BruceSmith

Marla Quiz - EXTRA CREDIT QUESTIONS!!! 1. If Curtis Eng got bamboozled by Marla, when did he get un-bamboozled? 2. If Curtis wasn't bamboozled by Marla, how come he believed her story, and when did he un-believe it?

None of the above ? C'mon Georger, we're still waiting for a real answer from you. When do you think the feds knew LD was not DB? Can't you make a phone call or two????????

David DeCoteau and his Rapid Heart film company HAVE done it. Congrats to all involved. Bigfoot vs DB Cooper. You gotta love it. A classic matchup for sure. Available in June.

Snakes in the grass and smells in the air. You're rather primal this evening, Mrs. Cooper, eh?

You just misssed her in Ariel in 2011. She was in the tavern drinking with Tom Kaye when I walked in and everyone was asking me if I had met you since you had just left. You must have passed her in the street. Glad you're spending a bit more time with us'uns at the Tavern. There's a lot to be seen and heard. Along with beautiful women and cheap beer.

Very interesting. However, 377, I don't fully undertand the Monte Carlo model (MCMC). Do you? Regardless, I think that the kind of thinking used by this researcher could be invaluable in Norjak. Imagine if a guy like this set up the Marla Show? Whew. Daunting.

None of the above ? Of course. Also: All of the above? Some of the above? So, G, why do you t'ink that Ayn said what she said to Alex?

Hey, all you truth seekers, take the Marla Quiz. Winners will get a free beer at next year's party in Ariel. (Promise!). ********** The question of how Marla Cooper and her Uncle LD achieved such prominence in the Norjak investigation is difficult to determine. Take the Marla Quiz to find your way through one of Norjak's most curvacious “Pathways to Truth”. 1. Why did FBI PIO Ayn Dietrich tell reporter Alex Hanaford in June 2011 that the Bureau had received their “most promising” lead in the DB Cooper skyjacking case? A. Marla bamboozled the FBI, plain and simple. B. Ayn wanted to impress a charming, good-looking British journalist with a healthy expense account. C. Who gives a shit? Everyone who’s anyone knows Kenny did it. D. Um, maybe the three triple-shot, no-fat, Carmel Macchiatos Ayn had made her a little loose-lipped? (Hat-tip to 377) E. Ayn’s “leak” was the opening gambit by the FBI to confuse the public into believing they had solved Norjak and that the skyjacker was long dead and buried. 2. Exactly when did the FBI rule out LD Cooper via fingerprint and DNA analysis? A. The first week of August 2011 when the world’s media was hounding the FBI for the evidence indicating why LD Cooper was the “most promising” suspect ever in Norjak. B. The second week of August 2011 when they got their hands on LD’s guitar strap. C. Sometime in the spring of 2011 and before Ayn’s press interview with Hanaford in June 2011. But Ayn didn’t get the memo. D. Sometime in early 2011 or late 2010 when Arlen Dorney and his buddy from a mid-western/Oklahoma FBI FO gave Curtis Eng their packet on LD and threatened to go to Fox News. Regardless, it was enough time for the hard-working grunts at Seattle FO to set up their con-job on the American public using Twisty Butt to spin their story that DB Cooper was dead and buried. Ayn never got that memo, either. (She wasn’t supposed to.) E. February 2012, according to Marla at Portland, citing unknown reasons for the extended examination. F. Who gives a shit? I still believe Marla. (Go Parrothead!). 3. Why didn’t Alex Hanaford write any more stories about Marla, LD, or DB Cooper? A. Rupert Murdoch told him not to. B. He was bored with Marla, Norjak, cold beer and Americans. C. Hey, he was a freelancer and he went to Monaco for the winter. D. After getting the ball rolling on Marla and helping her get on the front page of every newspaper in the world, he figured he had done his job as a force for justice in the world. E. He went to Hollywood, where the real money is, and hasn’t been heard from since, although rumor has it that his “inside story on Marla” has significant interest but he’s still seeking financing. F. He had finished his role in the Marla Show. 4. Alex was the best educated Norjak writer I (BAS) have ever met. How did he get so smart? A. The British educational system is just wonderful. B. He read Geoffrey’s book before our interview, as he claimed. C. He was given an electronic version of Geoffrey’s book by Crown Publishing in early 2011, as Geoffrey has suggested. D. He had lunch with Jo. E. He’s an avid reader of the Mountain News. F. Coached by whoever set up the Marla Show. 5. Why did Geoffrey put Marla in the 2011 Portland Symposium? A. There was a shortage of blondes in the line-up. Abracadabra and Pat Forman are brunettes. B. Geoffrey hadn’t met her before and she wasn’t in the book, so he was curious. C. They are Cooper buddies and quantumly entangled. She was on the front page of every newspaper and he was in every op-ed section. She claimed LD was DB, and Geoff claimed that the DB Cooper case would never be solved - so get over it, people. It’s all good. D. All media attention is good media attention. E. He’s cute, she’s cute, and cute people just stick together. Cuteness Rocks! F. He was told to by whoever was producing the Marla Show. Besides, they promised to pick up the tab for the hotel room and drinks, and Geoff was broke since book sales were slow. Plus, it was part of the quid pro quo with the FBI for getting unfettered access to the juicy stuff in the files.

