Why Journalism Matters
In this issue we mark the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy with a tribute to those journalists who continue to search for the truth behind the murder that no one can forget
4 minute read
Journalism and the sensational crime that continues to haunt the modern world
Sixty years on, a majority still don’t accept the official version of events surrounding the Kennedy assassination. Despite continued dispute over what happened, there are no plans to re-open the initial investigation which decided that one man acted alone. But journalists, historians and ordinary citizens continue to search for the truth
November 22, 1963. A date that is imprinted on the memories of an entire generation, not just in America, but around the world. Everyone who was alive remembers where they were when they heard the news that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated while his motorcade glided through the sunny streets of Dallas, Texas.
This shocking event was amplified by the pervasive presence of the new electronic media, particularly television, that brought the startling chaos of history-in-the-making into ordinary homes across the globe.
Now, 60 years later, the mysteries surrounding this tragic murder continue to unfold and disturb American politics; for many the assassination is still an unsolved crime where the guilty are the subject of speculation but remain largely unidentified and—most notably—unpunished.
Besides the immediate victim and his family there are millions of others whose lives have been altered as a result of decisions to take military action that may not have occurred had he survived. But perhaps for the rest of us the principal victim is the ideal, embraced by a generation, that powerful leaders of goodwill can forge a society where democracy, justice and peace will prevail.
One outlet of investigative journalism which sometimes takes an eccentric, satirical attitude towards the news is Who What Why, a global nonprofit outfit based in New York City founded by leading investigative journalist Russ Baker and boasting other progressive voices like David Talbot and Mark Hertsgaard.
Pay tribute
To mark the 60th anniversary of the assassination WPM pays tribute to what they have discovered about the events of 1963 and how well they have explained and articulated them.
In a feature length review of Oliver Stone’s compelling documentary JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass Kennedy author and Who What Why contributor Dick Russell examines what opportunities for the future of the world were crushed as a result of Kennedy’s death.
“Footage depicting the stunned and sometimes anguished reactions of foreign leaders upon hearing of Kennedy’s death reminds us what the world lost. After the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, Kennedy sought common ground with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, pursuing detente and a chance for peace that could have ended the Cold War.
“Kennedy pledged not to invade Cuba nor overthrow Fidel Castro, a regime change the CIA had been pursuing throughout his administration. He prepared to withdraw a then-limited number of American troops from Vietnam, intentions reversed by Lyndon B. Johnson, who secured the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution from Congress eight months after the assassination and authorised a full-scale American military invasion the following year.
“With the disastrous failure of the Vietnam War fuelling the resentment that powers today’s far-right and the obvious flaws in the official story leading Americans to lose faith in their country’s institutions and mistrust expertise, it’s easy to see how the assassination changed history.”
Detailed demolition
The film (available to buy on Youtube ) mounts a prodigiously detailed demolition of the ‘official’ story of the assassination as presented by the Warren Commission report in 1964. As Russell explains: “… it leaves little doubt that three key points in the ‘official’ narrative are fabricated: the number of bullets fired at the presidential motorcade, the military autopsy, and Oswald’s involvement.”
“That the truth has never surfaced about such a turning point in American history should trouble and alarm generations of Americans, who should be freshly outraged every time they revisit the assassination,” comments Russell.
JFK revisited concludes with a comment by author David Talbot that reminds viewers why the assassination still matters.
“I think there is a direct thread between the events of 1963 and the kind of horror show that America is having to endure right now. And I think once you kill a president in broad daylight on the streets of an American city and everyone knows that powerful forces did it, that sends a signal not only to the American people, but to the American media, to the American future leaders.
“And if America really wants a democratic society then we should get to the bottom of this traumatic crime that continues to reverberate throughout American history.”
Reference
Who What Why Assassination investigation
5 minute read
Evidence hiding in plain sight that the assassination was indeed a conspiracy, as many Americans have always believed
One important contribution that Who What and Why have made to the ongoing investigation of the assassination is the analysis of the recording of a telephone call between new President Lyndon Johnson and legendary FBI director J Edgar Hoover.
This call took place on November 29, 1963 but was not mentioned in either the Warren Report, published in 1964 or the subsequent investigation by a Congressional Select Committee on Assassinations in 1976.
