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[Bruce A. Smith]

MKULTRA docu-drama on Netflix

For those who would like to see how MKULTRA, the military and CIA, and the public's perception of governmental policy are all intertwined, I recommend the just-released documentary titled, "Wormwood" at Netflix. It is a six-part broadcast.

It details the death of an Army scientist named Dr. Eric Olson in 1953 during a fall from his 13th floor room in the Statler Hotel in NYC. The docu traces the family's response - first their utter grief, then disbelief and disorientation. Then a distrust grows, and they grapple with confusion, despair and depression as they learn about the government's involvement. In the mid-1970s Congress began investigating MKULTRA and other illegal activities at the CIA, and from that the public learned of how Dr. Olson died. In 1975 President Gerald Ford gave the Olson family a formal apology, and then an Act of Congress awarded the family $750,000 for a wrongful death.

The story at that time was that Dr. Olson was involved in a joint Army/CIA op to develop mind-control techniques, and that he and some colleagues took some LSD on a professional retreat to further their research. That triggered a delusional response in Olson, so the Army took him to a military shrink in NY for help. During treatment, he jumped or fell to his death. The government claimed responsibility for wrongfully supplying the LSD and allowing Olson to take it, and then not providing adequate treatment.

But in 50 years of investigatory research, Dr. Olson's son Eric discovers that the "LSD story" is a complete falsehood, and that his father was executed by CIA as part of their systematic and long-standing protocol to remove dissidents from top-secret positions. The actual cause of his death was the fact that Dr. Olson was involved in highly sensitive biological warfare research at Fort Detrick - but wanted out after seeing compelling evidence that the US was using germ warfare in the Korea War. Thus, he had to go.

The docu shows clearly how the government evaluates threats, and then how it deals with them - including assassinations. It also gives a heady view into how cover-up stories are created and how they are sold to the media and other government officials. In particular it shows how the government obtained the silence of Seymour Hersch, and I couldn't help wondering if the same kinds of pressures were put upon Geoffrey Gray.

The scope of the docu is extraordinary, and in my view is invaluable in assessing how the FBI has dealt with Norjak, and why so many principals are so quiet about it as well.

[Lynn]

Another interesting Tidal Tidbit:

Police in British Columbia confirmed today that the 13th foot and shoe to wash up in that Canadian Province since 2007 was found this week on Vancouver Island.

Officials are speculating that unusual "King Tides" deposited this latest piece of strange human remains, and experts are speculating that tides and oceans current could have deposited it from locales as far away as OREGON and Washington.

As gruesome as this news item is on first glance with fears of serial killers dumping their victims at sea, the truth is stranger but more comforting. Half of the feet found have been identified and come from victims of accidents or suicides. Further, the feet are being discovered because the victims are all wearing sneakers or other floatable footwear. This makes the feet more buoyant than the rest of the body, causing it to separate during decomposition.

Reported in todays' NY Times: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

  Thanks, Bruce - I used to live in BC, and those sneaker reports used to freak me the hell out. The explanation is gruesome yet comforting. At least there's not some Son of Scholl serial killer hiding out in BC.

[Bruce A. Smith]

The Phloating Phoot Phenomenon is amazing, and I offered it since some posters had been riffing on "one-in-a-million" types of scenarios on the money find. I think the world is that splendid and bizarre that we should leave room in our minds for the strange. But not Kenny Christiansen....

Where in BC? I had a wife in Lund. I tried to emigrate there a while back - in the 60s I tried Quebec - but you Canucks have turned me down twice!

Meyer might be able to explain this pattern of rejection in my life, but in the meantime.... back to Coop.

[Lynn]

The Phloating Phoot Phenomenon is amazing, and I offered it since some posters had been riffing on "one-in-a-million" types of scenarios on the money find. I think the world is that splendid and bizarre that we should leave room in our minds for the strange. But not Kenny Christiansen....

Where in BC? I had a wife in Lund. I tried to emigrate there a while back - in the 60s I tried Quebec - but you Canucks have turned me down twice!

Meyer might be able to explain this pattern of rejection in my life, but in the meantime.... back to Coop.

I was in Vancouver, B.C. 1996-2012. Though my favourite part of BC is the Sunshine Coast. Sorry the Canucks turned you down. If you don't mind pulling a Barb Dayton (or at least a Klinger) maybe try for refugee status? I do wish I'd been a DBC freak then, would have been much easier to get down to the symposiums and stuff when I was West Coast. Quick question: did anyone get an answer to that question as to how much digging the FBI did into hotels/cabs/abandoned airport cars/etc around Portland? As you know, I'm doing a fictional take on the DBC story, and a large part of that has been finding stuff on 1971 Portland. Everything from Super-8 film some kid shot to a report from a local improvement meeting that gave an ok overview of some of the main features downtown. If I'd been a cop, I'd have started by interviewing bartenders/regulars in every hotel/motel in town. Who did they interview at the airport besides the ticket agent?

