NBC's Audry Washington Sandy Hook Tweet Conspiracy Evidence is Smoke and Mirrors

Audry Washington's tweet as seen without logging into Twitter.

While not a usual post for the Grail Seekers blog, this screen shot of a tweet by NBC's Audry Washington is making the social media rounds. One can view the original tweet at this link: https://twitter.com/AudreyNBC/status/279626037783060482. If you're not logged into your Twitter account, you should see an image much like the one to the left with a time stamp of 8:36 AM on the morning of 14 Dec 2012. How can that be? The tragic shootings at Sandy Hook began an hour later at approximately 9:30 AM EST. This must mean that the whole event is a scam put on by the government to grab our guns! Or at least that's what is being bandied about...

As much as I do love seemingly damning evidence in a purported conspiracy, this piece of "evidence" is smoke and mirrors. Now try logging into your Twitter account and then viewing the link. Unless you're in the Pacific Time Zone, the time stamp on the tweet will change. What magic is this? The elves at Twitter show the time of tweets relative to the time zone you set in your preferences. I happen to live in the Central Time Zone and the second screen grab is what I saw after logging into my Twitter account. The time as changed to 10:36 AM. Since Central Time is one hour behind Eastern Time, this was tweeted at 11:36 AM. For those keeping score, that's a little less than two hours after the shootings began.

Audry Washington's tweet after logging into Twitter.

I'm no proponent of the Sandy Hook conspiracy and feel a mentally ill young man undertook an course of action that is nearly inconceivable to the vast majority of Americans. I can't even begin to imagine what the parents of those children are going through and I can only believe that twaddle like this increases their pain. Possibly in posting a little truth to dispel a Sandy Hook myth will give a tiny fraction of the infinitely needed solace to those touched by this tragedy.

The other reason for this posting is for those of us out there who do question officially stamped news stories and the approved version of history fed to us by the powers that be. When someone in our community posts something like Audry Washington's Sandy Hook tweet, it is generally accepted as Gospel truth and blindly shared on Twitter or Facebook. The myth spreads like the Spanish Flu until the question of truth or validity is no longer asked. We are quick to discount anything an authority figure or government official says out of hand, but embrace a community member's slick You Tube video or Facebook post without an ounce of inspection. Can someone remind me of the definition of "sheeple" again?

Those with alternative views on history and current events have to be held to a higher standard. If we are to convince anyone our point of view is valid, beyond stating that point of view is speculation, we must examine each piece of evidence from within the community as we examine discrepancies in officially sanctioned stories. Only then will the mainstream forget about tin foil hats and begin to form legitimate questions of their own.

The Disclose TV Hoax and Critical Thinking

Disclose TV's Home Page on 14 April 2012

Yesterday I became fascinated with the reports of Disclose TV's apparent demise. Facebook posts and tweeters were blowing up the streams with cries of the conspiracy themed website being taken down as part of a joint operation between the "United States Department of Internet Security Terrorism Task Force" and "European Allied Command Operations".  Among those crying foul were those claiming to be former government employees and "insiders" who had pipelines into the very heart of Washington DC. To read some of the posts, one would have thought the shut down of any alternative news source was just hours away.

As it turns out, the blackout of Disclose TV's web site was basically a publicity stunt. Why were thousands of people duped with a PT Barnum stunt? The answer is simple to describe, but difficult to stomach. No matter how suspicious and careful a human is, emotions will almost always trump intellect. Disclose TV's "seizure" was an assault on free speech and a dig at an organization whose goal is to pierce the veil of government coverups.The incident should be a wake up call to everyone in the conspiracy, paranormal, or esoteric community. As much as anyone in these communities would wish he/she was above tactics aimed at "sheeple", realize that you are not.

The previous statement is not designed to be an indictment of anyone in particular, but a lesson that needs to be learned if alternative thought folks are to be taken seriously by the mainstream. Co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail Henry Lincoln summed up my thoughts in a 28 March 2012 interview quite succinctly, "Don't believe anything that I or anyone else says." Lincoln then urged everyone to do their own homework and come to their own conclusions. We cannot rely on anyone to do our thinking for us.

Had one done just a few minutes of Googling yesterday, the Disclose TV "seizure" would have been an apparent scam. None of the government agencies listed on the seizure notice exist and the USC cited on the notice is a highway bill. I was lucky enough to do some background research on the seizure notice, but I have been duped in the past... To help combat the ever present BS in our universe, I try to go back to some steps in critical thinking. There are tons of critical thinking guides on the web, but this one comes from the Leadership Vibe site and applies quite well to those in "alternative thought".

