Douglas Caddy

John Newman posted this announcement on Facebook yesterday: I have a presentation coming up soon at James Madison University on “Espionage and Counterintelligence Conflict during the Cold War.” The event will take place on 2 November 2017, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Highlands Room of the Festival Building. This event is free. Seating will be open to JMU students, faculty and staff and to the public as well. Alan Dale will be on hand to emcee the event. My presentation will run for approximately ninety minutes, and will include mater...ial from my recently published books on this genre and my forthcoming publication, “Into the Storm.” Thirty minutes will be available for questions and discussion. As seating is limited, my friends in the larger Harrisonburg area who would like to attend should contact me privately by the middle of October (or earlier to get on my list) to confirm seating reservations. The same is true for interested parties who are considering driving to the event from out of state. A map of JMU facilities and parking is at https://www.jmu.edu/parking/_files/parkingmap.pdf

I was impressed with the opening episode but very much less so with the two episodes shown since. It is beginning to appear as constituting selective history. https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/09/19/getting-the-gulf-of-tonkin-wrong-are-ken-burns-and-lynn-novick-telling-stories-about-the-central-events-used-to-legitimize-the-us-attack-against-vietnam/

From Kris Millegan’s article: Going through my father's papers after his death in 1990, I found an itinerary for the 1956 trip and noticed that he had traveled to Chang Mai, Thailand. At that time I was very interested in the history of Chang Mai, because of the role the city has played in the opium/heroin trade. I had been told that the city had grown to a million people from a very small town in the 1950s, and was looking for information. Now, I could simply ask my mother. So the next time I visited my Mother, I asked her about Chang Mai. She said that, “Yes, it was a small village. The biggest thing in town was the church.” She said she had some pictures in a book up on her bookshelf. I reached up to get the photograph album, and mom made a little aside, “That's when I stopped believing everything I read in the newspaper.” That pricked up my ears, because I had asked my mother questions before, and she always just brushed them aside, saying she didn't know anything. So, I asked my mom, what did she mean? She said that in 1956 they had been in Vietnam before going to Thailand, and while in Thailand the newspaper reported on a battle in Viet Nam, right where they had been. She said, “There was no battle, we were having a picnic.” I turned back the pages of her photo book from Chang Mai, and there were pictures of my parents, Ed Lansdale and a bunch of soldiers. They were obviously having a picnic. I borrowed the photo book and photocopied the page. One was a picture of my mother where she was so radiant and vivacious that it was later used during her memorial. Also in that picture you can see Ed Lansdale and others sitting around having a good time – a picnic. The interesting item, is what my mother had written in the margin next to the picture: “Eudora (my mother's name) out from Saigon with Col. Lansdale and North Vietnamese Military leaders.” North Vietnamese Military leaders? Having a picnic? http://watergateexposed.com/articles-menu/179-allegations-regarding-qbutchq-merritt-watergate-intelligence-agencies-and-qcrimson-rose-q-vol-vi.html

Yes, this is what retired NYPD Detective Rothstein told me. I shall add this: About 30 years ago, my NYC stockbroker, Richard Stoyeck, told me that he had recently attended the Forest Hills Tennis Match that attracts celebrities from around the world and as he rounded a corner of the structure where it was being held he suddenly came face to face with Senator Ted Kennedy who was walking alone towards him. He said that Kennedy's face turned totally white with shock, apparently thinking that he was about to meet his end in the same way that his brother, Robert, had. The moment ended with each passing the other without greeting.

I watched the first episode last night. It was excellent. What I like about Ken Burns is that he is heavy on interviewing persons who have first hand experiences to relate in contrast to those who rely on books and official documents, some of which may be purposely salted and planted to mislead, for the formulation of their views. I plan to watch the second episode tonight.

Rothstein and Rosenthal were assigned to the Vice Squad the covered Times Square. In NYPD this is considered the choice assignment because it opens up everything and anything to be investigated. To select just one of their many assignments: the widely publicized kidnapping of Sammy Bronfman, the son of Edgar Bronfman. Rothstein and Rosenthal discovered that Sammy had staged his own kidnapping as he wanted one million dollars in ransom money to open up a gay dance bar, a project that his father had turned down because he did not want it known that he had a gay son. Rothstein and Rosenthal were approached by the father's emissary who opened up two suitcases, each of which contained one million dollars in cash for the two detectives if they would walk away from their investigation. They turned down the offer and escorted the emissary out the door. There is a book titled "Times Square," that covers their sundry activities. Because of their willingness to tread where others in NYPD would not go, the Governor appointed them to the New York State Commission on Crime. The Governor sent notice of their appointment to the Mayor of New York City who in turn passed the notice to the Chief of Police. This caused great consternation within NYPD. Thus, the two were not only NYPD detectives but were also detectives for the State Commission. This is among the many reasons they were invited to the 1978 Washington event.

