So I recently came across a mention of the book "Gold Warriors: America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold" by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave.
In it, the authors make the claim that at the end of the second World War the United States came into possession of the vast wealth plundered from Asia by Imperial Japan, the titular Yamashita's Gold. The US government then supposedly used this vast wealth to establish the Black Falcon Trust, a secret slush fund originally used to support various anti-communist actions around the globe. (You can find the BFT mentioned in connection with various 9/11 conspiracies, though I don't think the Seagraves have ever done so.)
While all of this makes my skepti-senses buzz, the book seems to have been somewhat well received (or at least not completely laughed off as I would have expected). In addition, it is toted as being extremely well researched and even includes a CD containing copies of the primary sources that were used. And yes, I realize this doesn't mean much or validate any of their claims.
After Googling to get an idea on the legitimacy of the book, I have found myself even more confused.
In the 1990's, a Filipino man named Rogelio Roxas filed suit in the state of Hawaii against Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Roxas alleges that in the '70's he found some of Yamashita's gold (most interestingly, a 3-foot golden Buddha statue) hidden in a cavern in the Philippines only to have it ceased by Marcos's soldier and himself arrested and tortured. The ruling came down in favor of Roxas and he was eventually awarded $12M dollars. Skimming the case online, multiple other people not associated with Roxas testified as to the existence of the Buddha statue.
Obviously, this doesn't prove any of the claims in the book, but seems to lend some credence to the possible existence of something like Yamashita's gold.
Considering the extreme claims by the Seagraves, I expected to come across something online - either a solid debunking or serious interest in their research. Instead, it's just sort of there.
So....... anyone have any insight or familiarity with any of this? The gold? The Trust? The buddha? Is there anything legitimate here?
In it, the authors make the claim that at the end of the second World War the United States came into possession of the vast wealth plundered from Asia by Imperial Japan, the titular Yamashita's Gold. The US government then supposedly used this vast wealth to establish the Black Falcon Trust, a secret slush fund originally used to support various anti-communist actions around the globe. (You can find the BFT mentioned in connection with various 9/11 conspiracies, though I don't think the Seagraves have ever done so.)
While all of this makes my skepti-senses buzz, the book seems to have been somewhat well received (or at least not completely laughed off as I would have expected). In addition, it is toted as being extremely well researched and even includes a CD containing copies of the primary sources that were used. And yes, I realize this doesn't mean much or validate any of their claims.
After Googling to get an idea on the legitimacy of the book, I have found myself even more confused.
In the 1990's, a Filipino man named Rogelio Roxas filed suit in the state of Hawaii against Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Roxas alleges that in the '70's he found some of Yamashita's gold (most interestingly, a 3-foot golden Buddha statue) hidden in a cavern in the Philippines only to have it ceased by Marcos's soldier and himself arrested and tortured. The ruling came down in favor of Roxas and he was eventually awarded $12M dollars. Skimming the case online, multiple other people not associated with Roxas testified as to the existence of the Buddha statue.
Obviously, this doesn't prove any of the claims in the book, but seems to lend some credence to the possible existence of something like Yamashita's gold.
Considering the extreme claims by the Seagraves, I expected to come across something online - either a solid debunking or serious interest in their research. Instead, it's just sort of there.
So....... anyone have any insight or familiarity with any of this? The gold? The Trust? The buddha? Is there anything legitimate here?
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1W6IWoZ
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