I checked the internet, how much can I quote from a book without permission? The answer is various from which sources and publications. On average, less than 300 words is safe, I estimate. Let me take the risk, assume ignorance, and quote this book at length without giving the gist and juice of the book that we - reasonable Malaysians and perhaps the majority of informed people in the world - don't already know: "The key to a successful disappearance is diversion: grab the audience's attention and make them look elsewhere while you execute your sleight of hand. If MH370's 'disappearance' is indeed a sleight of hand on a massive scale, there has been a fantastic simultaneous effort of diversion, and seemingly more than one.
"The world's media has been complicit in the affair, mostly passively, by not questioning enough, and occasionally actively, by spreading unchecked, erroneous, or false information. Public opinion is not and is not supposed to be, that gullible. Everyone knows the MH370 story does not add up. Everyone knows a Boeing 777, possibly the safest plane in the history of civil aviation does not disappear without a trace in one of the most politically sensitive regions of the planet. So rather than being incredible, the official narrative is simply not credible. Yet the idea that we are being blatantly cheated by the governments we are supposed to trust is so uncomfortable and so problematic that, for the sake of our mental comfort, we choose to look elsewhere and welcome any alternative explanation, including one that makes no sense and falsely accuses a decent man of being a mass murderer" (Taken from Epilogue: The Disappearing Act, page 345-346)
To quote Ms. Changy again and as she always said in all of her interviews [check YouTube] sometimes casually, sometimes frustrate, "To me, claiming that Flight MH370 could have disappeared sounded like an insult to human intelligence." I agree wholeheartedly by underlining this phrase in the book with a 1.5mm black ink pen! Reading this book near Malaysia's 15th General Election is adding to my already lack of truth in the government. By the way, I enjoy reading Ms. Changy's 400+ pages of investigative journalism and gripping account of one of the most profound mysteries of the 21st century (although the word 'mystery' is unnecessary because there are people who knew!). I like that she provided as many facts as possible (of course, sometimes I questioned her sources), outline the incident well, explain some alternative scenarios, when into the testimonies of the families of missing passengers, interviewed interesting people, and quite a vast knowledge on current political situations, military arrangements and some aviation technical lingo (which I have to admit my limited comprehension in this area).
As any journalist would do, as much as she wanted to be objective, she is not without personal biases and interpretations. Read this book not with an open mind but with a critical mind. Focus on the obvious and always ask good and right questions. This is one of the lessons I learned from Ms. Changy. Because only with good and right questions we can get answers. Although, with MH370, it may take some time. As my favorite childhood TV series, The X-Files tagline says, "The truth is out there." Buy this book!
#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #TheDisappearingAct #MH370 #FlorenceDeChangy #CurrentAffair #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain
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