WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Did a vampire legend help win the Cold War?

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck and Jerry's here for Dave. So this is

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<v Speaker 1>short Stuff gidea.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right, and this week we are talking about more

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<v Speaker 2>nefarious business by the American CIA. Yeah, during the Cold

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<v Speaker 2>War in this case. But first we should probably tell

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<v Speaker 2>you just a short bit about the Philippines.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, Yeah, there's seven thousand islands in the Philippines, more

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<v Speaker 1>than I did not know that, but that's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of io lots. Yeah, there's one hundred and seventy five

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<v Speaker 1>different languages. Tagalog is one of the larger language families

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<v Speaker 1>or groups are just languages, and because there's seven thousand islands,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a bunch of different languages. There's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>cultural different cultural beliefs, but some of the ones are

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<v Speaker 1>spread pretty far and wide to cross the Philippines, which

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<v Speaker 1>would suggest they're very, very old like folk beliefs. And

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<v Speaker 1>one of them that we're going to talk about today

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<v Speaker 1>is the Oswan.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right. We don't have an exact correlation here in

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<v Speaker 2>the United States, but you might call it like a

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<v Speaker 2>vampire potentially because it does suck blood, but it also

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<v Speaker 2>feeds on organs. And it feeds on phlim, which is completely.

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<v Speaker 1>Disgusting, one of the worst things I've ever heard.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, feeds on flim, unborn children, pregnant women. It can

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<v Speaker 2>be a giant pig, it can be a giant vulture.

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<v Speaker 2>It can be like a dog shaped thing, and sort

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<v Speaker 2>of like, I can't what was the one we did

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<v Speaker 2>this past October about the Mexican folklore the album Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>similar to that. I can't remember the name of that one.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's one of those deals where like any mysterious

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<v Speaker 2>death or unexplained illness, or any kind of misfortune that

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<v Speaker 2>might happen, you might blame blame on the Oswog.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, and you mentioned a dog. I saw somewhere that

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<v Speaker 1>the name comes from OsO Wong, which means a dog

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<v Speaker 1>I think can take.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh all right, So.

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<v Speaker 1>People are like, okay, great, what's up with the name though?

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<v Speaker 1>The CIA vampires thing? What are you talking about you guys, Well,

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<v Speaker 1>this is what we're talking about. In the Cold War

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<v Speaker 1>in the fifties, there was a guy whose name was

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<v Speaker 1>Edward Geary Lansdale, and he worked for the CIA, and

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<v Speaker 1>he used the tale of the Oswong to try to

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<v Speaker 1>manipulate people into turning against a gorilla army.

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<v Speaker 2>There, that's right. And you know, if you're afraid of

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<v Speaker 2>something like this, it's probably because it's truly horrific. Aside

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<v Speaker 2>from feeding on phlegm, this thing in humanoid form would

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<v Speaker 2>look on rooftops at night. Yeah, and had a long

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<v Speaker 2>tongue sort of like a proboscis that it could lower

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<v Speaker 2>through what's called a lick hole in the ceiling of

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<v Speaker 2>your home. Do you have horrible, horrible words put together,

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<v Speaker 2>feeding on flem and lick hole And like we said,

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<v Speaker 2>pregnant women, children, it would suck out their insides with

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<v Speaker 2>this tongue and essentially leave something you know, devoid of

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<v Speaker 2>organs and you know, disemboweled and devoid of blood. It

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<v Speaker 2>would suck, suck them from the outside end or inside

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<v Speaker 2>out rather right.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And again like we don't have a good analogy

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<v Speaker 1>to this in the West. The best we can do

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<v Speaker 1>is like Dracula essentially. But that's that's really eating sucking

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<v Speaker 1>or eating blood or consuming blood. Is that's where the

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<v Speaker 1>similarities end. That's right.

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<v Speaker 2>So Ed Lansdale comes along. He was pre war World

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<v Speaker 2>War two, he was an ad guy, and so once

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<v Speaker 2>he got in the war, they said, all right, you're

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<v Speaker 2>pretty sharp tech. We're gonna move you over to the OSS,

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<v Speaker 2>the Office of Strategic Services, which predated the CIA, and

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<v Speaker 2>they said, since you're an ad guy, you know what

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<v Speaker 2>you'd be great at is psyops, you know, using media

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<v Speaker 2>and marketing and propaganda to help win the war, like

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<v Speaker 2>demonize the enemy, because that's basically what you do as

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<v Speaker 2>an advertiser.

