Greg Parker Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 The PLM was formed on 1jun62 when about 50 ex-members of the CPUSA met at the Hotel Diplomat in NY. They had split with the CPUSA over support for Soviet leadership. PLM held that the Chinese position was the correct way to go. Despite some common ground with the SWP, the PLM officially regarded the former as "revisonist". Only on the issue of Cuba, were all three groups in total accord. But even that was short-lived. According to this history of Maoism in the US www.members.partisan.net/sds/sds00400.html, the PLM backflipped on Cuba over Castro's ties to the Soviets and increasing hostility to the Chinese. The reality was though, that Castro's pro-Soviet stance was apparent well before the formation of the PLM, so in that context, it is hard to fathom the student trips organised by the PLM during 1963 without considering the possibility of them having been hijacked as intelligence operations. And that likelihood only increases when some of the participants and others "connected" are put under the spotlight. PHILLIP ABBOTT LUCE Head of press relations for the student delegation to Cuba. In 1965, Luce wrote a sensational article for the Saturday Evening Post entitled Why I Quit the Extreme Left. In 1966, with the help of HUAC staff, Luce put out a book called The New Left. Needless to say, his testimony, which came between these two works, provided "proof" that the New Left was Communist controlled. By 1969, Luce had hooked up with Ed Butler as "guest speaker" at Butler's anti-Communist seminars. On sale at the seminars (which were organised fight the youth counter-culture) were recordings called Oswald: a Self-Portrait in Red. During the same period, Luce was made head of college services for YAF. As will be shown, Oswald would probably have approved of the recording being used for the stated purpose. BURTON WOLFE In 1963, Wolfe was the publisher of a small-time, muck-raking paper called The Californian. The money to keep this paper solvent was provided by Lyle Stuart, a New York publisher. The Californian ran numerous stories lambasting HUAC over the hearings held on student/peace activist travel to Cuba between June and August. Burton went on at least one of the trips. By 1968, Wolfe had joined The Satanic Church of Anton LaVey, and it wasn't long before they were business partners. The following year Wolfe provided the introduction in LaVey's Satanic Bible. In 1974, he authored LaVey's biography. LaVey is regarded by many as having intelligence connections. Wolfe has also written books on the Hippy movement in San Francisco, and on Hitler. A unionisation drive in the newspaper industry during the mid- seventies saw a number of organisers fired. Though it did little to dampen the drive, strikes were avoided for the time being with the help of pro-management peices put out by Wolfe. These peices are now considered classics in "anti-labor speak". By the 1990s, Wolfe was immersed in writing freelance articles for various Libertarian publications. LYLE STUART In 1954, Stuart was the business partner of EC Comics king, William Gaines. Gaines testified that year before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in New York City during it's hearings into the effects of comics on youth. Many websites dedicated to the history of comics maintain that the sole aim of the subcommittee was to rid the industry of its market leader. In other words, it was doing what politicians are often best at doing: providing favours to big business - in this case - Gaines' competitors. Those hearings were held shortly after Lee Harvey Oswald had spent time in Youth House for delinquency. EC comics did get chopped as a result of the hearings - in no small measure because he appeared before those gentlemen full of "speed" and a speech, both provided by the person who had talked him into this suicide mission - Lyle Stuart. By the early sixties, Stuart was one of the leaders of the newly formed, Fair Play for Cuba Committee, and though his official ties to it may have been severed by 1963, he was still, nontheless, publishing literature used by the FPCC such as Corliss Lamont's, The Crime Against Cuba - a booklet Oswald handed out, and on which the address "544 Camp St" had been stamped. The FPCC fell apart in the US after the assassination. It seems Stuart had a knack for proximity to downfalls. In fact, literary hatchet jobs were his specialty in the '40s (he has been called the Kitty Kelley of that decade), and all that may have changed after the '40s was the method... PAUL HOFFMAN Hoffman, a "Boston businessman" made the trip with the students. How a "businessman" became involved is open to conjecture - that is - what scenario was created for him to gain access to the movement, is open to conjecture (though some explanation or other may have passed his lips when he appeared before the HUAC). What is known is that in reality he was acting as an undercover agent under the aegis of CIA and FBI. A plausible explanation for him gaining access may have been as simple as money. Four fifths of the full cost of the travel via Prague was from individual "sponsorships". BARRY HOFFMAN An FBI cable identified Hoffman a "source" within the Permanent Student Committee for Travel to Cuba. The same cable stated that Hoffman made the trip under the sponsorship of Gordon Hall of Boston. Hall is mentioned