Amelia Earhart-New Photo Evidence and Documentary on The History Channel

Ha. Given the provenance of the photo, it's clear that the figures claimed to be Earhart and Noonan are not caucasian at all, as I've been saying all along. And it seems pretty likely (given the clothing) that the "Earhart" figure in the photo is a man.

I think the most important lesson to take away from this is that it further exposes the bogus "science" of facial recognition to authenticate old photos of historical figures. Facial recognition "expert" Kent Gibson positively ID'ed this as Noonan, and it's almost certainly not even a caucasian guy. And as I've noted, Gibson is also known for authenticating a photo of Billy the Kid that most likely is not him. I've seen facial recognition misused the other way, also... "Paul is Dead" conspiracy theorists use it extensively to "prove" that the current Paul is not the real guy. Clearly, this type of facial recognition analysis is not something that is reliable.

 

Thanks. So the question now is who was/is covering up what? Was the History Channel complicit in this deception or were they naively deceived?

Died-in-the-wool conspiracy theorists would say the blogger is part of the cover-up (a CIA operative) or that the American and/or Japanese government created the 1935 book to make it look like the photo predated Earhart's flight. I saw this type of thinking numerous times in the Kennedy assassination literature. Instead of dealing with evidence, the naysayers merely wave their hands and say the evidence was doctored or contrary conclusive evidence was destroyed (the later being proved by a person in a shadowed silhouette - with altered voice - claiming to have been a CIA-KGB double agent sent to Dallas by the Cuban government etc.).

Fool me once . . . I doubt I'll even watch one of these types of History Channel shows again.

 

No, it's Robert Johnson. Somebody call Lois Gibson!

As an aside, it's a strange coincidence that the authenticator whose work has been debunked here (Kent Gibson) shares the same surname as the authenticator whose claims about two bogus Robert Johnson photos have also been debunked (Lois Gibson). I wonder if they are related?

 

I thought there was a chance it might be them, so I'm certainly glad to get something solid that debunks the theory.

 

What's the issue with photo reversal? I have an original picture of my grandfather as a deputy chief in the late 1930s-early 1940s (probably an official ID photo of sorts) that appears reversed and I don't know why. The reason it appears reversed is that he is wearing a badge, and I have the badge and the eagle's head is pointing in the opposite direction.

 

But this is just as bad. The caption reads that the blogger discredits the claim that Earhart was taken by the Japanese, when it does not such thing. The new findings only discredits the photo, thus destroying the main premise of the documentary (talk about egg on their faces).

There is no evidence that discredits, nor affirms, that the Japanese had any part in the final disposition of Earhart and Noonan.

The only thing that we know is that Amelia Mary Earhart (July 24th, 1897) and Frederick Joseph Noonan (April 4th, 1893) died.

Robert Johnson.

 

That's where the crossroads took him.

 

They can barely find room for anything between episodes of American Pickers. I quit watching The "History" Channel last year.

 

Worryingly, there are probably people who believe this stuff the same way they think Bonanza was an accurate picture of life in the old West

 

Can't fool us, eh.

 

So what do those captions say? Not that it matters much for current purposes, but it'd help contextualize the photo.

 

It used to be the Hitler Channel. Since they seem to have moved him to the American Heroes Channel - an odd programming decision - it's the American Pickers Channel. I happen to like American Pickers, but they do seem to have built their channel around the show. Maybe the pickers can uncover more Amelia Earhart stuff in a barn on the Marshall Islands. Coke bottle Amelia Earhart drank out of before she was executed by the Japanese - picked at 1000 yen, sold for 10,000 yen = 9000 yen profit! Ka-ching!

 

From the article linked upthread that debunks the photo:

The caption beneath the image makes no mention of the identities of the people in the photograph. It describes maritime activity at the harbour on Jabor in the Jaluit atoll – the headquarters for Japan’s administration of the Marshall Islands between the first world war and its defeat in the second world war. The caption notes that monthly races between schooners belonging to local tribal leaders and other vessels turned the port into a “bustling spectacle”.

 

American Pickers, like mostly everything else on The "History?" Channel is set up and fake. So is Pawn Stars. There was an episode of one of the Alaska "lost in the wilderness" shows where you could see the highway and a convenience store in the background. I guess when starvation became overwhelming you could walk over and get a SlimJim, or just send the camera crew.

 

Totally or partially? Both - though Pawn Stars more - appear set up but not entirely fake. Some of the interactions with the customers appears real.

 

Here's a direct link to the page with the photo in the Japanese book.

国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション - 海の生命線我が南洋の姿 : 南洋群島写真帖

 

It was a cold war at that time.

 

Looks the same as my Obi Sgt Pepper.

 

Winter ?

 

A Japanese blogger says that the photo in question was taken before Earhart disappeared.

Japanese Blogger Points Out Timeline Flaw In Supposed Earhart Photo

 

A&E dated that as 1937 too.

 

1967 typo no doubt.

 

There was a HUGE "China lobby" in the U.S. at the time.

 

This story and the photo even turned up in the Dutch media and I can't think why this is in any way 'news'; I'd say you need at least one other confirmation about who the people in the picture are and what the exact location and date are.

 

Welp, I guess I won't bother to watch it on the DVR!