BruceSmith

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Everything posted by BruceSmith

  1. 377 - Some personality disorders increase the ability to manipulate others. Pychopaths/Sociopaths are a good example. Ted Bundy was known to be very charming, Charles Manson was also very good at it. Bruce - Given how much off the wall crap has been posted here, suggestions of personality disorders are well within reason. Can you make any good guesses as to what specific disorders and why you think so? Hat tip to Orange1, too. So, vat kind o’ disorda do I t’ink ol’ DB had? Vell, it certainly vasn’t a narcissistic personality disorder, which is perhaps da most common form. T’ose folks need an audience to be narcissistic in front of, although they often do quite well without one, and thereby create one – although it’s rarely the one they hope for, as it’s usually composed of policemen, ambulance drivers and psych ER technicians. If MKULTRA is involved, DB may have had a very singular kind, unique to the program where his personality was fractured. Also, a lot of pathology might have been overridden by hypnosis, surgery or medications, eg: messages of “you’re doing this for your country, Dan, etc. Maybe his amygdala was surgically de-stim’d – that could get rid of a lot of fear. This is wholly conjecturous on my part. I’m developing contacts with the folks who were part of the big MKULTRA studies at the Allen Institute in Montreal, and perhaps some inkling about the kinds of personality disorders that MK produced will come from this. I have one person here locally in Pierce County, WA to interview, and I’ll be reaching out again, shortly, to Cathy O’Brien, perhaps the most famous, or best known, survivor of MKULTRA. But I suspect DB was in a special place, like Fort Detrich. I’m just in the early stages of stirring this pot. Where did smokejumpers and Air America guys go for medical care? That might be a place to look. But back to the man on the plane. What kinds of clues are there, and what kinds of clinical observations came be made? For me, a few things stand out. One, his courteousness, ie: “Excuse me, Miss, but you ought to take a look at that note.” Two, he didn’t sweat. Tosaw says DB exploded briefly with rage when the fueling trucks didn’t get the job done in a timely fashion, but other than that, there was really no anxiety or nervousness displayed in any reports I’ve read. That tells me he was very much “at one” with what he was doing. Possibly confident and secure, little evidence of doubt, and no apparent fear shown as to what awaited him beyond the bottom step of the aft stairs. It could also mean he was detached from his emotions, or didn’t even have any to be detached from. Three, he was a nice guy, even as Tina probed him for hints of his identity. He seemed in control of the conversation and didn’t reveal anything. He had a high level of mindfulness, I would say. I think Tosaw says that he waved as Tina left. Four. I sense a dependency in DB. No one thing points to this, but his needing Tina to keep lighting cigarettes comes to mind as a form of neediness. Five. Would he have blown the plane if he had to? I haven’t heard any commentary that the folks aboard the plane were going to rush him, there was no “Let’s roll,” moment aboard Flight 305, so I would guess that the crew and the FBI at Sea-Tac were at least 50% sure DB needed to be taken seriously. So, DB effectively conveyed that he was willing to kill 40 people in pursuit of his mission? Whew, that’s antisocial. So, if I had to make a diagnosis, I’d say it was a mix of avoidant, antisocial and dependant.
  2. Ralph's had a busy day. He called me today, ever gracious, to say he did not want to correspond regarding my DB Cooper research. I had sent him a draft mansucript of what my findings and speculations have been. What was Ralph doing? You're obviously C-list Bruce. Heck I got communication from Ralph today, about what planes he flew. You call yourself a journalist? :) Quote Gee, C-list. I didn't think I had made a list. As for brow-beating Ralph, I've already gotten a ton from his book, and for that I'm grateful. I can give the guy a pass.
  3. Ralph's had a busy day. He called me today, ever gracious, to say he did not want to correspond regarding my DB Cooper research. I had sent him a draft mansucript of what my findings and speculations have been.
