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New COPA project - John Geraghty - 25-06-2009
I want to share with you all my proposal for a 5 part internet series on the Kennedy assassination. The project will be carried out through the Coalition on Political Assassinations.
JFK- The truth in our lifetime is the working title for the project and will likely not be the name of the finished product.
If you have any questions or queries, please write them here or contact me at johnpetergeraghty@gmail.com
If you can make any kind of contribution towards the project it would be very much appreciated.
All the best,
John Geraghty
JFK - The Truth in Our Lifetime
The last few years have seen the release of some of the most complete and important accounts of the Kennedy assassination, mainly in terms of its historical significance as a deep political event. Most are based on the release of over 6.5 million pages of classified records that have rewritten the history of the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination itself.
For years the work of the critics has always been of great quality and has overshadowed and outsold those books that sought to uphold the establishment perception of the assassination of President Kennedy was not a conspiracy, but an aberration of history.
This struggle between the combined will of the informed populace and the sturdy control of a domineering elite is best exemplified in two books- JFK and the Unspeakable by Jim Douglas and Reclaiming History by Vincent Bugliosi. One is a relatively short book, detailing the most recent and complete analysis of the politics of the JFK assassination, drawing on all credible material unearthed and analyzed thus far. The other, a voluminous tome focused on the infallibility of the Warren Commission’s findings and the dismissal of any notion of a coup within the United States.
Although both books may have sold in similar quantities, Bugliosi’s work is set to become a ten part mini-series, produced by Tom Hanks for the HBO network. It is here that the distinction between the good and bad research must be made. The critics’ contribution to history is more accurate and more honest, yet their work is not as widely available or acceptable in a hierarchical society.
Bugliosi’s aim with his book and series is to make a serious dent in the 75% majority of the American population who believe there was a conspiratorial plot to assassinate President Kennedy, and he may well do so. This will be the largest tele-visual project on the topic of the assassination since Oliver Stone’s film ‘JFK’ and Nigel Kennedy’s History channel series, ‘The Men Who Killed Kennedy’.
No matter how valuable or important a book is on this case, it will still not reach a wider audience in the way it can via a visual medium.
A new audience
The ‘research community’, as we call it, has made a significant contribution to American politics and society since the day of the assassination. Authors and researchers have freely shared information, created archives, tracked down leads, forced new investigations and successfully lobbied Congress to investigate the murder and to release millions of relevant documents.
The research community has now grown to a stage, both in terms of knowledge and stature, that we can leave the familiar confines of attempting to create exposure for our stories, books and truths in the mainstream media and produce our own material available for mass consumption. Such a production could take the form of a 5-part documentary series, available online for free - our response to ‘Reclaiming History’.
This new series would draw upon the internet culture that has grown up around us and that we have harnessed to enable discussion and to disseminate the riddles of the past at a much quicker rate than was previously possible.
We live in an age when a documentary costing a few thousand dollars can be seen by millions of people on the internet and in DVD form. The power of the word of mouth is now matched by the power of the keyboard. After being blocked out of various Democratic presidential debates Dennis Kucinich was still able to use the internet to get his message out to millions of Americans, one video alone being viewed by 1.9 million people on youtube.
This proposed series would not simply be an extension of ‘The Men Who Killed Kennedy’, focusing in on individual stories laced through a broader spectrum, nor would it be a straight rebuttal to the tightly wound and loosely conveyed arguments put forward in ‘Reclaiming History’. It can instead be the story that has been on the tip of our collective tongue for decades. The story of the Kennedy assassination, told not in terms of entrance wounds, intelligence agency rumors, ballistics, trajectory, but in terms of the political scene, the danger of a Kennedy presidency to those financial power and in the military.
In other words, this series will take the assassination out of Dealey Plaza and into the real world, making it tangible for an audience to realize that this past event genuinely effects them in the current political climate, and not just in the USA, but globally.
The focus of this version of the assassination can be narrowed into a much more digestible and relevant format, taking it out of the obscure sciences and into the understandable political event that it was. As Mr X, the character in the film JFK tells Jim Garrison, the DA on the trail of the killers, “Why was Kennedy killed? Who benefited? Who has the power to cover it up? Who?"
Not only will the series focus upon the causes and impact of the assassination, but it will do something other series and films don’t and can’t do, provide solutions. The last of the 5 episodes will be an examination of the various methods that have been employed to seek justice and a collection of those legal remedies that we can still use in order to seek some form of resolution.