• What is the current problem? Make sure to identify what the current problem really is, not the emotional connection to the problem?

• What are the symptoms of the problem? Identifying the symptoms will help you stay on course with the true problem and identify people or processes that are fueling the problem.

• What assumptions are being made? Know fact versus assumptions, two very different realities.

• Is the evidence reliable? To what degree? Make sure what evidence you are supplied with can be corroborated.

• Is there critical information missing? Crucial for framing the entire picture.

• Other explanations for problem? Step outside of the problem and try to identify other possibilities of cause.

Let Disclose TV be a cautionary tale for all of us and let the inscription on the Smoking Man's Zippo be ever close to the front of our minds... Trust No One.

Ben Hammott Confesses to Bloodline Tomb Being a Hoax

I don’t believe I have never come out and said it in public, but I have to admit that I took a leap of faith. I had the more than a glimmer of hope that Ben Hammott, of Bloodline documentary fame, had found a tomb in the wilds of France that would forever change the Rennes-le-Chateau mysteries. When I first heard about the story, I dug into the evidence that was presented and even went to New York to the Bloodline pre-release press conference. There I met the documentary’s principal movers Rene Barnett and Bruce Burgess, as well as the experts they had called in to authenticate the items found by Hammott. (The article about that trip was posted here) Hammott was not present at the press conference but since that time I had the chance to interview him on the Unraveling the Secrets podcast.

Following all that, I had faith. I had faith that there might have been some dramatic license taken with Hammott’s story, but the story’s essence was true. A little more than 24 hours ago, I found out that faith was ill founded.  This message appeared on Rene Barnett’s Facebook page:

“JUST THIS MOMENT RECEIVED IN MY EMAIL--- THE CONFESSION OF BEN HAMMOTT. I AM STUNNED AND SICKENED. I WILL ISSUE A FURTHER STATEMENT LATER."

Hello Rene,

This has been a long time coming and something that is long overdue. And to tell the truth, for once, I am glad it has all finally come out. I have thought many times about coming clean and telling you and others the truth, but lacked the guts to do so.

Everything I said I discovered is a hoax, planted by me and only me and no one else involved knew the truth, not even my brother.

I have no idea why I did it, or carried on what was at first a stupid prank that escalated out of control. My intention was never to deceive, but then of course it was by doing what I did. Perhaps I did it for the money, though very little was ever forthcoming and realised (sic) early on that it probably never would.

Did I do it for fame and attention? Perhaps. I did enjoy it at times but it wasn’t the driving force behind it.

Maybe I just carried on to see what I could get away with. I really don’t know. I know saying sorry to you and the many friends and acquaintances I have made and deceived over the years, can in no way make up for what I have done. There is probably nothing I can say or do now to right the wrong. But I am very, very sorry and know that many of them I will lose, which is perhaps the worst thing about this sorry and despicable act of mine.

I have had nothing since bad luck since I become involved with the Rennes-le-Chateau affair, bad karma, almost certainly. Today I have no money, no family life, no home and now probably very few friends. It is perhaps a well disserved (sic) outcome.

I apologize to you, someone who has supported and defended me over the years, I cannot say sorry enough for what I have done. I have lied to you and let you down in such a big way I cannot even hope for your forgiveness and so will not ask for it.

Ben [Hammott]

I was on the phone with Rene within 30 minutes of the posting.  Rene also indicated that she had authenticated that the email did come from Ben and was not some prank. Rene was devastated about Ben’s confession. Something she had placed her faith in had been taken away from her.

For those of you who think that Ben might be “taking one for the team”, I would ask that you consider that everyone has been duped at one time or another. If it be by a professional grifter, a duplicitous co-worker sacking work, or a cheating spouse, we’ve all placed our faith in someone who was not worthy of that gift.

Ben had lied directly to me on the Unraveling the Secrets show and to an entire world interested in the Rennes-le-Chateau mysteries. Furthermore, stunts of this magnitude go to discredit and dishearten those of us who try to find the truth in matters of the underground stream.  Do I feel badly that I had bought into Ben’s story? Yes. I acted on faith and isn’t any quest for the Grail built on the proposition of faith?  Sling stones and arrows if you will.

Today I found out that Ben will be appearing on Rene’s podcast, Night Vision Radio this Wednesday night at 10PM PST.  From what I understand, Rene will give Ben a chance voice his mea culpa to the world. Questions will be taken via Night Vision’s chat room. I personally will be glued to my monitor to see what Mr. Hammott has to say for himself and suggest that if you’re interested in this topic you do the same.

BK