JFK Assassination 60th Anniversary Prompts Conferences, Books, Films, Probes

 

cyril wecht institute 2023

 

The Nov. 22 60th anniversary of the history-changing assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 has prompted many new books, films and other commentary, including stellar new programs at three annual research conferences.

The Justice Integrity Project typically supports all three of the conferences but this year is primarily focused on one attracting major speakers to one organized by The Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh beginning Wednesday, Nov. 15 and continuing through Friday, alec baldwin gettyNov. 17.

The speaker program is here. It showcases top experts drawn from as far as Europe, including former Secret Service special agent Paul Landis and film and TV star, Alex Baldwin, a respected author and researcher into the assassination shown at left in a photo via Getty Images.

wechtThe Wecht Institute, which will be dedicated with new research materials during the conference, is named for the eminent forensic pathologist, author, medical school professor and coroner Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D., who has disputed since the 1960s many official findings regarding the causes of Kennedy's death. Wecht also co-founded and chairs the group Citizens Against Political Assassinations (CAPA), which is co-sponsoring the Pittsburgh conference. He is shown in a file photo at right,

Justice Integrity Project Editor Andrew Kreig, a founding member of CAPA's board, will moderate a CAPA segment of the conference on the evening of Nov. 16 that will include a lifetime achievement awards presentation to Wecht. It includes a video replay of his blunt denunciation three decades ago at a 1993 JFK Assassination research conference in Chicago, whereby Wecht, a longtime medical school professor and author of sixty books, including textbooks used in medical schools, challenged in blunt terms the scientific acumen of those other members of the American Medical Association who had claimed that one bullet could have caused so many wounds for Kennedy, popularly known as JFK, and Texas Gov. John Connally, who was riding in the same limo and survived multiple wounds.

john connally time coverConnally, a World War II combat veteran and former U.S. Treasury Secretary shown at left on a Time Magazine cover, always insisted that gunshots came from multiple directions and that bullet fragments remained lodged in his body throughout his life. Both of those Connally arguments undercut the "single bullet theory" proposed by the Warren Commission and its Assistant Counsel Arlen Specter, the future U.S. senator from Pennsylvania,. The Warren Commission issued a still-controversial report in 1964 that blamed the entire killing and planning solely on former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald. Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald, who insisted he was innocent, at a Dallas police station on Nov. 24, 1963, two days after JFK's murder, thus preventing a trial of Oswald's defense. Many researchers have argued along with Wecht that Oswald could not have killed JFK acting alone, with many also arguing that Oswald likely did not fire a shot and was instead a patsy, as Oswald himself claimed.

Two other annual JFK research conferences will be in Dallas, usually the site of CAPA's annual conference. Those conferences are organized by JFK Lancer Productions (named for JFK's Secret Service code name "Lancer"), led by Debra Conway, Stuart Wexler and Larry Hancock from Nov. 17 to 20, and the JFK Historical Group, led by David Denton from Nov. 16 to 19. Details on their programs are here and here, respectively.

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New Book Documents Hopes, Conflicts Motivating Would-Be Nations, States

 

Editor's Note: The following guest column was written by Wayne Madsen, left, drawn from his new book, A Parade of New Sovereignties: A wayne madsen may 29 2015 cropped Small Post-Hegemonic World," an encyclopedia-style, 379-page description of nearly 350 locales where some residents cite history to argue their locale should be either an independent nation or, more commonly, be granted special political and cultural rights by a larger nation that controls the land and government. The book, intended as a reference guide with one entity per page, is especially timely given the conflicts in many regions, including the Sikh region of India (known by Sikhs as Khalistan), Darfur and Artsakh, the largely Armenian enclave in Azerbejan, where conflicts almost arose to a war this month (September 2023). The book also describes more than 30 locales within Russia that the author reports as identifying strongly with religious, ethnic or other cultural identities outside the Russian Federation's mainstream -- and thus a factor looming in the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, particularly since many of those locales face heavy recruitment for troops. Book information relevant to headlines is shown further by President Biden's White House meeting on Sept. 25 with leaders of Pacific Island entities, some like Cook Islands and Niue governed by New Zealand, as reported by Semafor in China looms over Biden’s meeting with Pacific leaders.

Madsen, editor of the near-daily Wayne Madsen Report, is the author of 24 books and a longtime syndicated columnist who has published wayne madesen report logoopeds appearing hundreds of times United States newspapers. Also, he has appeared as a security and political commentator on nearly all major U.S. television and cable networks, as well as on many foreign and alternative outlets. He is a former Navy intelligence officer and NSA analyst whose outlets formerly included RT. This editor is a subscriber to the Wayne Madsen Report, co-hosts with him the video podcast "District Insiders" -- and highly recommends the book below.