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<v Speaker 1>Exactly, and he was a whiz at it. So he

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<v Speaker 1>excelled at psyops himself, and he took a different view

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<v Speaker 1>of things. He said, normally that when people think about

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<v Speaker 1>psyops conventionally, they're talking about dropping leaflets that try to

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<v Speaker 1>demoralize the enemy, maybe using like a Tokyo Rose type

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about how GI's girlfriends are hooking up with

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<v Speaker 1>other guys back home. Those are psyops and they're really

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<v Speaker 1>kind of a low hanging fruit. What Lansdale was doing

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<v Speaker 1>was really trying to dig into the local culture to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out how to turn that culture's beliefs and superstitions

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<v Speaker 1>against it to win the war.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right, That feels like a pretty good time for break. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>all right, we're going to come right back and talk

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<v Speaker 2>about what happened in nineteen fifty, right after this, all right,

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<v Speaker 2>so I promised talk of nineteen fifty, that is when

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<v Speaker 2>Lansdale came to the Philippines. He was undercover as the

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<v Speaker 2>CIA guy. He was officially there as an Air Force officer,

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<v Speaker 2>an advisor to the President of the Philippines, who was

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<v Speaker 2>Ramon Magsaysaw.

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<v Speaker 1>Mag says, I'm going with magsay say.

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<v Speaker 2>Mag says, I don't know why I said. They saw

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<v Speaker 2>so he was a sign there in the Philippines because

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<v Speaker 2>the US was backing that regime and they were fighting

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<v Speaker 2>a war against communist rebels there known as the Hooks,

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<v Speaker 2>it was Huks, and they were, you know, they fought.

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<v Speaker 2>The Hooks fought you know, pretty heroically in the Philippine

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<v Speaker 2>Army against the Japanese in World War Two. But after

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<v Speaker 2>the war, they, along with their leader, whose name was

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<v Speaker 2>I guess Louis Taruk, said nuts to this government to

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<v Speaker 2>borrow Josh Clark term because the Philippine Trade Act of

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen forty six basically said the American government gets equal

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<v Speaker 2>rights to the natural resources, and the Hawks weren't down

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<v Speaker 2>with that.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And I'm not sure if the Hooks were actually

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<v Speaker 1>like communists or if they were just labeled as communist

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<v Speaker 1>insurgents to help drum up public support against them, right,

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<v Speaker 1>because they really were this revered like infantry that really

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<v Speaker 1>helped get the Japanese out of the Philippines, and the

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<v Speaker 1>US troops even fought alongside of them. But after they

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<v Speaker 1>broke with this American backed administration, they were pushed on

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<v Speaker 1>a non grad they had to be gotten rid of

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<v Speaker 1>because they weren't just like protesting, they were carrying out

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<v Speaker 1>real of war to try to overthrow this US backed regime.

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<v Speaker 2>I guess yeah, not only US back, but sort of

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<v Speaker 2>US elected, because those supposedly free elections in the Philippines

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<v Speaker 2>that brought this party into power, were totally rigged by

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<v Speaker 2>the CIA and US operatives. So it was all dirty

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<v Speaker 2>dealing going on in the CIA back then, not like these.

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<v Speaker 1>Dings, not like today. By the way, since we're talking

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<v Speaker 1>about the CIA, have another show recommendation for you. It's

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<v Speaker 1>called The Agency Colon Central Intelligence. It's a really stupid name,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is a really well done, suspenseful but also

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<v Speaker 1>really dramatic show. It's Michael Fossbender. Richard Deeer does it

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<v Speaker 1>like I've never seen him act like he is in

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<v Speaker 1>this one, Jeffrey Wright. It's just this really great show.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a great cast. Everybody does wonderfully, even the people

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<v Speaker 1>I've never heard of before. Everybody does great.

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<v Speaker 2>Do we should do a little fifteen minute show once

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<v Speaker 2>a week where we recommend stuff to people.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a great idea. Where'd you get that idea?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know, let's hear from you. Do people want that?

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<v Speaker 1>Let's find out?

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<v Speaker 2>All right. So some of these cywor tactics, they got

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<v Speaker 2>busy doing their stuff, like kind of doing research on

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<v Speaker 2>the Filipinos and like what would kind of what would

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<v Speaker 2>sway them, what would work? They did some studies of

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<v Speaker 2>the people, like especially the peasants living in the Hook areas.

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<v Speaker 2>One of this sort of I guess sort of low

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<v Speaker 2>hanging fruit like you were talking about that they use

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<v Speaker 2>was they would fly over these areas with you know,

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<v Speaker 2>kind of low flying light aircraft to broadcast curses in Tagalog.