The phone call and its historical context have been examined in a feature story on the Who What Why website entitled JFK Assassination: Hiding in Plain Sight, a Startling Revelation written by WWW Editor-in-Chief Russ Baker and his assistant Robert Smith.
On the Warren Report Baker writes: “The Commission’s apparent mandate to obfuscate the truth in this case — and the legacy media’s apparent willingness to perpetuate what many consider a transparent lie — have led to today’s explosion of baseless conspiracy theories. To be sure, re-examining the Kennedy case risks inspiring irrational scepticism among those predisposed to believe any kind of conspiracy.
“However, at WhoWhatWhy we believe that unrelenting candour is essential to the health (and indeed survival) of a democracy; that judicious examination of a historical mystery can provide a counterweight to indiscriminate conspiracy-theorising; and that violent, if disguised, transfer of power is still a pressing issue today.”
Baker and Smith’s examination of the phone call reveals that both Johnson and Hoover knew that someone else besides Oswald shot at the president that day—and they fired from the front of the motorcade.
They explain: “In this remarkable conversation, Hoover made it quite clear to LBJ — without ever spelling it out — that the FBI’s investigation indicated at least one shot was fired at Kennedy… from the front.
“That is, frankly, earthshaking. Even more so when combined with the fact that LBJ and Hoover referred to Kennedy’s assassin not as ‘he’ — meaning Lee Oswald, already charged with the crime a week earlier — but as ‘they’.”
Here’s the relevant extract:
LBJ: Were they aiming at the president?
JEH: They were aiming directly at the president… [continues with description of the rifle found in the Book Depository]
LBJ: How did it happen they hit Connally?
JEH: Connally turned to the president, when the first shot was fired, and I think in that turning, it was where he got hit.
LBJ: If he hadn’t turned, he probably wouldn’t have got hit?
JEH: I think that is very likely.
LBJ: Would the president’ve got hit [by] the second one?
JEH: No, the president wasn’t hit with the second one…
LBJ: I say, if Connally hadn’t been in the way?
JEH: Oh, yes…yes…the president would no doubt have been hit…
LBJ: He would have been hit three times…
JEH: [in agreement] He would have been hit three times…
This conversation subconsciously poses the question: How could Connally have blocked a bullet aimed at the president if all the bullets came from behind? As Baker elaborates: “When Johnson asks if Connally got in the way of a shot meant for Kennedy and Hoover agrees — they are saying the shot that hit Connally came from the front.
Contradiction unremarked
“Yet throughout the call, the contradiction goes unremarked, and Hoover assures Johnson that the FBI has all it needs to present Oswald as the sole culprit.
“Lest one think the two men somehow misspoke or misunderstood each other, a minute or two later in the call Johnson returns to this point:
LBJ: Well your conclusion is that (a) he’s [Oswald’s] the one that did it… (b) the man he was after was the president; (c) he would have hit him three times except the governor turned.
JEH: I think that is correct.”
WWW’s s analysis indicates that Johnson believed it was at least possible that a foreign power, probably the USSR, could have been behind the assassination.
“His purpose was not hard to divine from a careful reading of his private statements and actions: He sought to warn key people that if the public came to believe, rightly or wrongly, that Communist conspirators were behind the assassination, there could be a stampede to war.
“Much better for the assassination to be neatly wrapped up and a domestic individual persuasively made out to be the sole culprit. Avoiding spiralling dangers and even nuclear war could depend on it.
“Combining that with new public suspicion over why Oswald himself was silenced, well, then it didn’t take much for others, including Hoover, to get with a plan: ‘investigate’ fast, explore and blunt any loose ends, and be done with it.”
Jigsaw puzzle
Over the years the JFK assassination jigsaw puzzle has accumulated many pieces of vital information which make the situation leading up to the assassination much more clearly understood.
One of those is the role played by organised crime—specifically the Italian mafia. The mafia connections revolve around the strong friendship that grew up between John Kennedy and Frank Sinatra who was very active in the campaign to elect the president.
Sinatra acted as a go-between between the mob and Joseph Kennedy, John Kennedy’s father, who enlisted Sinatra’s help in securing mafia support to get unionised labour under their control to vote for Kennedy in the 1960 election.
But as soon as they gained power, Robert Kennedy, attorney general in his brother’s administration began prosecuting and convicting mafia figures. This was naturally viewed by the mob as an act of betrayal.
The documentary is called Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia (2023) produced by Peninsula Television and directed by David Hardy, broadcast in the UK by Channel 4.