Who am I, who are we?
What is it that I mean when I say that ‘we’, the ‘research community’ can produce this documentary series? First of all, who am I?
My name is John Geraghty, I’m 23 and from Dublin, Ireland. I hold a Degree in History from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and I am currently working on a Masters Thesis there on the topic of JFK and the Freedom of Information Act. In the 6 years that I have been interested in this case, I think it is not over-reaching to say that I’ve been responsible for some good and critical work.
Since the age of 17 I have studied the Kennedy assassination, being a regular contributor to online forums and a member of Dealey Plaza UK, a group of researchers of all ages and backgrounds. In 2006 I worked as an intern in the office of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. There I worked with John Judge on the Martin Luther King Records Act, modelled after the successful JFK Records Act of 1992.
The following summer I worked in the Assassination Archives Research Centre under James Lesar, compiling a large list of CIA cryptonyms, code words and personnel. Over several years, I have assisted John Judge with his work in the Coalition On Political Assassinations, including building and managing their website.
I am proposing that I take on the task of actually filming, producing and editing this proposed series. Of course, my knowledge and assets can take me only so far, so it is to the research community that I look for support.
The most important contribution that the research community can make to this project is their knowledge and expertise. It is my intention to talk to and interview authors and researchers of the calibre of Professor Peter Dale Scott, Jim DiEugenio, Walt Brown, Gerald McKnight, Dick Russell, Michael Parenti and Jim Douglas to name but a few. The other contribution that we will need from the research community is financial support, supplies and hospitality.
The whole idea of producing this series is that a group of committed citizens (of any country) can now get together and make a project like this work on very minimal funding.
I do not think it unreasonable to be targeting an initial figure of 50-60,000 viewers of the series. In the age we live in, this is an extremely achievable goal. This is the bare minimum of viewers that I would expect to watch. I will ensure that the documentary is properly marketed on the internet on forums, blogs, websites, social networking sites and hopefully through word of mouth.
Documentaries made for the internet including Zeitgeist and Loose Change have garnered viewers in the millions. The Men Who Killed Kennedy is available online and has been viewed on youtube alone 30,000 times, though this number is likely higher when google video is taken into account. COPA has uploaded 14 videos over the last year. These videos were not professionally produced, nor were they fully promoted, yet they were still viewed 38,000 times.
The funding of this project will be done through COPA, the Coalition On Political Assassinations as a sponsor of our project. We will be asking members of the research community to help us in any way they can - in terms of knowledge, monetary donations, allowing me to stay with them if I’m travelling around the country, loaning filming equipment or donating air miles.
This series will have a very professional feel to it, both in terms of presentation and content. The more material donated and offers of hospitality, the fewer monetary contributions we will need.
This can be our great collaborative effort, our response to the history texts and a chance to bypass a distorted media and tell our own truth without thought of pleasing sponsors, succumbing to government pressure or the need to make a profit.
I speak of this series as a project for this community, but I will say with absolute definite certainty that nothing will be put into this series unless it is absolutely verifiable. The collaborative element of this project ensures that no personal agenda’s can be followed, I will be merely the organizer of the facts.
Preproduction on the series will begin immediately, with initial filming beginning in July and running through the summer. Following the editing process the episodes will be screened live online each weekend until the anniversary of the assassination Dallas in November. Following the live screening the episodes will be made available for free to stream, to download and to burn onto DVD.
Each episode will be screened at live events in cities across the U.S. with feedback sessions with live audiences to be broadcast directly after the episode.
Because this documentary is made by a non-profit you can be guaranteed that the money is being put to good use, that there are no hidden agendas, and that we will employ every cost cutting technique that does not impact on the quality of the film.
Internet blockbusters are a reality today. With the right story, good research and good production, it really is possible for a series like this to be seen by hundreds of thousands of people. This project is citizen activism at its purest, a group of people from various political and social groupings who share a common goal in the interest of the common good.
Of course, to make all of this possible we need your support. Our goal is to raise $4,000 to cover basic costs for travel, production and editing. I will come over as soon as possible from Ireland and cross the US to get the best interviews I can, drawing on other earlier recorded talks and documentary materials.
Let me put it this way, for every dollar you donate, at least 6 people will be introduced to the historical reality of the Kennedy assassination. This figure could rapidly grow, but I do not wish to speculate at this early stage of the project.
Donations to this project and COPA are not tax deductible. For donations over $50, I will make sure you receive the 5 part series on DVD.