Looking forward to your book and finding out who our missing 6 passengers were. I know about the cowboy - who did you mean by the "solider"? I did find two refs in the FBI docs to a "scuffle" between the hijacker and one passenger, a reference to Tina getting a magazine for another passenger who was getting too close for comfort (the New Yorker, maybe?), and of course the cowboy (whom I assumed the "scuffle" referred to.

If I'd realized right away about the Missing 6, I'd have paid more attention to a comment on a recent Facebook post about the Cooper case. I'll try to find it again, it was on a history page of some kind. This woman said her late mother-in-law was "the woman DB Cooper pulled out of her seat". She did not specify further, but I can find no reference to any such incident in any account of the flight. I assume the woman's ma-in-law was (a) lying  (b) referring to the passengers having been moved forward because of the skyjacking, of which they were unaware or (c) referring to an incident during boarding, ie. perhaps Cooper wanted a specific seat and she was in it and did pull her out. That seems unlikely, as that would likely have attracted the attention of at least Mitchell or Flo, neither of whom mentions it. The woman does mention that her mother-in-law never flew again.

I may have to take another slog through the redacted FBI Mad Libs files. It feels like the Bill Mitchell interview with the FBI was way too short given his proximity. I may have read a longer one months ago but don't recall - I do recall his interview with you. 

[MeyerLouie]

MKULTRA docu-drama on Netflix

For those who would like to see how MKULTRA, the military and CIA, and the public's perception of governmental policy are all intertwined, I recommend the just-released documentary titled, "Wormwood" at Netflix. It is a six-part broadcast.

It details the death of an Army scientist named Dr. Eric Olson in 1953 during a fall from his 13th floor room in the Statler Hotel in NYC. The docu traces the family's response - first their utter grief, then disbelief and disorientation. Then a distrust grows, and they grapple with confusion, despair and depression as they learn about the government's involvement. In the mid-1970s Congress began investigating MKULTRA and other illegal activities at the CIA, and from that the public learned of how Dr. Olson died. In 1975 President Gerald Ford gave the Olson family a formal apology, and then an Act of Congress awarded the family $750,000 for a wrongful death.

The story at that time was that Dr. Olson was involved in a joint Army/CIA op to develop mind-control techniques, and that he and some colleagues took some LSD on a professional retreat to further their research. That triggered a delusional response in Olson, so the Army took him to a military shrink in NY for help. During treatment, he jumped or fell to his death. The government claimed responsibility for wrongfully supplying the LSD and allowing Olson to take it, and then not providing adequate treatment.

But in 50 years of investigatory research, Dr. Olson's son Eric discovers that the "LSD story" is a complete falsehood, and that his father was executed by CIA as part of their systematic and long-standing protocol to remove dissidents from top-secret positions. The actual cause of his death was the fact that Dr. Olson was involved in highly sensitive biological warfare research at Fort Detrick - but wanted out after seeing compelling evidence that the US was using germ warfare in the Korea War. Thus, he had to go.

The docu shows clearly how the government evaluates threats, and then how it deals with them - including assassinations. It also gives a heady view into how cover-up stories are created and how they are sold to the media and other government officials. In particular it shows how the government obtained the silence of Seymour Hersch, and I couldn't help wondering if the same kinds of pressures were put upon Geoffrey Gray.

The scope of the docu is extraordinary, and in my view is invaluable in assessing how the FBI has dealt with Norjak, and why so many principals are so quiet about it as well.

I think I'll pass, Bruce.  Got enough alligators in my swamp just trying to deal with real, tangible life.  Try it sometime.

[Lynn]

 )Hi, everybody,

Thanks to Shutter and Bruce again for the invite and getting me on the forum. No friends or family share my weird obsession with this case (though they are indulgent of it; it's not like I'm investigating best places to buy crack) so it's a joy to be among those who do.