There are many more twists and turns revealed in this documentary and it is essential viewing for those who want to develop a fuller understanding of the real causes and repercussions of the assassination.
Russ Baker is preparing the publication of a new book on the assassination (crowded publishing territory though it may be) and is always ready to hear from anyone who has relevant information or insights. See the WWW website for further details. (Link below.)
Reference
JFK Assassination: Hiding in Plain Sight, a startling revelation
Guardian Review: Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
5 minute read
The investigation into the scandal that has wrecked hundreds of lives and continues to shame British justice
Even in today’s troubled and uncertain world citizens in western democracies are still likely to take their access to justice for granted, particularly in the work place.
Health and safety laws and employee representation and tribunals, minimum wage legislation, etc. have gradually given some weight of protection for employees (and to some extent sub-contractors ) in today’s working world. Although, of course abuses continue.
The UK is one of those countries that takes pride in its development of employee protections, pioneered by the trade union movement from the early part of the 20th century.
However, one overwhelming scandal at the heart of one of the country’s most cherished institutions—the post office— has shattered that faith. The story of the great post office scandal has been revealed only through the efforts of campaigners and investigative journalists who fought to unearth the truth against years of resistance, and denials by the post office management and their lawyers.
This scandal which has been going on for more than 20 years is generally accepted as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK legal history. And it is not over yet, as many more victims await to have their names cleared and to receive compensation.
The scandal stems from the introduction of a computerised accounting system called Horizon developed for the Post Office by the Japanese IT company Fujitsu. Horizon was introduced across the national network in 1999-2000.
Discrepancies appeared
Soon after Horizon was introduced discrepancies began to appear in post office accounts which could not be explained by individual sub-post masters, but they were told a) that there were definitely no problems with Horizon and b) only they were having these difficulties.
In many cases the post masters made up the shortfalls from their own funds rather than face the legal action threatened by the post office.
Through journalistic investigations it was revealed that as early as 1999 when the horizon system was first being trialled in post offices, accounting errors which were making life stressful for sub-postmasters were reported. Despite these warnings the Post Office began pursuing their own sub masters in the courts for theft, fraud and false accounting charges.
The Post Office has identified 700 convictions up until 2015 that were associated with the Horizon software. As of November this year only 93 have been overturned and £22.4 ($US 27.8 million) has been paid in compensation. At least 60 sub postmasters have died waiting for justice, and at least four of them took their own lives.
There is an ongoing public inquiry into the scandal which has held hearings and will continue gathering evidence during next year, more than 20 years after the first convictions.
Dedicated his life
Many journalists have worked on this story, and it has been the subject of many investigative programmes on BBC radio and television . But there is one who has more or less dedicated his life to following the many threads and impacts of this story after first becoming involved in 2010. He is Nick Wallis and since that time he has spent his life uncovering and explaining this story.
He maintains an up-to-date website resource on the scandal, called, reasonably enough, Post Office Scandal. In addition, he has done several radio. Tv programmes for the BBC, written a book about the scandal (The Great Post Office Scandal) and has even put on live shows around the country featuring participation by some of those involved.
Much of the money supporting this reporting comes from crowd-funding efforts.
In a recent post he gives an update on the progress of the story and displays his contempt for the management team at the Post Office who have wrecked the lives of so many of their workers while continuing to collect bonuses for their participation in the current public inquiry.
“We are now in stage three of this scandal. The first was the period when the Post Office was prosecuting innocent people for crimes they didn’t commit. That was 2000 to 2013.
“Then we entered the cover-up phase when the Post Office knew it likely had criminalised innocent people but had to have the truth pulled out of it by the combined efforts of the High Court, the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Court of Appeal.
“Now we have phase 2019 to present, where the Post Office tells the government, the public and the Post Office Inquiry that it has changed, whilst designing bonus schemes for its executives for simply participating in a statutory Inquiry at the same time as trying to ensure the innocent people it robbed and ruined stumble to their graves with the minimum of compensation it can possibly give them.”
No senior figures at the Post Office or Fujitsu have ever been sanctioned, punished or held to account for this miscarriage of justice that has needlessly destroyed so many lives. Many sub-masters are calling for those responsible to be prosecuted and sent to jail, just like they were.
Reference
BBC Post office scandal: What the Horizon saga is all about
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