theories that require some kind of conspiracy, be it from the US government, the Japanese government, space aliens or Earhart herself, in order to validate their particular theory. I have found all of those, to date, to be less than credible, mainly for the simple fact that they invariably require a leap of faith larger than what would be required to clear the Grand Canyon in a single bound.

I prefer to live in and deal with the real world, which can be quite complex enough on its dullest days.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP

Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Bill Mangus on May 23, 2015, 03:23:49 PM
I wouldn't worry about it too much Monty.  I think they're days are numbered.
Recent post on their forum:
-------------------------------
Scott WRG Editor wrote:

I am starting to receive legal pressure about these threads. Please follow the no personal attacks rules. I've got the Banhammer on standby and the Banhammer II in stealth mode. I will give no warnings or explanations on editing these threads, and if the trend continues I will eliminate them. These threads have caused enough grief already and have severely taxed my willingness to condone non-warbird subjects.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Jeff Scott on May 25, 2015, 05:20:16 PM
I'm simply calling into question the very, very large number of Earhart theories that require some kind of conspiracy, be it from the US government, the Japanese government, space aliens or Earhart herself, in order to validate their particular theory.

Other than the various strains of Japanese capture theories, the rival explanations of Earhart's disappearance seem to have little to no conspiratorial elements. Crash and Sink and East New Britain probably have even fewer than the Gardner theory. I can think of two bits of conspiracy Ric has expounded upon in the past...

1) The Navy/Coast Guard made up details of the incident to cover up their mistakes in the post-disappearance search.

All of the Coast Guard and Navy after-action reports include heavy-doses of not-our-fault, blame-the-victim.  Factual errors and false assumptions abound.  There was also a noticeable element of getting-our-story-straight.  Commander Thompson's (CO of Itasca) "Radio Transcripts Earhart Flight" is the worst of the lot.  Many, but by no means all, of the inaccuracies and self-serving distortions in the official reports are described and documented in Finding Amelia.

2) The British colonial officers (Luke, Vaskess, Gallagher) decided not to report the bones discovery to Americans despite suggestions they were Earhart's remains.

Gallagher was initially equivocal about the bones being Earhart's and, in the end, on July 3, 1941 when he was in Fiji, he wrote:

"I have read the contents of this file with great interest. It does look as if the skeleton was that of some unfortunate native castaway and the sextant box and other curious articles found nearby the remains are quite possibly a few of his precious possessions which he managed to save.

2. There was no evidence of any attempt to dig a well and the wretched man presumably died of thirst. less than two miles away there is a small grove of coconut trees which would have been sufficient to keep him alive if he had only found it. He was separated from those trees, however, by an inpenetrable [sic] belt of bush."

But Hoodless judged the skeleton to be "probably not that of a pure South Sea Islander-Micronesian or Polynesian" and no place on the island is separated from any other place by "an impenetrable  belt of bush."  You can always just walk down the beach.  Gallagher's disavowal of his earlier speculation sounds like signing on to the accepted party line.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Martin X. Moleski, SJ on May 25, 2015, 06:02:00 PM
All of the Coast Guard and Navy after-action reports include heavy-doses of not-our-fault, blame-the-victim.  Factual errors and false assumptions abound.  There was also a noticeable element of getting-our-story-straight.  Commander Thompson's (CO of Itasca) "Radio Transcripts Earhart Flight" is the worst of the lot.  Many, but by no means all, of the inaccuracies and self-serving distortions in the official reports are described and documented in Finding Amelia.

I've read Finding Amelia (http://tighar.org/wiki/Finding_Amelia).

I've read all of the Jacobson databases (http://tighar.org/wiki/Jacobson_Databases).

I can see the discrepancies--the "distortions" to which Ric refers--between the source material and the later reports.

In my view, it's a pretty respectable accusation.

Quote
2) The British colonial officers (Luke, Vaskess, Gallagher) decided not to report the bones discovery to Americans despite suggestions they were Earhart's remains.

When your doctor says they are the bones of a male, what grounds do you have for reporting to the Americans that you have found "Earhart's remains"?  Gallagher was the one who suggested that they were Earhart's bones.  The doctor rejected that suggestion.  How could Gallagher have done anything but "sign on to the party line"?  He was a junior colonial official in a very poor and remote outpost.  He was outranked by the doctor.  I don't see that Ric is suggesting any huge conspiracy by the British to "cover up" the truth that Amelia died on Niku; they were persuaded it wasn't she who had died there.  Whether the jungle between the death site and the coconuts was a factor in the death of the castaway is irrelevant to the judgment that the bones were from a male, not from a female.

The hallmark of the crazy conspiracy theories is the accusation that someone knows the truth and has successfully suppressed it for 78 years.  I don't see any signs of that in the acceptance of the doctor's judgment about the bones.

YMMV.
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Monty Fowler on May 26, 2015, 01:13:51 PM
Bill, I have absolutely no idea what "legal pressures" the WIX moderator is referring to. I made a reasonable request (albeit repeatedly due to initial non-responsiveness on their part), and Scott Rose did choose to act on it.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP
Title: Re: The Earhart Conspiracy Theory Industrial Complex
Post by: Bill Mangus on May 26, 2015, 02:23:37 PM
Monty, neither do I but someone, somewhere, has done or said something that got Mr. Rose's attention.  We'll just have to wait for further developments.