in Revilo P Oliver's, "Marxism in Dallas" and Hargis', "The Far Left". The Boston connection here may indicate the two Hoffman's were related. NICHOLAS BATESON Bateson was quoted in the NYT, October 27, 1963 as saying that he was a "guest member" of the Progressive Labor Movement. The article was headed 2 Witnesses Balk Cuba Trip Inquiry. Other fun things Bateson did in 1963 included co-authoring a report titled An Analysis of Risk Taking in Terms of Power and Comparison Level. This report was paid for by the USG. The subject matter related somehow to parapsychological research. One last clue to the real purpose of the trips: the route taken.The Progressive Labor Party organ, Challenge, states "When Canadian authorities denied the request to fly via that country, we announced our next route to be through Mexico, knowing full-well the FBI and, CIA, would try to stop us. But the real plan was to travel to Prague in Europe and then on to Cuba..." The problem here is that Canada had no such ban in place. In fact circa 1963, no visa - and in most cases, no passport was required if departure was from Canada. If, in this specific case, Canada DID cave in to US pressure, it would constitute a rare exception. Whatever the truth on that, the choice of Prague is intriguing. In December, 1962, Cuban intelligence arranged a deal with Czech intelligence for Prague to be the transit point for Latin American guerilla fighters. Thus choosing Prague meant that the CIA could legitimately target the group within the US on its return. Given that infiltration of the group was high, the choice of Prague may have been for that precise purpose. WHO WAS OSWALD? The article on US Maoism linked to near the start of this post states: "The Progressive Labor Party (PLP) differed from almost every other tendency within SDS in that it was a child of the Old Left and very anti-counter-culture. It was attached to a fixed version of Marxist thought. It felt that if one wished to relate to the workers one had to be like the workers. Counter-cultural generational differences were viewed as middle class phenomena with no relevance to the world of workers. Progressive Labor militants therefore adopted styles and patterns of social behavior which would not appear strange to workers. The men had short haircuts and both men and women dressed "neatly." They refused to use dope, not because of a fear for police action against them--which was the SWP's usually stated reason-- but because workers would not respond positively to people who did that kind of thing. Needless to say, they were conspicuous among the more counter-culturally inclined delegates at SDS meetings." Oswald's Marine training, sans dishonourable discharge, should/could have been parlayed into a career with a bright future outside the service. Instead, he is mixing it with workers in two diametrically opposed political/social systems (Communist and Capitalist). These were people with whom, by and large, he seems to have little in common - except for external appearance. [PLM/PLP felt that if one wished to relate to the workers one had to be like the workers.] Oswald's Athe[n]ian System called for a pure Marxism adapted to American conditions. Publically, he insisted he was a pure Marxist. [PLM/PLP was attached to a fixed version of Marxist thought] Oswald was recalled as polite and neat by most. [Progressive Labor militants therefore adopted styles and patterns of social behavior which would not appear strange to workers. The men had short haircuts and both men and women dressed neatly.] Oswald loved opera, classical music and non-fiction reading material. [PLM/PLP was anti the counter-culture of "New Left"] Out of the PLP/SWP/Labor Party milieu came many of the future extreme right wing movers and shakers. Indeed, these groups had ALWAYS been conservatives on some levels... Luce being just one example. Whether genuinely or not, Oswald walked the walk and talked the talk of the PLM/PLP, which itself, appears to have been heavily infiltrated, and had at least one thing in common with the far right, and the Intelligence Community... a hatred of Soviet Communism and of the "New Left". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Casey Brennan Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Hey, I THOUGHT we had an agreement to LEAVE COMIC BOOKS OUT OF THE JFK debate!!! -- T. Casey Brennan http://tcasey.inri.net LYLE STUART In 1954, Stuart was the business partner of EC Comics king, William Gaines. Gaines testified that year before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in New York City during it's hearings into the effects of comics on youth. Many websites dedicated to the history of comics maintain that the sole aim of the subcommittee was to rid the industry of its market leader. In other words, it was doing what politicians are often best at doing: providing favours to big business - in this case - Gaines' competitors. Those hearings were held shortly after Lee Harvey Oswald had spent time in Youth House for delinquency. EC comics did get chopped as a result of the hearings - in no small measure because he appeared before those gentlemen full of "speed" and a speech, both provided by the person who had talked him into this suicide mission - Lyle Stuart. By the early sixties, Stuart was one of the leaders of the newly formed, Fair Play for Cuba Committee, and though his official ties to it may have been severed by 1963, he was still, nontheless, publishing literature used by the FPCC such as Corliss Lamont's, The Crime Against Cuba - a booklet Oswald handed out, and on which the address "544 Camp St" had been stamped. The FPCC fell apart in the US after the assassination. It seems Stuart had a knack for proximity to downfalls. In fact, literary hatchet jobs were his specialty in the '40s (he has been called the Kitty Kelley of that decade), and all that may have changed after the '40s was the method... