How much attention is the anniversary getting in your country?

[J. Raymond Carroll]

There was probably more on about it in other countries, than here in his own country! Pathetic!

I suspect that Remembering JFK poses uncomfortable psychological conflicts for present-day America and especially for the vast majority of people in the media, who banged the drums for war against Afghanistan and Iraq, and who have already begun the drumbeat for an attack upon Iran. How can they deal with JFK's American University speech, in which he promised that a nuclear test-ban treaty was only the first step towards general and complete nuclear disarmament, a goal that seemed achievable under Kennedy, but was abandoned when he was murdered.

How can they deal with Kennedy's promise that "The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war."

How can they deal honestly with JFK without admitting their own failures from November 22nd, 1963 down to the present moment.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/j...ityaddress.html

[Dawn Meredith]

Thanx Richard. I was going to post about Coast to coast. Groody was just riveting. It will be re-broadcast tonight earlier. Check it out folks.

Dawn.

with Terry!

[Francesca Akhtar]

I was channel surfing for over an hour, and I saw not one mention of the anniversary of the assassination on any of the major news channels. Not on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, or the local news channels. That is really surprising, because the mainstream news outlets have always managed to provide the most insightful and stimulating information in the past..............NOT!

Here in the UK on the Sky news digital/cable channel it shows the live CBS evening news for about half an hour here overnights sometimes and last night it did make a mention of the assassination, only very briefly. The newsreader (a blonde lady, Katie/Katy something, didn't catch the surname) mentioned it was the 43rd anniversary and thye showed JFK's grave with the eternal flame bu that was it. Only lasted about a minute though.

I caught no mention over here on any of the channels so I decided to make my own mention on my local radio station. They have a talk show where the last half hour the presenter take unscreened calls straight to air and so you can get on for a few mins with whatever you want usually. He kind of knows me so he let me talk quite a while so I also mentioned the story about British radio DJ John Peel blagging his way into Oswald's press conference which I still find quite amazing.

[Myra Bronstein]

I was channel surfing for over an hour, and I saw not one mention of the anniversary of the assassination on any of the major news channels. Not on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, or the local news channels. That is really surprising, because the mainstream news outlets have always managed to provide the most insightful and stimulating information in the past..............NOT!

Here in the UK on the Sky news digital/cable channel it shows the live CBS evening news for about half an hour here overnights sometimes and last night it did make a mention of the assassination, only very briefly. The newsreader (a blonde lady, Katie/Katy something, didn't catch the surname) mentioned it was the 43rd anniversary and thye showed JFK's grave with the eternal flame bu that was it. Only lasted about a minute though.

I caught no mention over here on any of the channels so I decided to make my own mention on my local radio station. They have a talk show where the last half hour the presenter take unscreened calls straight to air and so you can get on for a few mins with whatever you want usually. He kind of knows me so he let me talk quite a while so I also mentioned the story about British radio DJ John Peel blagging his way into Oswald's press conference which I still find quite amazing.

Francesca, where could I find details of that episode--"about British radio DJ John Peel blagging his way into Oswald's press conference"? Is it on another thread here?

[Francesca Akhtar]

I was channel surfing for over an hour, and I saw not one mention of the anniversary of the assassination on any of the major news channels. Not on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, or the local news channels. That is really surprising, because the mainstream news outlets have always managed to provide the most insightful and stimulating information in the past..............NOT!

Here in the UK on the Sky news digital/cable channel it shows the live CBS evening news for about half an hour here overnights sometimes and last night it did make a mention of the assassination, only very briefly. The newsreader (a blonde lady, Katie/Katy something, didn't catch the surname) mentioned it was the 43rd anniversary and thye showed JFK's grave with the eternal flame bu that was it. Only lasted about a minute though.

I caught no mention over here on any of the channels so I decided to make my own mention on my local radio station. They have a talk show where the last half hour the presenter take unscreened calls straight to air and so you can get on for a few mins with whatever you want usually. He kind of knows me so he let me talk quite a while so I also mentioned the story about British radio DJ John Peel blagging his way into Oswald's press conference which I still find quite amazing.

Francesca, where could I find details of that episode--"about British radio DJ John Peel blagging his way into Oswald's press conference"? Is it on another thread here?

Not sure if it's on here but here is a summary of what happened from a website:

(http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1795366)

After completing his National Service in 1959 he spent six months working at the Townhead Mill in Rochdale. However his father had decided that it would be a good idea if his son spent some time working in the United States learning the cotton business. Thus in the spring of 1960 John climbed on board the SS Eugene Lykes bound for Houston, Texas. From Houston he caught a train to Dallas, where he worked for a firm at the Cotton Exchange. However despite his father's original intention, no one at the company seemed much interested in teaching John about the business, which appeared to suit young John as he was more interested in touring the local clubs and in losing his virginity. (Duly accomplished in the usual unspectacular fashion with a "slightly unkempt woman of indeterminate age" identified only as "Myrna's friend".)

