By Timothy V. Gatto

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I was completely astounded this evening when I came about an article that questioned the “scientific inquiry” into the sinking of the Cheonan, the South Korean corvette allegedly sunk by the North Korean navy.

The validity of the investigation was questioned by two American investigators from John Hopkins University and the University of Virginia. Researchers J.J. Suh and Seung-Hun Lee cast doubts over the investigation conducted by the South Korean Joint Investigation Group (JIG). According to Suh and Lee;

"The only conclusion one can draw on the basis of the evidence is that there was no outside explosion," Suh said. "The JIG completely failed to produce evidence that backs up its claims that there was an outside explosion."

The International investigation claimed that the ship was sunk by with a North Korean torpedo. According to the two investigators, there was no indication that the outside of the ship was damaged. They also questioned a fragment of the so-called “torpedo” that had the Korean word for 1 written in what looked like a blue marker. They questioned how the blue writing on the fragment could have remained while the rest of the torpedo fragments were subjected to extreme heat, the kind that usually follows an explosion.

This comes about the day before U.S. and South Korean military forces are conducting joint military maneuvers in the South China Sea, maneuvers that have escalated tensions not only between the U.S., South Korea and Pyongyang, but have also heightened tensions between the U.S. and China which considers the South China Sea part of its territorial waters.

The article by the two researchers is interesting in itself and just by the content it should have received the attention of the mainstream media considering that huge military maneuvers are to be held today in response to the general assumption that the North Korean navy sunk the South Korean warship in disputed waters. What I found to be more curious wasn’t that the mainstream media didn’t report on this story, but that the Voice of America, a semi-official mouthpiece for the government of the United States did.

Have we gotten to the point where we have so effectively muzzled the mainstream press that they have become more selective in their reporting of anything that might cast doubt on the official government “spin” on things than agencies of the government like the Voice of America? I seems like they have more freedom to report than the mainstream press. This report by Mr. Suh and Mr. Lee calls for a wider investigation. The fact that the government appears to have taken the lead in exposing what may be an attempt to defraud the International community is also something that should be looked into. This may be a first; A semi-official government agency exposing government propaganda.