("Quid coniuratio est?")
P O T P O U R R I
The situation is, if it was a mechanical failure that brought down TWA Flight 800, then TWA gets the heat with lawsuits. If a missile brought down TWA 800, then either (a) the U.S. Navy takes the fall for the crash or, (b) the foreign terrorists with a missile scenario means that U.S. foreign policy gets blamed. The foreign terrorists with a missile scenario also opens up public indignation and calls for retaliation. What is needed is some scenario where no one gets blamed, not TWA, not the U.S. Navy, not U.S. foreign policy. Voila. It was "fumes" that caused the crash.
It is noteworthy that the "fumes" solution comes about a week after the crash investigators had the pressure turned up on them by the Pierre Salinger allegations. 'Til then, the FBI and NTSB had been sort of coasting along. (Not to say that individuals connected with FBI and NTSB weren't individually, within their personal microscopic areas of duty, honestly working on the case; just that the lumbering bureaucracy itself had settled in for a long winter's nap.) Another angle on this is that pressure was already building on high-level government officials (higher-level than, for example, FBI's Kallstrom) to deliver up a scapegoat for the crash. Could U.S. foreign policy, which I suspect as the true culprit in the crash, have maneuvered behind the scenes to get the U.S. Navy to take the blame? This would explain perhaps Kallstrom's lectern pounding pique: Kallstrom, unaware of higher level manuevers meant to foist blame on the U.S. Navy, would have incidentally ended up looking bad himself -- if a U.S. Navy mistake wound up taking the blame, then why hadn't Kallstrom figured it out? Why was it only thanks to "honest Salinger" that the case was solved? So Kallstrom, in this scenario aware that a U.S. Navy-did-it solution is not possible, becomes enraged at what he sees developing.
Now, thanks to the "fumes" theory, everyone is off the hook. TWA can presumably emerge with its good reputation intact and not likely to pay huge lawsuit claims. U.S. foreign policy's reputation and possible escalation of tensions with whoever shot down TWA 800 is avoided. "Fumes," like an act of God, is the perfect fall guy.
Not yet speculated upon to my knowledge is the question of how much beer drinking was going on during the FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. Thanks to independent investigators we know that many in BATF are heavy boozers. Is it to far fetched to wonder if, during those long nights around the campfire by their RV campers, FBI personnel may have enjoyed a few cold brews? Or maybe something a little stronger, to help warm them up? Did the press, also involved in this little camping adventure, join with the FBI agents in a little around-the-campfire good cheer? Did the FBI enjoy a few boozy laughs as the tanks circled the Davidian compound, blaring the sounds of slaughtered rabbits and Nancy Sinatra late at night, to the ears of terrified children within?
The Washington Times National Weekly Edition (Nov. 17, 1996) reports on an article in the current Penthouse magazine (presumably available at Penthouse's web site) about a "secret cadre of gay and bisexual cross-dressing Episcopal priests." It is alleged, among other things, that a Rev. Howard Williams, who coordinates children's ministries for the Episcopal Church, tricked Wasticlinio Barros, 23, of Brazil into taking employment at what he thought was a job as a translator in New York. According to Penthouse, as summarized by the Washington Times, "Mr. Barros realized upon arriving in Brooklyn that his true job was to serve as a 'sex slave' for [Rev. William] Andries, as well as to provide sexual services for at least seven other priests. When he tried to flee the country, he said, Mr. Andries confiscated his passport and returned it on condition that Mr. Barros help recruit additional young men from Brazil."
According to an article in the Nov. 11, 1996 New Federalist newspaper, the purchasing power of the average American has collapsed by 50 percent in the past 30 years. This ties in with the phenomena, previously noted by Conspiracy Nation, of the "liberation" of women -- "liberated" so they now must, from dire necessity, trudge off to work each morning with their husbands. This is not to say that equal treatment for women is not a good thing, but rather that their now being forced to work so their families can maintain a decent standard of living has been sold as a "great leap forward" in these "modern times."
New Federalist offers statistics to back up their claim of declining purchasing power in our "good" economy:
** "In 1967, it required 35 weeks of an average worker's weekly paycheck to purchase a new car (including financing costs); today, it requires 58 paychecks. That is, today's worker must work 23 weeks more, or 65.7 percent longer, to acquire a new car. Therefore, in physical terms, it costs 65.7 percent more to buy the car."
** "In 1967, it required 399 weeks of an average worker's weekly paycheck to purchase a new home (including financing costs); today it requires 877 paychecks. That is, a worker must work 478 weeks, or 119.7 percent longer, to acquire a new home. Therefore, in physical terms, it costs 119.7 percent more to buy the home."
(For further particulars, readers are referred to the article in New Federalist.)
"George" magazine, in their December 1996 article on the TWA Flight 800 crash ("When the Nation is Clueless"), quotes this editor. Most of their reportage of my comments to them during an interview for the article is fairly accurate. However one part in which I am quoted is misleading: "Asked why Flight 800 has become a cause celebre while the ValuJet crash has not, Redman replied, 'The number-one thing is that the FBI is investigating this,'..."
Here's how that portion of the interview really went down:
GEORGE: Why has Flight 800 become a cause celebre while the
ValuJet crash has not?
REDMAN: Well, for starters, about a hundred witnesses swear they
saw a missile headed toward TWA 800. Also, my sources were
unanimous in saying a missile was involved. So it's reasonable
to suspect, since the missile angle is being downplayed, a cover
up might be going on.
GEORGE: But what about the FBI? Why don't people trust them?
Tell me something about the FBI's involvement in this.
REDMAN: The FBI has a bad reputation. For example with the JFK
investigation and also with the death of Martin Luther King.
When news of King's death reached some FBI offices, wild cheering
broke out. I'm not 100 percent confident in the FBI, so I tend
to not always believe what they have to say."
The above is not an exact transcription of the conversation, but it gives the gist of it. Note how, due to "George's" selective editing of that segment of our interview, it appears in their article as if I'm saying something like, "Since the FBI is investigating, there must be a cover-up." That is not what I said and the article in the Dec. 1996 "George" is misleading in that part.
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those
of Conspiracy Nation, nor of its Editor in Chief.
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