-- Andrew Kreig, Justice Integrity Project editor

 

By Wayne Madsen

It’s rare when an official book launch coincides with a major news event. That is what has occurred with the editor’s official release of A Parade of New Sovereignties: A Post-Hegemonic World now available from Amazon and other online booksellers. As one sign of the times, the book comes with a travel warning.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada during a frosty meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India during the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi earlier in September 2023 (Canadian Press photo by Sean Kilpatrick via Associated Press).

On September 18, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, above left, just back from the G20 Summit in New Delhi, announced the discovery by Canadian intelligence and law enforcement agencies that the government of Indian Hindu nationalist Prime wayne madsen parade coverMinister Narendra Modi (shown above right with Trudeau) was behind the assassination of a Canadian citizen and leader of the Sikh community in British Columbia in June of this year.

The victim in what the Canadian government alleges was a hit ordered by New Delhi was Hardeep Singh Nijjar. On June 18, Nijjar, right, was shot to death while standing outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, outside of Vancouver. Borrowing a page from the Israeli government, which normally refuses to comment on or derides reports of hardeep singh nijjarassassinations carried out by the Mossad, New Delhi called Trudeau’s allegations “absurd.”

But Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence has left a trail of assassination victims abroad, including Khalistan Commando Force leader Paramjit Singh Panjwar, who was shot to death last year by two suspected Indian agents riding on a motorcycle as Panjwar was walking down a street in Lahore, Pakistan. RAW agents have also assassinated Muslim Kashmiri separatists abroad, mostly in Pakistan. Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have signed a series of secret protocols designed to increase cooperation between RAW and Mossad.

On June 16, Avtar Singh Khanda, the leader of the Khalistan Liberation Force, died in Birmingham, England after allegedly being poisoned by RAW agents. Sometimes RAW uses social media to falsely claim it has assassinated Sikh leaders abroad. That was the case with Gurpatwant Singh Pann, the leader of the California-based Sikhs for Justice. A car in which Pann was riding was allegedly hit by a truck on a California highway and Pann was said to have been killed. The video of the vehicular accident was uploaded by RAW to several social media sites except it was a fake. Pann later surfaced to deny that he had been killed in the accident. However, vehicular accidents have been a favorite method of several intelligence agencies to “get rid” of people they consider to be “problems.”

canadian flagSo, too, are plane crashes. News that Trudeau and his government delegation had been stuck in New Delhi after his Canadian government Airbus 310-300 suddenly developed mechanical problems while sitting on an apron at an Indian Air Force base in Palam. The aircraft's security was overseen by the very same Indian security apparatus held responsible by Trudeau for the assassinatiojn of Nijjar in British Columbia. A replacement aircraft, a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-150 Polaris, a modified Airbus, was dispatched to India to bring Trudeau and his party home.

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11th Annual Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival Announced July 22-30 In DC

 

whistleblower summit logo

From July 22 to 30, 2023, the 11th annual Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival will be held at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

ACORN 8 in association with the Justice Integrity Project are proud to announce the theme for the event is the "60th Anniversary of the JFK Assassination," with films, speakers and panel presentations reflecting this idea, among others including films about whistleblowers, The First Amendment or that touch on such human rights issues as freedom of expression, women’s rights and discrimination.

“Whistleblowers pay a very high price for speaking truth to power and for having integrity,” says Co-Founder and Managing Director, Michael McCray. “Publishers win Pulitzers, books are bestsellers, but whistleblowers risk their lives and livelihood with nothing in return.”

"Democracies rely on Whistleblowers” said Marcel Reid, Co-Founder and Festival Director. “We are excited to partner with Cemboo and their innovative plaform with Amazon.”

  • View the line-up here for the 11th Annual Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival, including our thought-provoking panels.

“We are excited to recognize Abraham Bolden (African American) an important JFK Secret Service Agent turned whistleblower at this year’s Summit,” said this editor, Abraham Bolden book cover, The Echo from Dealey PlazaAndrew Kreig, director of the Justice Integrity Project and co-host with Wayne Madsen of District Insiders, which provides a video of Bolden's explosive revelations. These will be shown in special edition of District Insiders as part of the film festival on the morning of Sunday, July 30, with some of the material illustrated also in Bolden's memoir, The Echo From Dealey Plaza.

McCray hopes the festival will continue to draw attention to whistleblowers, their powerful stories and their tremendous bravery.