At this time the 1960 Presidential election was in full swing and for reasons best known to himself he took the opportunity to make the acquaintance of both the leading contenders and shook the hand of both Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy (and even spoke to the latter). He soon left the Cotton Exchange to join the firm of K.T. Martin where he sold crop-hail insurance, and in 1963 was working for Republic National Life Insurance where he spend his time filing punched cards for their IBM 1400.

It was as a result of these circumstances that John found himself in Dallas on the 22nd November 1963 on the day that John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. For some reason John felt the compulsion to visit the scene of his namesake's assassination and dashed across to Dealey Plaza. When faced with the police barrier, he simply claimed that he was a reporter from the Liverpool Echo, and duly gained admittance. He later used the same ruse to gain access to the press conference that paraded the recently arrested Lee Harvey Oswald. (As strange as it may seem, all this is true, as archive footage of the press conference shows John and his friend Bob Cook standing just five feet away from Oswald.)

This, as John himself was later to explain, was his "brief brush with history". He phoned in the story to the Liverpool Echo and even offered his services as their Dallas correspondent. Although they declined to employ him they did run a brief story under the headline 'Heswall Man in Dallas'.

[Francesca Akhtar]

I also found this from an interview online:

They had a late night press conference when they first arrested Lee Harvey Oswald. I was with my mate Bob and we were cruising round trying unsuccessfully to chat up women in drive in restaurants. We thought we'd round off the night by checking out the police headquarters - when we found out what was happening I told the policeman in charge that I was a reporter for The Liverpool Echo and Bob was my photographer and they just let us in. My so-called photographer didn't have a camera and I didn't have a piece of paper or a pen. Granada did a documentary in which they showed footage from that night to prove that Ruby had been at the press conference - they panned across the room and there was me and Bob.

So security at the DPD was tight that night then! Didn't they wonder how on earth these 'reporters' arrived so quickly from England when it's roughly a ten hour flight?! (and that's from London let alone Liverpool!)

From: http://www.molara.co.uk/7696.html#001

Edited November 23, 2006 by Francesca Akhtar

[William Kelly]

TWO ELVIS IMPERSONATORS AT THE GRASSY KNOLL.

300 mark 43 years since JFK was slain

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Associated Press

DALLAS -- About 300 people, including history buffs, conspiracy theorists and even two Elvis impersonators, gathered in Dealey Plaza yesterday to mark the 43rd anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in a loosely organized ceremony that was part memorial and part circus.

Beverly Oliver, who witnessed the Nov. 22, 1963 shooting, began the event by singing the national anthem, after which the crowd observed a moment of silence at about 12:30 p.m., the time of day Lee Harvey Oswald is believed to have fired the fatal shots.

Many on hand, however, said they didn't think Oswald acted alone in Kennedy's assassination and some thought he was set up.

"You'll get 100 different theories from 100 different people," said Jim Crump, a 44-year-old stagehand from Orlando who said he was working on an "in-depth study" of the assassination. "It's like Pandora's Box, where more and more stuff comes out until you just can't get it to close and go away."

Author Robert Groden, a Dealey Plaza regular for the past 12 years, hawked his 11 books and glossy magazines about the assassination from a table set up between the grassy knoll and Elm Street, where Kennedy and Gov. John Connally were shot.

He believes the shooting was the result of an "unholy alliance" between the CIA and organized crime and that eight to 13 shots were fired that day, with several coming from the grassy knoll and the parking lot behind it.

A group billing itself as the Coalition on Political Assassinations held aloft a banner bearing the name of its organization. Men milled around wearing T-shirts that said "Who shot JFK?" on the front and "Not LHO" on the back.

Dennis and Debra Walker of Chicago were in town to visit their daughter for Thanksgiving. Dennis, a 54-year-old history teacher, said they came to Dealey Plaza because "this morning it dawned on us that it was the anniversary."

"JFK always had this mystique," said Debra Walker, 50. "It became a part of your life. It became more personal. I remember my parents, who were staunch Republicans, were so devastated and couldn't believe anyone would do this."

[William Kelly]

FROM CHINA:

Lennon piano displayed at JFK assassination site

www.chinaview.cn 2006-11-23 13:55:20

BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The piano on which the late British singer John Lennon composed his famous anti-war song "Imagine" was displayed at the site where John F. Kennedy was gunned down on the 43rd anniversary of the American President's assassination.

The plain-looking brown piano, which is owned by British pop star George Michael, has been brought to America by Michael and his partner Kenny Goss for an anti-war exhibition opening next month.

At 12.30 p.m. on Wednesday, the time that President Kennedy was shot as his motorcade swept past in Elm Street, it was briefly unveiled in front of around 300 people at the site to mark the anniversary.

Michael and Goss plan to have the piano photographed at other significant sites to help spread their pro-peace message.

"George and Kenny are very focused on world peace and they wanted to bring the piano here as a message of peace at this iconic site," said Barbara Buzzell, spokeswoman for the Goss Gallery where the anti-war exhibition will be held.

The instrument had never left Britain before. George Michael bought it in 2000 at an auction for 1.45 million British pounds, which is today worth 2.78 million U.S. dollars.

(Agencies)

Editor: Wang Yan