Saturday, May 19, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Kennedy Lone Gunman Theory Challenged
There are some Conspiracy theories that refuse to die. Be it the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, UFO’s or the Templar Knights. One of these enduring, albeit, far more realistic theories centers around the Kennedy assassination.
Lyndon B. Johnson established The Warren Commission, on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The commission got it’s name from Chief Justice Warren who headed the investigation.
The report found that “Lee Harvey Oswald was solely responsible for the assassination of Kennedy and that the commission could not find any persuasive evidence of a conspiracy—either domestic or foreign—involving any other person(s), group(s), or country(ies)”.
The Single Bullet Theory often credited to a Warren Commission staffer named Arlen Specter (now a Republican US Senator), states that a single bullet, known as " "CE399 ", was responsible for all of the non-fatal wounds to both the President and then Governor John Connally. It was then a second bullet That caused the fatal head wound to Kennedy.
The Warren Commission, instead of putting “Closure” on the assassination, became a lightning rod for criticism and a catalyst for conspiracy theorists.
Wikipedia lists several of the most common 4 Conspiracy theories.
4.1 CIA and Anti-Castro Cuban Exile conspiracy
4.2 LBJ conspiracy
4.3 Mafia and Hoover conspiracy
4.4 Organized Crime and the CIA conspiracy
4.5 Soviet Bloc conspiracy
4.6 Roscoe White
4.7 Cuban conspiracy
4.8 Israeli conspiracy
4.9 Death threats on Irish visit
4.10 Alleged connections of George H. W. Bush
Over the years, the majority of Americans have been critical of the Warren report, yet were also unwilling to believe most of the conspiracy theories. Personally I have seen little reason to believe that our government is even capable of carrying off such a large “Cover-up.” Let Watergate stand as an example of how difficult it is for our leaders to hold on to secrets. It’s not that government officials are too honest to try, they are just too inept to pull it off.
So imagine my surprise to read today that the lone gunman theory was under atttact from a team of researchers including a former top FBI scientist. William Tobin, a metallurgist that worked for the FBI Lab, said new chemical and statistical analyses of bullets from the same batch used by Oswald suggest that more than two bullets could have struck the president. "Evidence used to rule out a second assassin is fundamentally flawed," the researchers said in their article.
"If the assassination (bullet) fragments are derived from three or more separate bullets, then a second assassin is likely."
The team in addition to Tobin, includes Cliff Spiegelman, professor of statistics at Texas A&M and an expert in bullet-lead analysis, and William D. James, a research chemist with the Texas A&M Center for Chemical Characterization and Analysis (CCCA). It is their conclusion that the bullets fragments could show that more that just two shots hit the president and John Connally.
The paper currently is available online at http://www.imstat.org/aoas/next_issue.html.
Maybe there are reasons why some Conspiracy theories that refuse to die. Maybe we should look harder for Nessie, or storm the gates at AREA 51.
Larry Lubell
Urban NewsBlog
http://www.urbaninsuranceagency.com/
Lyndon B. Johnson established The Warren Commission, on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The commission got it’s name from Chief Justice Warren who headed the investigation.
The report found that “Lee Harvey Oswald was solely responsible for the assassination of Kennedy and that the commission could not find any persuasive evidence of a conspiracy—either domestic or foreign—involving any other person(s), group(s), or country(ies)”.
The Single Bullet Theory often credited to a Warren Commission staffer named Arlen Specter (now a Republican US Senator), states that a single bullet, known as " "CE399 ", was responsible for all of the non-fatal wounds to both the President and then Governor John Connally. It was then a second bullet That caused the fatal head wound to Kennedy.
The Warren Commission, instead of putting “Closure” on the assassination, became a lightning rod for criticism and a catalyst for conspiracy theorists.
Wikipedia lists several of the most common 4 Conspiracy theories.
4.1 CIA and Anti-Castro Cuban Exile conspiracy
4.2 LBJ conspiracy
4.3 Mafia and Hoover conspiracy
4.4 Organized Crime and the CIA conspiracy
4.5 Soviet Bloc conspiracy
4.6 Roscoe White
4.7 Cuban conspiracy
4.8 Israeli conspiracy
4.9 Death threats on Irish visit
4.10 Alleged connections of George H. W. Bush
Over the years, the majority of Americans have been critical of the Warren report, yet were also unwilling to believe most of the conspiracy theories. Personally I have seen little reason to believe that our government is even capable of carrying off such a large “Cover-up.” Let Watergate stand as an example of how difficult it is for our leaders to hold on to secrets. It’s not that government officials are too honest to try, they are just too inept to pull it off.
