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I would give you both +1 if I could. If BartloJays knows something that would discredit MK he should share it instead of berate us. Perhaps if we knew these things too we would have the same opinion. However since we dont, and all we have is innuendo and rumor to go by, we try to keep an open mind waiting until the info is released to make our own minds up about who is trustworthy and who isn't. And as far as there being no "concerted effort" by the BFRO to discredit MK, perhaps BFRO would be best served by keeping their figurehead from acting like a spoiled child on twitter and stop the character assasination on MK. If she is trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, that will become obvious in the future. As of now, I do not know who to believe. So I wait for the science to inform me.

Hey guys, wanted to clarify some things as I haven’t been on here in awhile and just caught up with some of the comments in this thread. First off, regarding the boots, there’s multiple reasons that they haven’t been tested yet though we are pursuing this now. I think most of you know by now how I feel about Melba from a credibility standpoint (I’ll get to that in a second) and to be honest it’s been that way since I’ve been involved and regretfully, my personal concerns have only increased over time for multiple reasons I think all of you would understand to some extent, if not agree entirely. With respect to the boots, since they’ve been in my custody they are not rotting away somewhere, they are appropriately stored and the potential forensic blood evidence is either present and retrievable, or it’s not and wasn’t by the time they reached my custody, and that’s according to every person with diagnostic knowledge and experience I’ve spoken with as a precaution. Having said that, and knowing what I’ve learned about what the labs may have to contend with (potential mold degradation, environmental and other contaminants) I’m not highly optimistic that they will realistically yield anything, especially considering they were worn by Justin many times after the purported shooting event. However, they are the only “non-circumstantialâ€evidence available if the story is accurate and if we’re to assume for example, that the tissue sample, through testing, doesn’t end up corroborating the shooting event. Then as someone related to earlier, the boots are the only tie left as the event will remain forever anecdotal in nature. A matter of fact, although technically speaking,“contradictory evidence†doesn’t exist in this case, I’d contend with people’s lack of attention spans, short memories and penchant for not following details, the lasting perception would be “less-then anecdotalâ€... without corroborative evidence. Regarding the hold-up of why the boots haven’t been tested to date, it goes back to the beginning when I first received them from Justin, who turned down money to give them to me because according to him, he knew I would do the right thing with them eventually due to my passion. Admittedly, my first concern wasn’t running off and testing them yet, it was keeping them from Ketchum because I didn’t trust her and knowing how important they potentially were I thought it would’ve been foolish to gamble with them… and I did that on ALL of our behalves.....just in case. There was also anticipation created by her about this paper coming out at any time (even back then) and my first thoughts were to make sure her methodologies were authenticated and validated before trusting her with something so important; if so, then putting my personal feelings aside, at least I would know her science wasn’t flawed and I would’ve felt comfortable handing them to her to maybe put a nail in the coffin...only with “post†peer-review acceptance however. Afterall, if the tissue checked out with the purported genome that was performed, the combination of both the tissue and successfully retrieving the juvey’s blood in the boots (direct parent to child genetic link) would be extremely difficult to refute. Well… no paper came out and for now let’s just say things were said, leaks and statements were publicly made that I wasn’t exactly impressed with…. enough to believe that maybe… just maybe, there was no paper. From there it was two-fold, one was Tyler and I, with Justin’s urging, based on some of his experiences and beliefs with her (remember, this after it was leaked his sample was the centerpiece of her study and a full genome had been performed on the tissue) unilaterally began getting the sample tested at multiple labs (starting one well before the other). According to the labs, although one of them had no idea what they were contracted to test, they preferred to examine and try and determine the source of the tissue before moving onto the boots. We had no problem with that as we needed to audition the labs as well to make sure they were specialists we wanted to work with and we were getting the attention and communication we expected. Also, keep in mind, and you’ll see for yourself (don’t take my word for it) if you take the time to READ all of the email communications between us and the labs we will be providing (with dates on them) in addition to the full lab reports, that we did not anticipate this to be a 6-month process. Finally, Tyler and I are absorbing the costs of those independent examinations and may be coming out of pocket for the boots. This year for both of us, “cost†is another issue, but we will be moving forward very quickly on them regardless, hence we don’t owe anybody a timeframe that like the tissue, could be entirely out of our discretion anyhow. . To answer a few more points brought up a few pages back- Derek and I are very close friends and I think I speak for both of us when I say that there’s a very deep respect between us as I think he’s a huge asset to this field and a great friend. However, this is just an area where we’re coming from two different places and see things through two different sets of eyes, but it doesn’t change our relationship as even if we don’t agree (remember we’re each privy to some different information and experiences as well) he knows and respects exactly what my concerns are and have been, knows I’m a highly principled individual obsessed with doing things the right way… on everybody’s behalf, in addition to knowing how passionate and serious I am about this subject. On the other side, I can assure you Derek’s also a highly principled person, who’s worked tirelessly to get some great samples into the study and help confirm this species. No one works harder in the field. To further clarify where my comments come from in regards to Ketchum’s press release (minus any substantiation) should be very obvious on the surface. First off, all of those that take this field very seriously (this isn’t a game to me) and are passionate about species recognition, we suffer the repercussions for what I thought was not only a premature (if applicable), but a highly self-serving decision for her to make such a perceived “bold†move without “anyâ€prior validation. I’m sorry, but anyone who thinks that I teamed up with Moneymaker because of our longtime friendship (I talk to Cliff and Bo much more often while they’re on the road btw) and this is some “BFRO collective stance,â€is either an idiot, doesn’t know me at all personally or my passion, or, doesn’t acknowledge or recall history very well. Through actions and stances I’ve taken in the past, I’m pretty notorious as a free thinker and contrarian when it comes to evidential claims, especially when I sense or smell ********. I want people to know that not only am I not happy about how she’s handled something very important to all of us to this point through words and actions (or lack therof and frankly.. so should you), but most importantly I think I have a “responsibility†to caution others not to hold their respective breaths. I also want to remind people (with short memories) of the disassociation between us and her because it’s something I’m very proud of and you’ll probably understand that a lot better down the road. In that regard, if she succeeds or not, makes absolutely no difference because I know that anyone else in my position “today,†that’s walked in my shoes, may not completely agree with me 100%, but they sure as hell wouldn’t blame me….or publicly admit it or challenge me if they did knowing the whole story from "my" perspective. I shake my head because knowing that she’s in possession of some great samples from some outstanding researchers and there’s some really ignorant persons would think I’d go out of my way to discredit her to win some race, take some perceived organizational stance, defend some mythical ape theory (as if I give a **** what they actually are) or that I work for the Government (LOL). Do you know… even how I feel about her and her ethics personally, what I’d give for her to be successful with say, the hybridization origin theory she’s claimed to have proven through testing? I’d give my right arm ….I’d literally give my right arm…and everyone who knows me in this field as a peer, person or friend, knows that. My closest snake, if you will…my lifelong passion and objective.. is “discoveryâ€â€¦. period! And I don’t care who or how to be honest with you. If I help facilitate discovery…. well how wonderful! If not, I’ll still be the happiest guy in the world… are you kidding me? However, you’d be a selfish, gambling fool to ignore the red flags I’ve had and fail to prevent all eggs from going in one basket. Our objective (Tyler and I with Justin’s persistence) was to contract independent labs, let the chips fall where they may and give you what we all deserve…110% transparency. We did not test samples, we’re not responsible for the results of the testing (we’ve never given you a guarantee or promise…NEVER) and furthermore, we’re not interpreting results of the samples when we share them. I don’t think that’s our job or our expertise. What we’re doing is giving you that transparency, setting a standard with respect to how researchers interact with labs they contract in the future by providing you with a protocol roadmap (written by Tyler) based off of our many trials and errors through this lengthy process. Remember, Tyler and I should be the last people she ever needs to worry about if it turns out there's any deviations in results from hers. At the end of the day, her methodologies and work must meet every challenge and be replicable…especially with respect to the subject matter (the claim), perception of improbability and perceived lack of viability. If not, you can take that paper (if it exists…I’m not convinced) and wipe your ass with it. Bottom line…when I look in the mirror the rest of my life I want to be proud of the reflection I see and I sleep well these days knowing I’m doing the right things for everybody who shares this passion with me