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Forman Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 What was Lee Oswald's favorite comic book, and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Good stuff, Greg. Lyle Stuart was a very interesting character. I am sure you are aware that he published some controversial books including 'M-26, The Biography Of A Revolution' by newsman Robert Taber. This book portrayed Castro as the hero and the United States as the villain. There was also 'Inside The FBI' by Norman T. Ollestad which was very critical of Hoover and the way the FBI was run. Ollestad was subsequently expelled from the FBI alumni. And let's not forget 'The Anarchist Cookbook' by William Powell. This was a book for revolutionaries with a guide to sabotage, murder and mayhem. FWIW. Lyle Stuart below. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dolva Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 (edited) the FBI were the single largest financial contributor to thre CPUSA having seeded something like 25 % of its membership. COINTELPRO typically released (anonymously) memos,letters etc starting with 'why I...' 'open letter from' etc.. Pl appears to be one of their fronts*. In one internal FBI memo they refer to it as PL for short (to save ink?) ) and indicate a close involvement. A lot of COINTELPRO stuff can be had here: http://www.cointel.org/ COINTELPRO is an acronym for a series of FBI counterintelligence programs designed to neutralize political dissidents. Although covert operations have been employed throughout FBI history, the formal COINTELPRO's of 1956-1971 were broadly targeted against radical political organizations. In the early 1950s, the Communist Party was illegal in the United States. The Senate and House of Representatives each set up investigating committees to prosecute communists and publicly expose them. (The House Committee on Un-American Activities and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy). When a series of Supreme Court rulings in 1956 and 1957 challenged these committees and questioned the constitutionality of Smith Act prosecutions and Subversive Activities Control Board hearings, the FBI's response was COINTELPRO, a program designed to "neutralize" those who could no longer be prosecuted. Over the years, similar programs were created to neutralize civil rights, anti-war, and many other groups, all said to be "communist front organizations." As J. Edgar Hoover, longtime Director of the FBI, put it The forces which are most anxious to weaken our internal security are not always easy to identify. Communists have been trained in deceit and secretly work toward the day when they hope to replace our American way of life with a Communist dictatorship. They utilize cleverly camouflaged movements, such as peace groups and civil rights groups to achieve their sinister purposes. While they as individuals are difficult to identify, the Communist party line is clear. Its first concern is the advancement of Soviet Russia and the godless Communist cause. It is important to learn to know the enemies of the American way of life. The FBI conducted more than 2000 COINTELPRO operations before the the programs were officially discontinued in April of 1971, after public exposure, in order to "afford additional security to [their] sensitive techniques and operations." EDIT:: *Further perusal of COINTELPRO documents reveal this may be incorrect. The FBI appeared to seek to destabilise BOTH of these organisations by pitting them against each other. Edited January 4, 2006 by John Dolva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Casey Brennan Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 What was Lee Oswald's favorite comic book, and why? Plastic Man. Unlike the others, who were primarily masked vigilantes, Plastic Man was a federal agent. -- T. Casey Brennan http://tcasey.inri.net Hope list members can listen to my archived interview on JFK & comic books on the internationally syndicated X-Zone radio program. Go to the archives and click on the January 3, 2006 episode at: http://xzone-radio.com/archives.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Greg, Have you gotten the idea that what Lee Harvey Oswald was engaged in 1963 was part and parcel to a government program to discredit and ultimately destroy the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, in part by his own setup for November 22, 1963. Could it actually be that simple? I think so. There is the obvious fact that those who 'lay false trails' such as Clair Booth Luce (see Gaton Fonzi's The Last Investigation) and the DRE - (false Oswald stories linking him to Castro) are part of the mechanism of the assassination setup. This is really good work you've done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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