  4. *** Personality Disorder Theory How does the evidence point to a personality disorder in DB Cooper, you ask? Here's my thinking: DB Cooper seems to have lived in a world of his own. Some people do, and are highly successful at it, like mystics. But DB hijacked a plane, so he's probably not one of those. Himmelsbach describes Cooper's behavior as desperate. I think he is correct in his analysis. That is my sense, too. One can argue that jumping out of a plane in November with somebody else's parachute is a quintessential act of desperation, although some might say it is the supreme rush of feeling alive. But, folks who are like DB Cooper, but aren't desperate, generally take medication and enter psychoanalysis, and try to find a place for themselves in the world. But DB didn't live in the world as most of us do, even those of us who are chronically lonely and pissed-off. Those of us who are the latter generally find a good blog to communicate on, or find other hobbies. Nor did DB Cooper return to the world, although the Formans might argue that Barb Dayton did. So, to live in such a way that no one misses you, no one knows you are gone, suggests strongly that that individual is unable to form meaningful relationships, and that is the height of a personality disorder. And from that comes a clue. Personality disorders are most commonly formed through abuse as a child, particularly sexual abuse. Now, that abuse can leave some powerful effects that can last a lifetime, such as fractured memories, identity disorder, multiple personalities, severe anxieties, reckless behavior and more. Add to this the fact that in the Cooper case multiple suspects are coming forward with death-bed confessions. Their backgrounds show an edgy, marginal, problematic lifestyle, ie: lots of crime, macho military stints, weird sex habits, five or six wives, etc. Do these men have personality disorders? Maybe. And if they did/do, how does it tie into DB Cooper? One link is the CIA's MK ULTRA program, often referred to as the Manchurian Candidate program. This program was quite active during the 50s-70s and used 6% of the Agency’s budget. Its core recipe was using abuse to shock a victim's brain into compartmentalized factions that could then be controlled. Folks generally call this brain-washing, but there is hardly anything clean about it. Is the Cooper case linked to MK ULTRA? If so, is the FBI protecting that linkage? Is that why the FBI hasn't found DB Cooper? If MK ULTRA and mind-control play any part in the Cooper case, what role could it have been? Perhaps the Cooper case, and the McCoy case, and the other 20 "copy-cat" Cooper skyjackings, were part of an operational component of MK ULTRA. It's one possibility, one among perhaps a million. But I find it's plausible given the facts as we know them. I understand there has been some discussion on MK ULTRA and CIA connections in this forum. Can you tell me where approximately, or is there an index I can access? Thanks.
  5. Fair enough question Bruce. If you noticed, when you first arrived, there was this flurry of "oh let's straighten our backs and slick back our hair and act nice because here's a member of the 4th estate that might be able to add some data" But it turned out that's not what (I'm guessing) you're about. I remember when Geoff Gray sent me a PM talking about his book and waxing poetic about how the comic book angle was just too good to leave alone. You reminded me of that. Liking the story more than solving a puzzle. Barb Dayton isn't part of solving the puzzle. That's what I think and that's what I said. Simple. Quote We disagree Snowmman. I think Barb Dayton may be part of solving the puzzle, as might Duane Weber, Gossett, et.al. And also Charlie Farrell, and the story of how Himmelsbach got to be the face and voice of the FBI investigation. And where is J. Edgar Hoover in all this? In fact, I find the mysteries of the FBI's Cooper investigation are as compelling as looking at the details of DB Cooper himself. I believe the two are linked. Specifically, I sense strongly that looking into the FBI's activities and decision-making process will give us a direction that leads to DB Cooper's home or grave. Now, the question is, can I prove the FBI's investigation has been compromised? Not yet, and I wonder if I could ever solve it to your satisfaction. But, I'm trying. As for crazy people and confessions, I feel I have developed capacity for discerning their truth. I worked for 16 years as a psychotherapist (14 as a recreation therapist in VA, private, and public psychiatric facilities, and two years as an family and youth counselor in foster care). In my humble clinical opinion, I believe that DB Cooper had a personality disorder. The single most compelling piece of information from the FBI's files, for me, is that no one has come forth to announce a missing family member. It is as if DB Cooper came from no where and returned to no where. No friends, family, co-workers, land lords or neighbors have reported a vanished loved one/associate/tenant who could be a suspect. Along those lines, Barb Dayton clearly had a personality disorder, and I think the same might be true for the other leading suspects. That perspective is a line of inquiry I am pursuing, and I am grateful to share what tid-bits I have found with this forum, as meager as some might deem them to be. For me, this forum is more about asking questions and learning from y'all, rather than sharing data, of which I don't have massive amounts. However, I am working up a magazine piece on what I have found so far, ie: red flags in the FBI's investigation, and a view of the "story," and I expect to be posting it here shortly once it is in suitable shape for cyber space. In the meantime, if you would like, I can send you a draft via PM. Already, I have learned a ton here. The connection between the smokejumpers, CIA, Air America and 727s is invaluable. Thanks to all.