Its that newely found species of monkey, the ones that looks like Gene Wilder.

Always play the wild card if one does not have the goods ,sure the other will.The funny part about this whole thing is that one will never be happy with the results and you know who wins ? Sasquarch

Amazing isn't it? Should scientists try to explain everything they did in a blog when they've gone through the trouble of doing all that in a manuscript and submitted it for review? There is two seperate standards at work here. Only one carries substantiation/validation of the work. Oh, and wouldn't Bart's study need to be repeated? LOL Bart is making promises right now, but has not shown anything to substantiate them.

I find the impatient nature of some of the posters here demanding a release very confusing. It will come out when it comes out, it is under peer review. Some of the ridiculous statements that there is no paper are also baffling. Truly the media have had time to cement a layer of doubt in the minds of the general public with some shoddy journalism and surely the ad hominem attacks are everywhere. Is it any wonder? Most of the general public are like sheep anyway so why worry about mainstream public acceptance? This is perhaps one of the biggest potential discoveries in history. If the evidence is there then all the personal attacks wont/don't matter...the truth is the truth. All of that crap is just smoke and mirrors. My feeling is all the resistance only reinforces that there is really something sound to all of this. I think Dr MK has the goods and she isn't the one going out on a limb here. It may be longer that we suppose before the report is published. I would suppose the reason for this is that the peers are trying to find the holes and are coming up empty. The longer it lags on the more confident I become.