Joe: You observed that “It will be interesting to read what your friend Rothstein has to say about the incident verses the film script.” I spoke with retired NYPD Detective James Rothstein yesterday upon his return from a fishing trip to one of Minnesota’s lakes near where he lives and serves as a mayor of small town. He told me that in 1978 he was invited to attend a three part event in Washington, D.C. He was accompanied by his NYPD colleague, Detective Matthew Rosenthal. Part one of the two day event: Upon arrival in Washington, he was met by Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Detective Carl Shoffler, whom you may remember was the officer that arrested the Watergate burglars (and who subsequently targeted me in that case.) Rothstein and Shoffler had worked together previously in investigating criminal activities. In essence they were counterparts to each other in different cities in the scope of their assignments and responsibilities. Shoffler drove Rothstein and Rosenthal in an old station wagon to a non-descript (safe)house in Maryland. When they knocked on the door a woman wearing a maid’s uniform opened it and then led them to the basement, which was a well adorned conference room. A meeting ensued that was attended by 13 key persons from around the country, each representing the police department for which they worked. A number of topics were discussed. A police representative from the Boston area made a presentation on the Chappaquiddick incident that occurred in 1969, nine years previously. He stated that the victim, Mary Jo Kopechne, was dead before the vehicle was driven into the water. Her lungs contained no water. He disclosed that Senator Ted Kennedy was also a victim, having been set up by an unknown party by drinking liquor that likely contained some sort of drug. Kennedy managed to escape from the vehicle in the water. It was not clear whether Kennedy was intended also to be a victim who died in the accident or whether the incident was staged to compromise permanently his political career and influence. The Kopechne family received one million dollars in a compensatory settlement for the loss of their daughter. Had it been disclosed publicly at the time of the incident that Mary Jo was already dead before the vehicle entered the water, the case would have taken a different turn, one that definitely had vast negative implications for Kennedy, who was victim of a setup. Detective Rothstein told me that he received verification subsequent to the meeting in the basement conference room: “It was also told to me by Mark Monsky a reporter who was there at the scene.” It should be remembered that Senator Kennedy in 1964 was nearly killed in a plane accident. Here is a link to that incident. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=8271369 Six years ago I posted in the forum the following topic: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/17723-kennedy-family-deaths-linked-to-sidereal-time/ The question thus arises whether Senator Kennedy in 1964 and in 1969 was intended to be killed as part of the “Kennedy Curse” and if so was his death also to be linked to sidereal time? Unfortunately, at this late date it would be difficult to reach a precise determination about this. So now an anti-Ted Kennedy docudrama, “Chappaquiddick,” has been produced and is being promoted that does not tell the real story of what occurred. This is why it is important to describe here what really happened in 1969 despite Jim Eugenio’s attempt to censor me by his terming my posting of this thread as “the worst.” Part two of the two-day event: The next morning those who attended the meeting in the basement conference room were taken to a U.S. Navy base near Washington. The meeting there was attended by several dozen persons, among these being Robert Blakey. The purpose of the meeting was to chart the defeat of President Jimmy Carter who was facing reelection in 1980. The animus against Carter stemmed from his campaign being secretly financed without his knowledge by the two most prominent producers of pornography in the country. Part three of the two-day event: That afternoon the group of 13 police officers was taken to the Hotel L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. The hotel manager met them in the lobby and escorted then to a large meeting room in which tables and chairs were set up. The group of 13 was seated in the middle of the room. Once this occurred sundry members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representative seated themselves at various tables. Liquor was served. The purpose of the occasion was to acquaint these elected officials with those who comprised the group of 13, each of whom played a key role in police intelligence operations in large cities around the nation. None of the 13 officers was called upon to speak to the gathering.

https://jfkdallasconference.com/

https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/09/15/the-dark-side-of-william-f-buckley-jr/

http://www.populist.com/5.97.watergate.html

Thank you, Cory, for providing this first hand knowledge about the film. Your insider insights persuades me that I must see the movie. Doug

https://teaser-trailer.com/movie/lbj/

The Enduring Octopus: What FOIA withholdings reveal about the PROMIS scandal Part 1 https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/sep/06/doj-promis-part-1/

Sir Robert Maxwell’s FBI file is getting more classified by the minute https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/jun/28/sir-robert-maxwells-fbi-PROMIS/

Andrew: I took your reply that way and appreciated the opportunity to clarify my views of what happened to the Conservative Movement over the years. Thank you so much. Doug

A CIA Tutorial: How to Avoid Providing Files http://aarclibrary.org/a-cia-tutorial-how-to-avoid-providing-files/