  6. Snowmman- why the dis? I'm presenting a broad view, here, in my post about Barb Dayton, looking for a theme that would tie lots of loose ends together. Why did Barb Dayton confess, and for that matter Duane Weber, Wm Gossett and who knows how many others? Further, who are these guys? Are there any similarities that suggest an avenue to investigate, or even hypotheses to contemplate? It begs the question, Snow, what kind of DB Cooper are you looking for? What kind of DB Cooper will you accept? And of course, what kinds of journalists do you respect?
  7. Thanks for the welcome, Georger, Snow, Sluggo, 377, et. al. As for proving the existence of Capt. Bohan and his Continental flight, and whether his report of winds at 80 knots from 166 degrees is accurate, my focus is on the other side of the coin, namely, are Himmelsbach’s commentaries, in general, reliable? Along those same lines, are Calame and Rhodes also reporting accurately? Is their description of the Himmelsbach – Capt. Scott chat about Woodburn correct? Ascertaining who is sharing reliable information is my first task. Yes, proving the wind direction and velocity would go a long ways to doing just that, but right now I’m taking a broader approach. So, do I trust these two retired FBI agents, Himmelsbach and Calame? Yes. I give Himmelsbach, and Calame and Rhodes high marks for accuracy based on what I’ve read. Their work appears substantive, consistent and detailed, and it rings true to me, which is of course absolutely subjective on my part. However, Calame got his skyjacker, which gives him enormous credibility in my view. Plus, his FBI team in Salt Lake City did a superb job finding McCoy’s whereabouts on Nov. 24, 1971. In addition, Calame’s subsequent efforts to determine the Cooper-McCoy connection are praiseworthy in my judgment. As for the Ron and Pat Forman story, here’s my account of the central themes of their book: “The Legend of DB Cooper – Death by Natural Causes.” In 1977, they met and befriended a woman named Barb Dayton, a fellow Cessna 140 pilot at Thun Field, just outside of Tacoma. After a year or so of flying together every weekend, Barb told them that she used to be Bobby Dayton, having received the first sex-change operation in Washington state in 1969. Once the Formans recovered from that shock, Barb then told them that she was Dan Cooper, and began sharing the nitty-gritty of why and how she did the skyjacking. Obviously, Barb reverted to her old persona of Bobby to do the job. She survived the jump because she dove nine minutes after the pressure bump, landing in a hazelnut grove in Woodburn, Oregon. Barb says she triggered the pressure bump by descending to the bottom step to ascertain where Portland was by judging the glare of city lights in the clouds. Once she did that, she climbed back up, waited the nine minutes, confirmed her position by seeing the strobes of Aurora State Airport, and then jumped from near the top step. She knew the Mexico City destination would put her on Victor 23 and over Woodburn. On the ground, she stashed the loot in an irrigation cistern that she knew about from having worked there as a young man. She donned her wig, put on woman’s clothing and returned to her life as a gal. The Formans says that Barb did the skyjacking for therapeutic reasons, not the money. The sex-change operation hadn’t gone well. It had been very painful physically, and psychologically it had been a bust. As a result, she was suicidal, depressed, and broke; so she did the skyjacking as a way to re-build self-worth. As therapy, the heist worked, because Barb was hired as a research librarian at the UW in Seattle one month after the hijacking. In 1980, Barb said she had a dream in which the