Event schedules for this hybrid event and tickets are available via the Summit website here. The festival will be sponsored by Cemboo, a new platform which enables content owners to control, monetize and distribute their own digital media content. All panels and films will screen virtually through Cemboo. Event organizers are proud that the Whistleblower Summit is a pioneering use case for this exciting new distribution partner powered by Amazon.

“No more fattening frogs for snakes,” McCray says. “It’s time to take back our empowerment.”

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Former JFK Secret Service Agent Describes Shocking Lapses, Current Implications

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Brave Former Law Enforcer Abraham Bolden Once Scorned, Now Honored

 

By Andrew Kreig and Wayne Madsen

Abraham W. Bolden, Sr., the first African American to serve on the White House Secret Service details guarding a president, helped launch the new investigative podcast District Insiders John F. Kennedy side profilewith his powerful memories of President John F. Kennedy, left, including disturbing security threats foreshadowing JFK’s 1963 assassination.

abraham bolden sr. new 2016Bolden, now 88 and living in Chicago (and shown at right in a file photo), described in rare detail several historically important interactions with JFK, Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) and such little-known intrigues as a planned 1963 assassination to target JFK in Chicago three weeks before a similar shooting killed the president in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Bolden, loyal to JFK during a period when the president’s background and policies enraged some Americans, sought to alert his chain of command to security threats he had witnessed, including a volcanic 1961 temper tantrum by LBJ two years before JFK's death. Authorities instead framed Bolden with perjured testimony on corruption charges in 1964 and promptly imprisoned him with a six-year sentence.

 

joe biden 7 21 2022In 2022, President Joe Biden (shown in a file photo) pardoned Bolden on April 26 as one of just three to receive pardons in Biden's first presidential clemency order.

lee harvey oswald cuba passport applicationThe District Insiders hosts, both investigative reporters long based in Washington, DC, recognized during the show Bolden's remarkable courage and patriotism along with Biden’s boldness in granting a pardon. Most officials and mainstream media since 1963 have ignored, downplayed or otherwise suppressed any suggestion conflicting with the FBI’s steadfast contention, first expressed soon after JFK's murder in 1963, that former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald, shown at left, killed JFK, acting alone. Rarely mentioned in standard accounts is Oswald's documented history of serving in the Marines with a high-level security clearance for work as a radar technician on the U-2 spy plane operation and also learning how to speak fluent Russian while serving in the Marines during the height of the Cold War.

Current implications of such experiences and relationships are worth exploring even today regarding key figures and such organizations as the Secret Service. The public, for example, has not been able so far to get clear-cut answers about Secret Service operations -- and massive missing text messages -- during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that endangered the lives of Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress and Capitol staff, including police officers. The Washington Post published a recent update on that, Probe widens into federal watchdog over missing Jan. 6 Secret Service texts, amplified in an appendix to this column.

 

Watch, share and like the Bolden interview at this site or others (via audio-only or video), and sign up for future shows!

Co-host Wayne Madsen provided the introduction to the show. During the interview, Bolden shared in his first-ever detailed public description how he overheard through a closed door while guarding the Oval Office in June 1961 that an JFK, RFK, J. Edgar Hooverenraged LBJ (shown below in a file photo on a separate occasion) threatened and cursed the president and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), with language including, “You bastards trying to send me to jail?” RFK is shown at right in a photo of a separate meeting at the White House with his brother and then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, an ally and close neighbor of the vice president.

Bolden, who had experienced pioneering job hires as a Black Pinkerton detective and Black Illinois State policeman before JFK personally recruited him to integrate the White House Secret Service, said he was lyndon johnson points fingerso concerned about LBJ's outburst that he reported the remarks to a supervisor.

Only later, he said, did he understand from news accounts and history researchers that the vice president was probably concerned about then-ongoing state and federal investigations of the corrupt cotton broker Billy Sol Estes and the mysterious shooting death on June 3 that month in Texas of Henry Marshall, right, Henry Marshall, USDA  investigator of Billy Sol Estesthe U.S. Department of Agriculture agent leading the Estes probe. Authorities ruled Marshall’s death from five shots from a bolt-action rifle plus carbon monoxide poisoning as a suicide until Marshall’s family and a sympathetic U.S. marshal succeeded in more than two decades of advocacy in obtaining a 1985 court ruling of homicide, not suicide.

Estes, after serving a long prison sentence, filed an affidavit in 1984 with the Justice Department swearing that LBJ had recruited him to help arrange eight murders, including those of Marshall, LBJ’s estranged sister, Josefa Johnson (1961), her boyfriend John Kinser (1951) and JFK (1963).