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<v Speaker 2>If anyone was like, if you're a villager and you're

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<v Speaker 2>going to help the Hook soldiers, this curse will befall you.

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<v Speaker 2>That sort of worked a little bit. He would also

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<v Speaker 2>paint the what's called the Eye of God. It was

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<v Speaker 2>just kind of a scary looking thing on houses of

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<v Speaker 2>Hook sympathizers, like on their front door, and that would

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<v Speaker 2>kind of scare people out, but kind of nothing like

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<v Speaker 2>what he did with Oswog.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, No, this was definitely a different level than those

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<v Speaker 1>other ones that you mentioned, because there was a CIA

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<v Speaker 1>trained that Lansdale helped oversee group of government Filipino government

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<v Speaker 1>military operatives. That's a really clumsy way to put it,

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<v Speaker 1>but they were basically set out. They were unleashed on

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<v Speaker 1>this village where a bunch of Hook rebels I think

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred to three hundred of them were in camp

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<v Speaker 1>nearby and they were intimidating the villagers into being quiet,

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<v Speaker 1>giving them supplies, that kind of stuff. So the CIA

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<v Speaker 1>found out about this and they really wanted to get

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<v Speaker 1>this Hook detachment out of this area. And this is

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<v Speaker 1>when they unleashed this Oswang rumor. They basically had these

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<v Speaker 1>Filipino commandos go into the village and start a rumor

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<v Speaker 1>that the Oswog was haunting this area where the Hook

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<v Speaker 1>rebel were camped out.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and you think, all right, well, that doesn't sound

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<v Speaker 2>much different than the other thing. Like they're spreading a

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<v Speaker 2>rumor that might scare them into not helping these local

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<v Speaker 2>soldiers right there in the nearby hills. But they took

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<v Speaker 2>it one step further and they had these agents go

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<v Speaker 2>in and oswong them. Basically, they would kidnap hook fighters

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<v Speaker 2>and disembowel them and clean them out Oswong vampire style

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<v Speaker 2>and leave their bloodless corpses behind.

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<v Speaker 1>Well. I saw also one of the things that they

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<v Speaker 1>did was put puncture holes in their neck and drain

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<v Speaker 1>them of blood. And that is not really oswang at all.

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<v Speaker 1>That's Dracula stuff, and that's just shoddy research of a

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<v Speaker 1>poor quality if you're really trying to scare off people

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<v Speaker 1>based on their superstitions.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean there was a guy that wrote a

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<v Speaker 2>book about this, in addition to Lansdale wrote his own memoir.

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<v Speaker 2>But there's a researcher. I think it's like, same was Clark.

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<v Speaker 1>What's Jordan Clark he talked to? I think he talked

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<v Speaker 1>to Dave Ruse who wrote this for Houstiff Works.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh okay, well he basically back to what you're saying

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<v Speaker 2>is like, if they would have done their research, they

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<v Speaker 2>would have believed that the true local creature they were

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<v Speaker 2>scared of was not oswog. It was a self segmenting

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<v Speaker 2>kind of oswog, but it kind of strictly fed on

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<v Speaker 2>the fetuses of pregnant women and was not a blood sucker. Right,

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<v Speaker 2>And he's also not sure that like this thing worked,

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<v Speaker 2>but he's not sure if it worked because they thought

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<v Speaker 2>it was an oswog or whatever. The local I can't

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<v Speaker 2>even how do you pronounce that? Mena menon angall. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I think it was the local boogeyman. If it worked

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<v Speaker 2>because they thought it was that, or if it was

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<v Speaker 2>because they were like, holy crap, these they're so twisted.

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<v Speaker 2>They're sucking the blood out of and draining blood out

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<v Speaker 2>of people to make it seem like so like, either way,

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<v Speaker 2>don't mess with these guys. It's awful.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but it worked, it didn't win the war. Jordan

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<v Speaker 1>Arc points out, like this worked this one time. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it was only used one time, and it did

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<v Speaker 1>dislodge those hook insurgents, but the war was run by

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<v Speaker 1>grinding them out. They basically fought over the years, and

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<v Speaker 1>Louis to Rock finally surrendered in nineteen fifty four. I

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<v Speaker 1>think he secured a pardon for himself and his troops.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>And he said, did you see what happened with the

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<v Speaker 1>ostwoan years back. Yeah, and they were just like, that's it.

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<v Speaker 2>Does that mean? Sure? Stuff is album? All right? Stuff

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<v Speaker 2>you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more

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