ink from the twenties was “floating away” so she retrieved the money and buried $5,800 at Tena’s Bar to “keep the story going.” Other than that, she never spent a dime of the ransom. Barb’s profile fits many of the primary DB Cooper characteristics. Loner, desperate, knowledgeable pilot and parachutist. Rugged outdoorsman, and many years in and around the PNW. Bourbon, Raleigh’s, wore only loafers. Plus, she had been an explosive expert for logging and mining companies. She had a stint in the Army, many years in the Merchant Marine on ammunition ships, and she even fought for a time with the Moro tribesmen against the Japanese in the Philippines during WWII. During a gold prospecting trip, she spent eight days without food in the Yukon being chased by a grizzly. As a pilot, she was fearless to the point of reckless. She had no real friends or family outside of her flying community. She spent Christmas Day sitting in her car next to her Cessna at Thun Field, refusing any and all invitations. Ron used to bring her a plate from his family’s table. She gave her Cooper confession to a number of Thun pilots when she thought the statute of limitations had expired, but when she found they hadn’t, she recanted her story. Polaroids of her dressed as DB were so uncannily matched to the FBI composite sketch that one of her fellow pilots freaked out when he saw one, and tore it up so the feds wouldn’t think he was an accomplish by not turning her in. Barb took her secrets and the whereabouts of the money to her grave in 2002 when she died of natural causes – pulmonary and cardiac – out in the deserts of Nevada. Since then, the Formans have been on an epic quest to prove their friend was telling them the truth. All the wild stories of her life check out except for Cooper, and for that they need the FBI to match Barb’s DNA to the Cooper samples. As far as I know, the feds haven’t done that, and it’s at this point that I entered the game. I’ll ask Ron and Pat to join this conversation. I’m sure they’ll have a lot more to add about Barb Dayton.
  8. Greetings All, I’m a new guy to Drop Zone, and this is my first post. My name is Bruce A. Smith, and I’m a journalist from Pierce County, Washington. I’ve been in the DB Cooper hunt since August, 2008, when I met Ron and Pat Forman while covering an air show at Thun Field, near Tacoma, Washington. Of the 400-plus pages here on the DB Cooper forum I’ve read about 100, so please forgive if my questions have been answered elsewhere. One question I’d like to ask tonight is about Cooper’s DZ. I understand that the exact location is a matter of debate, but I haven’t seen any discussion of the writings by Himmelsbach, and Calame and Rhodes on the subject. Himmelsbach says in his book “Norjak,” that the skipper of the Continental Airlines jetliner directly behind NWA Flight 305 in V-23, and in-bound to Portland at 14,000 feet, told him the winds were 80 knots and coming at him from 166 degrees. He also said that when he landed to the east at Portland, the cross winds were at his “fudge factor” of safety. This is at odds with what I have read previously here, and have heard from the FBI, which claim a heading of 225 degrees or so and variable winds between 15-15 knots form 7,000 feet to the surface. Has this discrepancy been resolved? Also, Calame and Rhodes write in their book, “DB Cooper- The Real McCoy,” that Himmelsbach claims that Capt Wm. Scott of Flight 305 told him in 1980 that he was flying over Woodland, Washington, not Ariel 10 miles to the east, when the pressure bump occurred. Both this factors would place DB Cooper’s DZ in a vastly different place than what the FBI claims, and what has been discussed here. Any ideas what the truth is? Thanks. BAS