Snowden: Governments are realizing that mass surveillance isn't really effective. They are moving from mass surveillance to what intelligence agencies are hoping will be their new panacea: hacking. But it is mass hacking and not really targeted hacking as they usually say. We have seen it in these darknet market takedowns and other joint operations by the EU and U.S. DER SPIEGEL: So, it's all about cracking encryption now? Snowden: Not cracking encryption -- the agencies are trying to bypass the encryption. They are looking for weak points on the device you use to see what you are writing before you encrypt your message. What they actually do is take over a website, infect it with a malicious software, and when you visit that website because, for example, you received a link, you get hacked. Then they own your computer or your phone. You paid for it, but they use it. I think this is far better than mass surveillance. DER SPIEGEL: Why? Snowden: Mass surveillance was incredibly cheap. It operates sort of freely, invisibly, constantly -- and there was no real defense other than using encryption schemes. Attacking these browsers, phones and computers is very much an expensive proposition. DER SPIEGEL: But you just said yourself that a lack of money isn't the main problem for intelligence services. Snowden: But even they can't use this to spy on everyone in the world all the time. The new approach makes life harder for the intelligence agencies in a good way. It creates a natural discipline that forces them to decide: Is this person I want to spy on really worth the cost? There was, for instance, this jihadi group that used an encryption package called Mujahedeen Secrets. That is the kind of thing that they should go after because if you are installing Mujahedeen Secrets, you are probably part of the mujahedeen, right? http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/edward-snowden-interview-there-is-still-hope-a-1166752.html

So Jim wants to censor my posts, renewing his past efforts here to do so. If two other members reply and agree with his statement that "Over half of the threads on page one are posted by you and about half of them have only a tenuous relationship with the JFK case. This one being the worst", I shall immediately cease posting more than one each day, no matter how significant and relevant these may be. The reason I posted so many today is that I live in Houston and in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey I lost my AT&T land line and Internet for four days and only got these back a day ago. So I found a backlog of articles that I thought merited being posted.

From the article: Hurricane Harvey and the deadly chorus line of Irma, Jose, and Katia is as close as the Trump presidency will come to a deus ex machina. Handing out billions for hurricane reconstruction will shore up Trump’s faltering support on Wall Street and among major corporations profiting from a bonanza expected to top $100 billion. Until special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of crack lawyers bring a case to trial, Hurricane Harvey is Trump’s chance to Make America Great Again, not by addressing the country’s problems but by covering them over with rebuilt shiny subdivisions, one last sleight of hand while we can still afford it. Like any corrupt banana republic dictator, Trump’s main job is to hand out patronage. https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/hurricane-harvey-end-administrative-state/

From the article: Hurricane Harvey and the deadly chorus line of Irma, Jose, and Katia is as close as the Trump presidency will come to a deus ex machina. Handing out billions for hurricane reconstruction will shore up Trump’s faltering support on Wall Street and among major corporations profiting from a bonanza expected to top $100 billion. Until special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of crack lawyers bring a case to trial, Hurricane Harvey is Trump’s chance to Make America Great Again, not by addressing the country’s problems but by covering them over with rebuilt shiny subdivisions, one last sleight of hand while we can still afford it. Like any corrupt banana republic dictator, Trump’s main job is to hand out patronage. https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/hurricane-harvey-end-administrative-state/

Kissinger and the CIA discussed ways to limit Congressional access to information regarding the Agency’s activities In a declassified memo from 1975, Henry Kissinger and the CIA discussed ways to limit Congressional access to information regarding the Agency's activities. Topics included NSA spying on Americans, selectively leaking less damaging info, and how much blame could be shifted to the FBI. https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/apr/05/kissinger-CIA-leaks/?utm_content=buffer33d1e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Barry Seal, the Dallas get-away plane, and the JFK assassination http://www.madcowprod.com/2013/11/22/barry-seal-the-dallas-get-away-plane-the-jfk-assassination/

Anthony Thorne wrote on Facebook today: Peter Dale Scott's talk, below, draws on parallels, which are collectively startling. Trivia fact for the day - Fred Ikle, the onetime boss of Paul Wolfowitz, and signatory to the Project for a New American Century, contributed to a 1989 volume titled POLITICAL WARFARE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS, where Ikle argued that psychological operations against the public were justified for national security reasons if they were geared towards a specific goal. Several years later, Ikle was a member of (future 9/11 Commission head) Philip Zelikow's Catastrophic Terrorism Study Group at Harvard, which operated through the same months that Wolfowitz, as a leading member of Rumsfeld's Missile Commission, was meeting with hawks and CIA and Boeing and Israeli military figures (including the guy who commanded the attack on the USS Liberty). The week that Zelikow's group finished their months of work, the US Embassy bombings occurred in East Africa, bringing Osama bin Laden to the attention of the public. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8uqA_3P9lM JFK & 9/11: Insights Gained From Studying Both

The CIA Double-Dip: Drugs, Fraud, & the JFK Assassination http://www.madcowprod.com/2014/08/19/the-cia-double-dip-drugs-financial-fraud-in-st-petersburg/