I apologize for the babbling to come - I've been looking into the case off and on for about a year and a half with no one to share ideas with -thanks again to Bruce for being so accessible and patient with my questions. Many of you have studied DBC for much longer, some since 1971 perhaps, and I really want you to correct me where I'm off-base. I was 3 in 1971, and as I'm writing a FICTIONAL book about someone who meets DB Cooper now (might as well use these hundreds of hours of research for something) I would also appreciate anything anyone slightly older than me might remember about the general vibe and zeitgeist of the era. (When I watch Season 2 of Fargo, for example, I can FEEL 1979 again, a year I do remember. I'm aiming for that. I just remember a crap ton of macrame and my Mattel-o-Phone. )

I'm not a scientist, but I do read puzzle mysteries almost exclusively and take a crack at writing them on occasion. My approach to the DBC case is all over the board from an investigative point of view:

1) As the witness descriptions vary wildly except in the matters of height, weight, and age (I give little credence to witness Robert Gregory, who misidentified the FA who spent the most time with Cooper and wasn't even sure where he himself was sitting), I take those 3 elements of the description as more or less accurate. These days I'm less focused on the PHYSICAL description of DBC than his speech patterns (does anyone else think his repeated use of "funny stuff/business" sounds like someone who's watched a lot of old movies IMITATING a criminal?) and mannerisms. (Slouching = perhaps not military? The fine mannerisms Tina described = white collar?)

Oh, by the way, I don't think "negotiable American currency", even if it came from DB, means he's necessarily Canadian. I'm Canadian and university educated, but that shit be high-falutin'.  It IS an odd thing to say; most Canucks I know would use something more like "unmarked US bills/dollars". It DOES sound like something a world traveler might say, or someone like Frasier. Anyone know where Kelsey Grammer was in 1971? 

2) I do weird stuff to get in writing mode for my fiction piece, like surround myself with 1971 music/TV episodes. So you may find me using stuff I've seen on TV as reference points. For example, in the last Cannon I watched, someone had just pulled off a heist, and the 1971 screenwriter clearly had done some research into money laundering, as the criminal character knew the money was likely traceable. (This apparently has been common knowledge in the US since the Lindbergh kidnapping). The criminal says something to the effect of, "Relax, I can't spend it yet. Not in the US, anyway."

That backs up something I've wondered about the laundering if any of the money DID make it out of the drop zone. What if the money was laundered - all at once or over time - in a foreign country? (Canada and Mexico might be too close by.) I cannot believe that tellers all over the world have been inspecting bills furiously for 46 years for circulated DBC loot. Of course there were computers in 1971, but I don't think the fact that the loot never showed up on the radar means it never got circulated.

This kind of thing takes me off on tangents like finding out how money is taken out of circulation. And what I'm finding is, it largely isn't, exactly. It deteriorates to the point where it's no longer spendable. Yeah, if it ends up at a bank, it'll be destroyed - I don't know if the serial numbers are even noted as the main reason the bills would be unusable is because the essential data has been ripped or rubbed off. If DBC circulated the bills, the only ways you could find one now would be through an exceptionally lucky collector; if he hid some away and they're found; or somewhere on/under the ground near the drop zone. Most modern circulated US bills deteriorate faster than I'd have thought - 3.5 to 5 years. Taking into account that modern bills get shoved through ATMs and stuff, older bills may have had a slightly longer shelf life, but probably not by much.

PS I think it may have been georger who somewhere on this forum mentioned the crystallization  (sp?) of the rubber bands around the found loot. Do you think that might indicate that the place where the bills were found is the place where they reached that condition? Otherwise (ie. if moved by natural forces), wouldn't whatever force moved them have cause the rubber bands to break away just as the Ingrams'  first (likely ginger) contact with the bills did?  Oh, and if any of the Citizen Sleuths are on here - outstanding research at Tena Bar. I think the dredge theory is out.

3) I do have a favourite suspect, and a second favourite, however I acknowledge upfront DBC may well have died in the jump (THE THOUGHT OF SOMEONE FINDING HIS BODY MAKES ME PHYSICALLY ILL, THOUGH ) I don't like accusing people with real lives/families of crimes they may not have committed, so ANYTHING I say about my faves is said with the caveat of "100% conjecture" or, where possible, in light of provable facts.

4) I'm careful of confirmation bias, though not unwilling to explore weird coincidences like the murder of Cossey, Linn Emerick giving one suspect the go-ahead to try a "batwing" dive (forget the proper term for those) several years before - stuff like that. I'm not big on the idea of accomplices myself - I've been a broke chick bigtime, but would have needed way more than $100,000 or less to risk a felony sentence even adjusted for 2017, though of course there are those who would do it for far less. Still. I kind of think accomplices would have meant a larger ransom demand. He who carries the bomb calls the tune. And he's buying a stairway to heaven. (Led Zep, 1971, anonymous album. COINCIDENZA?! )

I'm gonna sign off my long intro here. My recent obsessions have been (a) the bags seen by House, Mitchell and Mucklow and what they may have contained. Any ideas on that are conjecture; still, there are only so many things that would have been USEFUL to DBC and we can probably assume he only brought stuff he thought he'd need and (b) those damn letters, which until recently I dismissed, and came back to NOT because of the fifth letter's much-ballyhooed release. (The investigator ballyhooing it is championing a suspect I don't buy, but I do have a long winded explanation as to why I returned to the letters.)