Bob, your perspective is distinctly at odds with my experience with the FBI and those reported by many other researchers. To whit: 1. Larry Carr. I had one twenty-minute interview with Larry by phone in October 2008. After that he refused to communicate with me, even when I PM'd here at the DZ. 2. Curtis Eng Curtis became the Cooper case agent in the spring of 2010 after Larry's departure and twelve meonths before Marla arrived on the scene. Curtis has never communicated with me about Norjak despite my many requests. 3. PIO Ayn Dietrich Ayn consistently responds to my emails and phone calls, even calling me on weekends and long after business hours durign the week. She is exceptionally prompt - rarely does 24 hours go by without a response from her. What she says and how she says it is another matter, though. Exceptionally evasive. 4. PIO Robbie Burroughs Ms. Burroughs was very professional in our many communications prior to her departure from the Bureau circa 2010. Not only did we discuss Norjak, I also had occasion to contact her regarding other crimes in my job as a reporter for the Dispatch. **** In addition, Galen reports that he continues to have extended access to Curtis Eng, although it is reduced since the Al Di flurry in late 2010 and early 2011. Geoffrey, Tom Kaye and the CS all report unfettered access to the FBI over the past few years and do not indicate that their access has been suppressed. Chris Ingalls at KIRO told me about a year ago that he had a healthy chat with Curtis about Marla on the very day I tried to get through to Mr. Eng. Bob, your experience of the FBI clamming up Post-Marla may have other possibilites besides a strategic retreat from talking to you - or me for that matter - or some kind of post-Marla backlash. I suspect that the Bureau doesn't want to be too chatty with us for other reasons, such as their larger agenda of controlling the public image of DB Cooper and their investigation. I think that effort compells them to shut us out. I think there isn't anything they want us to know about. We do not serve their interests at the moment. Remember that the WSHM put on the Cooper exhibit post-Marla. I am convinced that didn't happen without tacit approval from the Bureau. I say that because my relationship with the WSHM is as uneven as it has been with the FBI. I consider both agencies to be kissin' cousins of the Norjak investigation-spin job.

Yes. Asked and answered. See my previous post. Bob, that answer is unacceptable. Remember, one-thousand people will read your response to my questions about Marla in the next week, according to DZ tabulation. Don't you want to provide them with more detailed information about Marla? Keep in mind that even liars tell the truth sometime, and the best liars tell the truth a lot of the time. Our job as investigators then is to sort out the truth from the deception. It's not easy, granted. Hence, your broad protrayal of Marla as a liar and the FBI as hard-working but duped by a gorgeous blonde is insufficient. Too many questions remain dangling in the air and we need to tie them up. I have some ideas on how to help you and everyone else seeking the truth about Marla, the FBI and Geoffrey Gray. Stay tuned.

Yes.

Bob, is waffling the same as being evasive? Also, can you explain the difference between waffling and delivering non-answers? Do you think I'm waffling on Marla? BTW: I love waffles. What's the big waffle chain down south? Waffle House? Hmm - I love that joint. For the fifteen months I lived in Nashville, I was well-fed.

Jo, if this is true, why do you write about yourself here in the third person? Isn't this a sign of Disassociative Identity Disorder?