So imagine my surprise to read today that the lone gunman theory was under atttact from a team of researchers including a former top FBI scientist. William Tobin, a metallurgist that worked for the FBI Lab, said new chemical and statistical analyses of bullets from the same batch used by Oswald suggest that more than two bullets could have struck the president. "Evidence used to rule out a second assassin is fundamentally flawed," the researchers said in their article.
"If the assassination (bullet) fragments are derived from three or more separate bullets, then a second assassin is likely."
The team in addition to Tobin, includes Cliff Spiegelman, professor of statistics at Texas A&M and an expert in bullet-lead analysis, and William D. James, a research chemist with the Texas A&M Center for Chemical Characterization and Analysis (CCCA). It is their conclusion that the bullets fragments could show that more that just two shots hit the president and John Connally.
The paper currently is available online at http://www.imstat.org/aoas/next_issue.html.
Maybe there are reasons why some Conspiracy theories that refuse to die. Maybe we should look harder for Nessie, or storm the gates at AREA 51.
Larry Lubell
Urban NewsBlog
http://www.urbaninsuranceagency.com/
Friday, May 11, 2007
Just in time for Summer
After months of a long dark winter, it’s great to see leaves back on the trees, birds singing and flowers in bloom. But just about when I’m ready to burst in to a chorus of “Here Comes the Sun, out comes a report warning us about the danger of Melanoma.
I have turned back the “Tanning” years ago; the days of eight hours on a beach coated in baby oil have been replaced with a few hours wearing suntan lotion with SPF 15. Instead of hearing “Wow what a dark tan” I get comments like “Have you been outside lately you seem to have A Healthy glow.” I can even say that free from the burden of keeping a tan, I have freed up time to just enjoy the weather.
A report out today in
tells us that even wearing sunscreen does little to protect us from the deadliest form of skin cancer. There has been no proof that sunscreens protect against melanoma The recommendation of Stephan Lautenschlager of the Outpatient Clinic of Dermatology at Triemli Hospital in Switzerland is to “Instead, wear sunblocking clothing or stay out of the sun altogether”I have turned back the “Tanning” years ago; the days of eight hours on a beach coated in baby oil have been replaced with a few hours wearing suntan lotion with SPF 15. Instead of hearing “Wow what a dark tan” I get comments like “Have you been outside lately you seem to have A Healthy glow.” I can even say that free from the burden of keeping a tan, I have freed up time to just enjoy the weather.
A report out today in
"Wearing sun-protective clothing and a hat and reducing sun exposure to a minimum should be preferred to sunscreens," Lautenschlager said. People tend to sunbathe for social reasons, he said. "Nevertheless, sunscreens should not be abused in an attempt to increase time in the sun to a maximum."
While reading the article, I had a mental image of a couple walking along the beach, covered in sunscreen, him wearing “surf-Boarding shorts and a T-shirt, she dressed in a thin short-sleeved sundress. Not clothes designed for swimming or a day on the beach, but at least seasonally appropriate.
I has a little taken back by his recommendation of what he considered proper summer attire.
“The best clothing for sun protection is tightly woven, thick garments made of denim, wool or polyester, not cotton, linen or acetate, he said. Dry material or clothes that have shrunk after washing are denser and better at blocking UV rays than wet, stretched or bleached clothing”.
Could you imagine how poor the ratings for Bay Watch would have been if Pamela Anderson was filmed in an all wool suit, hat, gloves and Zinc oxide. That would have brought her career to a screeching halt.
The article however failed to mention the dangers associated with wondering out on to a crowded beach dressed in protective garb traditionally associated with a Christmas sleigh ride. Aside from heat stroke, you run the likely risk of being pelted with rocks, and or having the
S#!T kicked out of you by a group convinced your some sort of “Weirdo.”
Maybe, once again, moderation is the answer. There must be a way to be out on a beautiful summers day without wearing a wardrobe purchased at a NASA surplus sale.
www.urbaninsuranceagency.com
Urban NewsBlog
Larry Lubell
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