Anyhoo, I want to read more of what's already written here before I throw out much more for general dissection. But any thoughts any of you have on any of the above - and any hazy memories of 1971, the year that was, would be very much appreciated.

Hope you're all having a peaceful holiday run-up and flying friendly skies.
Lynn
 

[Bruce A. Smith]

Looking forward to your book and finding out who our missing 6 passengers were. I know about the cowboy - who did you mean by the "solider"? I did find two refs in the FBI docs to a "scuffle" between the hijacker and one passenger, a reference to Tina getting a magazine for another passenger who was getting too close for comfort (the New Yorker, maybe?), and of course the cowboy (whom I assumed the "scuffle" referred to.

If I'd realized right away about the Missing 6, I'd have paid more attention to a comment on a recent Facebook post about the Cooper case. I'll try to find it again, it was on a history page of some kind. This woman said her late mother-in-law was "the woman DB Cooper pulled out of her seat". She did not specify further, but I can find no reference to any such incident in any account of the flight. I assume the woman's ma-in-law was (a) lying  (b) referring to the passengers having been moved forward because of the skyjacking, of which they were unaware or (c) referring to an incident during boarding, ie. perhaps Cooper wanted a specific seat and she was in it and did pull her out. That seems unlikely, as that would likely have attracted the attention of at least Mitchell or Flo, neither of whom mentions it. The woman does mention that her mother-in-law never flew again.

I may have to take another slog through the redacted FBI Mad Libs files. It feels like the Bill Mitchell interview with the FBI was way too short given his proximity. I may have read a longer one months ago but don't recall - I do recall his interview with you. 

Here's the list of passengers I have. Perhaps it will help. Not sure about the story of a mother-in-law getting pulled out of her seat by DBC. Your account is the first time I'm hearing it.


Flight 305 Passenger List – based upon FBI list, GG, Seattle Times, and interviews with selected passengers
(Total: 35 passengers, plus hijacker)



NAME                                Point of Origin              Seat

1.   Almstad, Jack                     Great Falls      8A
2. Andvik, Arnold                     Missoula
3. Clause, Roy, D.                     Missoula
4. Conley, Lavonne                     Missoula
5. Connors, Mrs. Helen                       Missoula
6. Cooper, Michael                     Missoula                     17A
7. Cummings, Mrs. Adele                  Great Falls
8. Cummings, Lynn                     Great Falls
9. Cummings, Robert                     Great Falls
10. Donahoe, Raymond                  Missoula
11. Finegold, Larry                     PDX         6A
12. Jensen, Wesley, P.                  Spokane
13. Keats, William                     Minneapolis
14. Kloepher, Floyd                     Great Falls      3D
15. Kurata, George                     PDX
16. Mac Donald, Clifford Austin               PDX
17. Mac Pherson, Scott                  Spokane      2A
18. Mac Pherson, William                  Spokane      2B
19. Menendez, Adrian                     PDX
20. Mikelson, Dennis                     Great Falls
21. Minsch, Patrick                     PDX
22. Murphy, William, J                  Great Falls
23. Pollart, Les                        PDX         12B
24. Rice, Daniel                        Great Falls
25. Simmons, Barbara                  PDX         6E
26. Simmons, Richard                     PDX            6F
27. Truitt, Alan, B.                     Missoula
28. Street, Charles                     Missoula
29. Weitzel, Paul (part of the MacPherson party)      Spokane
30. Wornstaff, James, R                  PDX

Additional - first five had special debrief with FBI:
1. Robert Gregory                     PDX         17D
2. Nancy House                        PDX         15E
3. George Labissoniere                  PDX         12A
4. Bill Mitchell                        PDX         18B
5. Cord Harms Spreckel                  PDX         17B
6. DAN COOPER                             PDX         18E

[Bruce A. Smith]

... any hazy memories of 1971, the year that was, would be very much appreciated....