U.S. Justice officials failed to prosecute in any of the cases. Bolden said he hesitated until now to discuss his overheard 1961 confrontation between LBJ, JFK and RFK because he wanted to ensure that explosive details could be sufficiently corroborated by others.

bill moyers lbj 1963The new details are highly significant because, along with other parts of Bolden's experiences, they tend to support scholars who argue that Johnson had means, motive and opportunity to assist if not enable the assassination or at least its cover-up despite a heavy focus by authorities and mainstream media on Oswald to the near-exclusion of other avenues of research. As further context, Johnson's press secretary as vice president and then president, Bill Moyers (shown at left with Johnson in a 1963 photo at the White House), promptly after the assassination led efforts to focus authorities and the media solely on Oswald as the killer, 1963 documents now reveal.

james wagenvoordThe late James Wagenvoord, left, a former executive at Life Magazine and later author of 43 books, has said the magazine spiked immediately after the assassination a major investigative story documenting corruption by the incoming president, Lyndon Johnson, involving Estes and other Johnson associates, including Bobby Baker and Fred Korth.

Wagenvoord said the already edited investigative story had been expected to run shortly after the Dallas trip but was killed to help the country adjust as smoothly as possible to a transition after JFK's murder and LBJ's succession. Robert Kennedy's Justice Department was helping Life Magazine's reporters prepare the story and LBJ, as the primary target, was well aware that the story was in the works and ready for publication, according to Wagenvoord in speaking at two research conferences of Citizens Against Political Assassinations (CAPA) that were moderated by District Insider co-host and CAPA board member Andrew Kreig). JFK's former secretary Evelyn Lincoln wrote in her memoirs that the projected Life Magazine story, capping previous Life Magazine stories on LBJ's money-making schemes and henchmen, would have provided grounds for the Kennedys to remove LBJ from JFK's 1964 re-election ticket.

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whistleblower summit logoOpEd News, Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival Announces Slate of Films and Screenplays for 11th Annual Film & Writing Competition, Michael McCray, June 29-30, 2023. Pentagon Papers Whistleblower to be Remembered During 11th Annual Event Featuring Film Screenings, Screenplay Contest, and a Tribute to Famed Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg at the National Press Club.

ACORN 8, in collaboration with the Justice Integrity Project, announced feature, documentary, short film, and screenplay selections premiering virtually at the Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival (www.WhistleblowerSummit.com). The hybrid event, set for July 22-33 in Washington, DC, will include live events and virtual screenings of featured films and panels. The theme for the annual conference is "Unraveling the Truth: 60 Years after the Assassination of JFK." The annual festival is a globally recognized platform amplifying free speech, social justice, and civil & human rights advocacy. Festival passes, and single tickets are on sale now.

For more information about the summit hosts and film festival, click here -.whistleblowersummit.com/tickets

The National Whistleblower Day (July 30) feature screenings include The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Additional screenings include District Insiders: Former JFK Secret Service Protector Describes Shocking JFK Assassination and other industry panels (filmmaker and screenwriter). This year's programming illuminates a wide array of storytelling that showcases the talent of writers and filmmakers alike.

"We are proud to be back live for the 11th year to bring audiences, both in-person and virtually, an inspiring selection of events celebrating free speech in all its forms "film, books, journalism, and advocacy," said Michael McCray, Managing Director. "We're thrilled to spotlight transformative storytelling that demonstrates the power of equity in entertainment media."

"We are honored to recognize Abraham Bolden (African American) an important JFK Secret Service Agent turned whistleblower at this year's summit," said Andrew Kreig, Executive Director for the Justice Integrity Project.

"We're excited to come together for the 11th year running to share unique and untold stories, showcasing diverse and inclusive content to the masses. This year's filmmakers are unmatched in their refreshing narratives," Marcel Reid, Festival Director. We are pleased to announce the 2023 Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival lineup.

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Commentary By Dan Rather: My Question for Dr. King 1964 and Today

Editor's Note: The following guest column was written by Dan Rather, right, following Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's address to a Joint Meeting to the U.S. Congress on dan rather steady logoWednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.

dan rather 2017Rather first published the column in his near-daily column "Steady," which he so named to urge readers to stay balanced during our troubled times. This editor is a subscriber to the columns, which are published in collaboration with Elliot Kirschner and benefit from Rather's experience and blunt, colorful style. Rather, whose 91st birthday was Oct. 31, is currently based in his native Texas. The iconic author and journalist worked for many years as the CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor.