So, Bob, why do you think Ayn Dietrich told Alex Hanaford during their interview in June, 2011, that the Bureau had the "most promising" lead in the history of Norjak? Do you think they were already under the spell of Ms. Marla? If so, why do you think the hard-working people at the Seattle FO waited another sixty days or so to check on LD's prints and DNA, as was reported in the media in early August? Or, if you believe Marla and her team and their claim that the FBI had LD's DNA and prints at least three-six months before the Hanaford interview (early 2011 or late 2010), then the Bureau had the means to corroborate Marla's claims or not, no? So, if they knew LD wasn't the skyjacker as they claimed shortly after Marla's Walk Across the World's Stage in August 2011, then why did Dietrich tell the world, in effect, that LD Cooper was DB Cooper two months prior? Can you sort this all out for me? TY. Also, can you explain to me why Geoffrey re-positioned Marla back into the World's Spotlight in November 2011 at the Portland Symposium? At the time, Marla and Uncle LD were dead in the water. But when she took the mic as the final speaker at the Symposium, she stole the show and put herself back on the front pages. It was a World Class performance. Too bad you missed it, but take it from me, the whole synchronization between Marla, Geoff, and his benefactors at the Bureau was astounding. Marla did not act alone in my view, although the actions of others may have been unknown to her. Or if you think she orchestrated her fame by herself, why do you believe that perspective? Do you really think she played the FBI? Or could the FBI have played Marla? How would you rate that potential? Likely, Unlikely? Preposterous? Hmmmm?

It would not matter. Your cell phone would be in airplane mode. As you know, Vick, I am actually quite illiterate tech-wise. How do I put a cell phone into airplane mode? Maybe I should practice this before Miss Amazona picks me up for our aerial rendezvous.... Also, I need to keep 377's number on speed dial. Perhaps you could help me with that, too. TY. URGr8! See, I'm working on my texting!

Totally off-topic, but interesting: Here in Cooper Country today we lost 911 service, and here in my home county of Pierce, site of Tacoma and the ole sod for 800,000 souls, the county gov't dived into the fray and started called 300,000 homes to give them a list of direct phone numbers to call for help if needed - such as cops, fire, ambulances, etc. I got a phone call early, but I hadn't had a cup of java so I was unable to scribbble down the torrent of numbers they babbled. I later got a press release from the county communications director (a guy who busts my ass as much as Bobby and Jo combined, incidently) and he claimed it was a "regional" and "multi-state" event. However, due to the personality conflicts I declined to call him for more details. So, has anyone else been effected? Does anyone know how this happened? Imagine if this happened on the day that Amazon and I go for a little plane ride. OMG!!!

So you aint buying the govt conspiracy setup explanation for Jo's car crash in FL? Bruce wrote***Speaking of asses, I have the distinct feeling that Amazon would like to kick mine out a door at 14,000 feet. I assume she also imagines me wearing a parachute, too, whereas Orange 1, well, let's just say I'm not sure she envisions me wearing much more than a "T" shirt and jeans. Nevertheless, I know that 377 will be right behind me going into a tuck to exceed terminal velocity and hand me his reserve chute. Yup, I wouldnt let a good investigative journalist bounce, too few left. Amazon wouldnt throw you out chuteless, she isnt THAT cruel. She'd give you one of these canopies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gV7QO1ZKzI 377 Was that clip about the smallest parachute in the world or the smallest skydiver? Or was his gf one super long, tall glass of water? As for Mrs Cooper and her gov't car crack-ups, hmmm. Tough call. When it comes to our Jo, I say that almost anything is possible.