I was 22 at the time of the skyjacking. Here are some of the things I remember from 1971:

1. Smoking was ubiquitous - even on airplanes.
2. Lots of men had long sideburns, even mutton shops.
3. Bell bottom jeans
4. Polyester suits. Polyester shirts.
5. Cultural tensions: "American Love It or Leave It"
6. Vietnam Protests in DC: March on Washington every few months. US soldiers patrolled the streets. Tanks in DC
7. Gas was cheap. 19 cents a gallon
8. Wages were low. I was making $2.25/ hr and thought I was rich.
9. Young women were "chicks."
10. VW "bugs" were ubiquitous
11. Air pollution was serious. Clean air regs were just going into effect, especially in LA.
12. Nixon was known as "Tricky Dick."
13. Hippie Lifestyles were widespread. Wanna see my college ID? Long hair, leather headband, Fu Manchu, etc. Scary!
14. WABC was the #1 rock and roll station in NYC. Cousin Brucie was the #1 DJ.
15. Seattle in severe depression: "Last One Leaving Seattle, Please Turn Out the Lights" billboard on I-5.

[Lynn]

... any hazy memories of 1971, the year that was, would be very much appreciated....

I was 22 at the time of the skyjacking. Here are some of the things I remember from 1971:

1. Smoking was ubiquitous - even on airplanes.
2. Lots of men had long sideburns, even mutton shops.
3. Bell bottom jeans
4. Polyester suits. Polyester shirts.
5. Cultural tensions: "American Love It or Leave It"
6. Vietnam Protests in DC: March on Washington every few months. US soldiers patrolled the streets. Tanks in DC
7. Gas was cheap. 19 cents a gallon
8. Wages were low. I was making $2.25/ hr and thought I was rich.
9. Young women were "chicks."
10. VW "bugs" were ubiquitous
11. Air pollution was serious. Clean air regs were just going into effect, especially in LA.
12. Nixon was known as "Tricky Dick."
13. Hippie Lifestyles were widespread. Wanna see my college ID? Long hair, leather headband, Fu Manchu, etc. Scary!
14. WABC was the #1 rock and roll station in NYC. Cousin Brucie was the #1 DJ.
15. Seattle in severe depression: "Last One Leaving Seattle, Please Turn Out the Lights" billboard on I-5.

Haha, have tons of pics of my uncle in uni with the aforementioned mutton chops. And have seen that billboard from Seattle. I did mean to ask about the pollution during the era of giant gas-guzzlers and no restrictions on factory emissions. Lived in Japan in the 90s, the only place I ever smoked at work or on a plane/train. Even as a smoker I found it a bit weird. Did most people have a groovy Zenith color TV yet or was that still fairly new?

[Bruce A. Smith]

I got my first color TV set in the late 1970s. I was probably 30.

[Lynn]

I got my first color TV set in the late 1970s. I was probably 30.

When I think of the early 70s, I think most of my impressions were formed by All in the Family. A lot of the things you mentioned make me think of the arguments between Archie and Mike. I also thought as a kid (grew up in a northern mining town) that NYC apartments looked so huge and clean. That's what The Odd Couple and Family Affair will do to you.

[Bruce A. Smith]

Northern Mining Town? Ever been to Chibougamau, Quebec?

I was there in 1970.

[Bruce A. Smith]

I didn't see a Kirkland Lake. The only lake I saw was Lac Sainte Jean at Misstassini. I've written a story about my trip to Chibougamau - care to see it? If you don't want to reactivate your email so as to receive mine, I'll post the story at the Mountain News.

Where is Kirkland Lake? It sounds so Anglophilic and Chibougamau is deep in Quebecois Country.

Also, I never went to any First Nation reservations. Never heard of Lake Cobenga Preserve, either.

BTW: Netflix has another new docu up - on Ted Kozinski, called "Manhunt." It is excellent.

[Bruce A. Smith]

Northern Mining Town? Ever been to Chibougamau, Quebec?

I was there in 1970.

Actually my wife and I have. 1969. Via Kirkland Lake. Ever been to Lake Cobonga Preserve and the native communities there?

I just Googled Kirkland Lake and Lake Cobonga Preserve. The former is in northern Ontario, and the latter is in western Quebec, near the Ontario border. Both are a good distance from Chibougamau, which is essentially due north of Quebec City about 200-300 miles. Chibougamau is 750 miles north of NYC, so I knew I was pretty far north. In fact, I was as far north as the road went from my hometown.

When I was in Chibougamau the last 150 miles were unpaved - it was all a gravel highway. And I don't recall any roads going west or south until one got back down towards Mistassini. What was it like in 1969?

Chibougamau and all of your locales are in the boonies. What took you up there?

[Bruce A. Smith]

It was 1970 and I had just dropped out of college. Hence, my 2-S deferment was gone, and folks were chanting America - Love it or Leave it - so I left. At least for a little while - all to see what else was out there in life, in the world. I'll post the whole story at the Mountain News today. It's part of a collection of true stories from my life that I'm getting ready to publish. It'll be titled: "Stories from the Journey - Becoming greater than what we have been."

North to Chibougamou:

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