Community Intelligence and JFK Forum

[John Simkin]

I am really pleased with the way the JFK forum is going. I think at its best it is an example of Community Intelligence? It is an idea developed by Tim Berners Lee. He believes that researchers can achieve far more if they shared information with each other.

In 1980 Tim Berners-Lee joined the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. His main role was to support CERN’s community of physicists in the retrieval and handling of information. CERN is a vast organisation doing research of unimaginable complexity. The physicists were based in several different countries. Berners-Lee’s task was to create a system which CERN could consolidate its organisational knowledge. He set out to create a system that would allow individual scientists to access data being created by other members of the CERN team.

Berners-Lee called the system ENQUIRE (enquire within about everything). He later pointed out: “It allowed one to store snippets of information, and to link related pieces together in any way.” It was not until 1989 that Berners-Lee wrote the proposal that would change the world. He pointed out that the central difficulty that CERN’s community of physicists were having was that information was continually getting lost. His proposal was to create a connected “web” that would stop this happening.

By October 1990, Berners-Lee began describing his system as the “World Wide Web”. It has often been said Berners-Lee invention linked together a group of computers together. In fact, it was really an attempt to link a group of physicist’s brains together. I believe that this is what good forums do. The JFK forum enables people to ask questions about issues relating to the assassination. Such is the quality of the individuals we have in the group, most of these questions are answered.

One of the most popular features of the JFK forum has been the discussion of Larry Hancock’s brilliant book, Someone Would Have Talked. (163 replies and 3,527 views) This has been a two way process. Larry has been able to provide answers to questions posed by other researchers. In return, he has received a lot of information that he can include in a future edition of the book.

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=693

I am keen that members post much longer pieces of work on the forum that can be discussed by researchers. I have been very pleased by the response I have had from my two pieces of Dorothy Kilgallen. I was also impressed by Greg Parker’s excellent posting on Jim Garrison and John McAdams.

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1664

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1637

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1615

I hope others will follow our example.

[John Geraghty]

John, I agree this forum is an invaluable asset, the same goes for Lancer. Brainstorming is the best way to gather information, many thanks for your hard work and the same goes to all those who continuosly post , sticking together will get us further. Knowledge is power.

[Wim Dankbaar]

John, I agree this forum is an invaluable  asset, the same goes for Lancer. Brainstorming is the best way to gather information, many thanks for your hard work and the same goes to all those who continuosly post , sticking  together will get us further. Knowledge is power.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi John,

Did you form an opinion on the Files interview? I just got this in:

Dear Wim,

I just received the Files interview , Monday.

It is both astounding and informative. I hate to use a cliche, but truth IS stranger

than fiction. I have studied James Files for many years, and I find his statements

to be highly accurate. This is the best interview of Files that I have ever seen.

This is a "must see" for every serious student of the JFK Assassination! And you

can quote me.

[John Geraghty]

Wim,

Yes i watched the interview. I was very surprised with the depth he goes into in some areas. There are some hazy areas and i have my doubts about a few things he said but a lot of what he says makes sense and appears to be truthful, I understand that there was a vsa (voice stress analysis) done on him and he passed. The several attempts on his life are quite astounding and very murky indeed. I know a lot of people don't take Files seriously but I have to say he warrants a second look and further in depth study, have you any plans to make a documentary with footage of interviews and other evidence intersliced? He seemed to have had trouble with your accent a few times! At first I thought that it may be a little tedious watching the same camera angle for a few hours but what he had to say was extremely interesting. Did Giancana ever mention him or did any other mob figure that you know of? He said Oswald could drive which was a bit odd, also Ed Hoffmans and Lee Bowers account of seeing 2 men by the fence is odd, perhaps he is beefing up his own reputation or is protecting someone else. Did he ever mention E Howard Hunt?

A lot of questions there for you?

Once again thanks for the dvd, great work.

John

[Wim Dankbaar]

Wim,

Yes i watched the interview. I was very surprised with the depth he goes into in some areas. There are some hazy areas and i have my doubts about a few things he said but a lot of what he says makes sense and appears to be truthful, I understand that there was a vsa (voice stress analysis) done on him and he passed.

The VSA tests were done "before my time". Although the results were positive, I do not put faith or value in VSA or lie detector tests. They have put innocent people in jail, and got liars off the hook. They can also be manipulated. That is why I removed them from the website.

The several attempts on his life are quite astounding and very murky indeed. I know a lot of people don't take Files seriously but I have to say he warrants a second look and further in depth study, have you any plans to make a documentary with footage of interviews and other evidence intersliced?

I'd rather keep that for myself at this time. I trust you understand.

He seemed to have had trouble with your accent a few times!

Yes

At first I thought that it may be a little tedious watching the same camera angle for a few hours but what he had to say was extremely interesting. Did Giancana ever mention him or did any other mob figure that you know of?

Giancana did not mention him in any public sources that I know of, but then again, did he ever mention Charles Nicoletti for example? If you mean to verify whether Files worked for Charles Nicoletti, that has been confirmed by many others fom the Chicago milieu.

He said Oswald could drive which was a bit odd, also Ed Hoffmans and Lee Bowers account of seeing 2 men by the fence is odd, perhaps he is beefing up his own reputation or is protecting someone else.

Aside for the question whether Hoffman is cerdible or not, there is no doubt in my mind that Files was not alone behind the picket fence. He was also not the only one firing from the front. Whether Files was aware of others, is an entirely different question. Personally I believe he was not, he could be protecting them, but I just think he was was not aware of their presence. Keep in mind there were a lot of cars parked there, and this was a highly compartimentalized operation with people operating on a need to know basis. Likewaise he was not aware that people were assigned to kill Oswald, untill the guy showed up at this motel.

Did he ever mention E Howard Hunt?

Not to me, but you can ask only so many questions in 3 hours. It does not necessarily mean he knows nothing about Hunt. As you know, he did see Sturgis there. On a side note, the story of Chauncey Holt deserves more attention. He is a dynamite witness, much stronger than Files, if only his story would be known to the world in more detail, instead of only to a handfull insiders.

Wim

A lot of questions there for you?

Once again thanks for the dvd, great work.

John

Edited September 22, 2004 by Wim Dankbaar