Not really. I expected a smart articulate attractive person and that's what Vicki was in person. Bruce S and Robert B were pretty much as expected. No big surprises. I liked them both. Hangdiver and his lovely girlfriend Raz, ditto. Snow was quite different than I expected, none of the online hostility was detectable in person. Really great guy actually. Razor sharp and very fast mind, wish I had his IQ. Hope to meet Orange someday on her US travels. She is another dropzone brainiac. Georger is another DZ brain but I have not had a chance to meet him in person. I liked all the dropzone folks I met at the Portland Symposium. I actually got along well with Jerry T who was a perfect gentleman when disputing my belief that Cooper could have easily survived the jump. Tom, Al and Carol "Abacadabra" were really fun to hang out with and I hope I will get another chance. Carol's Dan Cooper Comic presentation was a masterpiece, super well done. Tom and Al amazed me with stories about how they maintain obsolete but very capable scanning electron microscopes that they bought dirt cheap. Jo and I have our differences but I like her a lot. We squabble at times but stop way short of nasty. I think we all look worse online than we are in person. Something about the Internet brings out the fangs in normally civilized folks. 377 EVicki was a lot cuter than I expected. She is damned beautiful! (And skinny!) Her daughter Michelle ain't nobody's fool, either - we met at Sail's yacht club a year ago. Bobby B was surprisingly social when we meet at Ariel. We got along fairly well. Mrs Cooper can be as bitchy in person as she is here as I witnessed in her dressing down of two waiters. But she also has a lot of pluck. However, she is the World's Worst Driver and even though she drove for only two blocks to the restaurant in Vancouver I thought we were gonna get crunched in about two traffic accidents. (There and Back!) Hence, we switched cars and I drove the rest of the day. Yeah, Tom, Al, and Abracadabra are a fun trio. Good people, smart, and have something to talk about. But Abra reminds me of a cobra when she is cross; whew! But she was correct in her observations, so her wrath was purposeful. Hence, I grow a thick skin and go to therapy as I become a better writer. Drinking tequila helps, too. Hangdiver and Razberry are defintely a fun couple. When I think of them I smile and say, "Gawd, they look like they have a lot of fun in bed." JT is also remarkably charming, even when he's busting my ass about something Washougally. Speaking of asses, I have the distinct feeling that Amazon would like to kick mine out a door at 14,000 feet. I assume she also imagines me wearing a parachute, too, whereas Orange 1, well, let's just say I'm not sure she envisions me wearing much more than a "T" shirt and jeans. Nevertheless, I know that 377 will be right behind me going into a tuck to exceed terminal velocity and hand me his reserve chute.

Right on, Miss Vicki! Smart, articulate (and beautiful) as always.

C'mon, Bobby. Get off your fuckin' knees. The Truth needs you.

Nope. I learned about Bernie from you and these pages.

The timeline on what the FBI did and didn't do to investigate LD Cooper is a bit murky. Here's what I know, and some of it is contradictory. When the Marla story first broke in August 2011, the FBI inferred that they didn't have any concrete evidence linking LD Cooper to the skyjacking and they also inferred that they hadn't ruled him out on fingerprint or DNA analysis. Then, for a few days in the papers, there was a hub-bub about getting prints and DNA off the guitar strap. Shortly after that it was claimed that the strap was not a good source for either, and the media focus on LD and Marla waned. Months later other sources, such as Arden the Okie cop, revealed that the FBI had the LD file for many months before the Marla story broke - perhaps even a year, and had found LD's kids living with their mother in Nevada, (I think). The DNA analysis from the girls did not match the FBI's partial sample from the epithelial cells found on the Reno clip-on tie clasp. My conversation with Santa Claus, the guy in Eugene who befriended LD and was his best friend at the time of his death, told me that the FBI was vigilant in rounding up LD's DNA and fingerprint stuff from him, but the time frame on this is unknown to me. Santa is also a very tough guy to get ahold of. Then at the Portland Symposium in November 2011, Marla went on at length about Eng having another round of fingerprint analysis completed by Feb 2012, which might be the 18 months you reference since the Bureau was first made aware of Uncle LD and his pretty niece, according to Arden. All my efforts to sort this out with Ayn D the PIO has resulted in boilerplated evasiveness.

So, Bobby, how come you aren't striving to make it sooner, rather than later? C'mon - Bernie is your guy! None of us would know about him if it wasn't for you.

Thanks, Sis. I've done a few of the things you suggest: Yes, I contacted the publisher guy. I'm not sure how to respond to his many stated suggestions. His web site is quite voluminous, and I've been a bit distracted dealing with some other medical issues, like an epic adventure this week on a colonoscopy exam that took two days to complete! Ug. I'm on the Anti-D meds, and I have a counselor, but I had to cancel this week's session due to the colonoscopy. (see above). I also think my therapist is having counter-transference issues with me, but that's a topic for another time and place. Maybe the gossip section at Shutter's site. (?). I went contra-dancing for awhile but all the other lonely (old) guys chasing after the lassies creeped me out. I left and went drinking at Red Robin and chatted up the bar maid. Yes, write some more articles...This is a major existential quandry for me. When I have the blues, why aren't I writing? Don't jazz musicians play their way out of their depressions? Maybe that's what I'm doing here - consider my repartee with Bobby and Mrs Cooper a form of pre-writing, a way of getting my creative juices flowing - shootin' the shit at this cyber Friends collective.

Ah, clear, concise impassioned focus. I love it. Go get him tiger!