-- Andrew Kreig, Justice Integrity Project editor

 

 

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to thousands during his

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to thousands during his "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 23, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (Associated Press Photo)

 

My Question for Dr. King 1964 and Today

By Dan Rather with Elliot Kirschner

The phone rang today from friends and family watching this week’s edition of the CBS News program “Face The Nation” on Jan. 15.

Apparently, I had made an appearance on my former network in the form of archival footage — a flashback to an episode of that same program from nearly 60 years ago. Wow. How time flies. 

The guest on that Sunday’s “Face the Nation” in 1964 was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was in Washington at the time to lobby for passage of the Civil Rights Act. I remember the moment but didn’t recall what I had asked Dr. King until I recently rewatched the clip. As I reflect today on my question and his answer, I can’t help but ponder the passage of these many years and the winding and far-from-finished journey we as a nation and a people have taken on civil rights. 

The clip was featured in a segment (shared below) about growing diversity among members of Congress. In 2023, most people of color and women in Congress are Democrats. Making note of this political divide echoed the exchange I had with Dr. King way back in 1964. At that time, I was curious what he thought of the direction the Republican Party (the so-called “Party of Lincoln”) had taken on race relations. 

“Do you think there’s a real danger of the Republican Party becoming the ‘white man’s’ party in this country?” I asked. 

“I think this is a real danger,” he answered in his measured voice. “I’ve talked with some Negro Republicans who are very concerned about this. I see trends and developments which will reveal that unless the liberals of the Republican Party take a much more … decisive role in leadership positions, this will become a white man’s party. And I think this will be tragic for that Republican Party as well as tragic for the nation.”

Here’s the “Face the Nation” clip:

The record shows that in the decades that followed, the grim scenario Dr. King lamented in our exchange largely came to pass. In 1968, Richard Nixon used dog whistle appeals to racism in his euphemistic “Southern Strategy” to win the White House. In the ensuing years, what had been a “Solid South” for Democrats tracing back to the Civil War became a wall of red states that helped propel Republicans to power. From Ronald Reagan's demonizing “welfare queens” to George H.W. Bush’s Willie Horton ad, Republicans had concocted a playbook of racist appeals in order to win the white vote. With Trump, dog whistles became bullhorns.

 

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Zelensky Speaks: Historical Commentary by Dan Rather

Editor's Note: The following guest column was written by Dan Rather, right, following Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's address to a Joint Meeting to the U.S. Congress on dan rather steady logoWednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.

dan rather 2017Rather first published the column in his near-daily column "Steady," which he so named to urge readers to stay balanced during our troubled times. This editor is a subscriber to the columns, which are published in collaboration with Elliot Kirschner and benefit from Rather's experience and blunt, colorful style. Rather, whose 91st birthday was Oct. 31, is currently based in his native Texas. The iconic author and journalist worked for many years as the CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor.

-- Andrew Kreig, Justice Integrity Project editor

 

 Ukraine President Volodymyer Zelensky addresses a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on Dec. 21, 2022 (Photo by Win McNamee via Getty Images).

Ukraine President Volodymyer Zelensky addresses a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on Dec. 21, 2022 (Photo by Win McNamee via Getty Images).

 

A historic address to Congress and the nation

By Dan Rather

In the history of momentous occasions at the United States Congress, there has not been anything quite like what we witnessed.

A man. A moment. A nation under siege. Freedom on one side. A ruthless autocracy on the other.

By now, we all know the general story of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — a former comedian who as his nation's leader has had the mantle of greatness thrust upon him. Through steadfast leadership and uncommon courage, against seemingly all odds, he has stared down a murderous tyrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a bloody battlefield. It is not hyperbole to say that the future of freedom in Europe and beyond stands in the balance.

dan rather steady logoIn his speech tonight, Zelensky appealed to America, in the best of our own courageous traditions. He invoked the Battle of Saratoga, in which a plucky band of revolutionaries stood down the mighty British in our war for independence. And he spoke of the Battle of the Bulge, when U.S. forces countering the Nazis in World War II held the line during a brutal Christmas and New Year from 1944 to 1945. Zelensky's message was not subtle, but it was effective. The Ukrainians, like the Americans, are fighting for freedom against a mighty foe and at great sacrifice.

In making the case for Ukrainian resolve, Zelensky quoted from President Franklin Roosevelt’s speech on December 8, 1941, in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the United States suddenly entered World War II. Roosevelt said that “the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.” Zelensky said the Ukrainians would do the same. The allusion to “absolute victory” was certainly not a coincidence when some are calling for the Ukrainians to accede to Russian demands.

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