To donate, please go to http://www.politicalassassinations.com and under the heading of the project click the 'donate' button or by sending a paypal donation to johnpetergeraghty@gmail.com.
Or by mail, please make the check to COPA and note "Know the Truth" at the bottom.
Thank you
John Geraghty
COPA
P.O. Box 772
Washington, DC 20044
johnpetergeraghty@gmail.com
http://www.politicalassassinations.com
Know the Truth
Breakdown of the 5 part series
Part 1
An introduction to the assassination for someone without any real prior knowledge of the time line, geography and background to the assassination. Beginning with the actual assassination itself and the political, economic and foreign policy battles that pre-dated the act itself.
This episode will also chronicle the establishment of the CIA, the growth of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex. It will touch on subsequent events arising from this intense militarism, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis, two events which foreshadowed President Kennedy’s ultimate demise.
Specifics such as the telephone blackout in Washington D.C. immediately after the assassination, the cabinet’s plane journey at the exact time of the assassination, the DEFCON status, missing code books and troop movements in Florida will be focused upon to give the viewer a sense of the wider implications of Kennedy’s assassination in the immediate aftermath.
Part 2
A study of Lee Harvey Oswald, his ONI intelligence background, his movements and the move to convict him in the mind of the public. Also, the Miami and Chicago plots to kill JFK. This will include Oswald’s time in the Soviet Union and other brief stays in New Orleans and his connections in Dallas.
The principal importance of this episode is to outline the circles in which Oswald ran and the characters with whom he was associated, primarily George De Mohrenschildt and other intelligence agency assets and officers.
Part 3
The investigations, legal battles and official responses which wrote mainstream history with regards to the assassination. Included in this is a presentation on the control exerted over the media in the reporting of the event and subsequent repercussions, including the deaths of witnesses, the Vietnam war and the further drift towards global capitalism, paranoia about international communism and intensified spying upon U.S. citizens.
In the case of the Warren Commission, it will be outlined how in some ways the perpetrators of the crime controlled the investigation into the crime they committed or allowed to happen. The backgrounds of the Commission members will be explored.
Part 4
Foreign policy shifts following the death of the President. The intensification of armed conflict in Vietnam juxtaposed with Kennedy’s proposed policies before his death. An examination of those hawks who advocated an increased presence and a full scale U.S. invasion of Vietnam.
Also including the assassination of Diem, the actions of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA, détente with Soviet Union and Cuba, and Kennedy's clear intent to end the nuclear arms race and find real peace. In specific focus will be the actions of the Joint Chiefs of staff, their actions being the overt actions of the state, and the CIA and DIA, the covert and unseen actions of the state.
Part 5
What can be done in the current climate? Introduction to researcher's proposals about grand juries, citizen solutions and an insight into the various researcher communities that endeavor to see a resolution to the case. The end goal being a release of all files in this and other related cases such as the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Robert Kennedy as well as a final reassessment of the case in some official and unbiased forum to get at the truth.
New COPA project - Magda Hassan - 25-06-2009
This is really important work John. The internet is the best way we can get this information to the widest possible audience. Cudos to you and COPA for doing this.
New COPA project - John Geraghty - 25-06-2009
Thanks Magda,
Releasing it online for free is the best policy I think. It ensures that the maximum amount of people get to watch it, and for free. It also means that our costs are considerably less than a DVD production as we don't have physically produce anything.
All we need now is a certain amount of donations to get this going and we can start making serious plans.
New COPA project - Magda Hassan - 25-06-2009
Well, I hope you've got a Paypal account set up. Don't forget to let us all know how we can donate to it.
New COPA project - John Geraghty - 25-06-2009
I do indeed have paypal set up. On http://www.politicalassassinations.com there is a donate button underneath the project title. Or more directly http://www.politicalassassinations.com/Truth.html
Paypal donations can be made by just knowing my email address too. johnpetergeraghty@gmail.com
All the best
New COPA project - Mark Stapleton - 25-06-2009
John Geraghty Wrote:Part 4
Foreign policy shifts following the death of the President. The intensification of armed conflict in Vietnam juxtaposed with Kennedy’s proposed policies before his death. An examination of those hawks who advocated an increased presence and a full scale U.S. invasion of Vietnam.
Also including the assassination of Diem, the actions of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA, détente with Soviet Union and Cuba, and Kennedy's clear intent to end the nuclear arms race and find real peace. In specific focus will be the actions of the Joint Chiefs of staff, their actions being the overt actions of the state, and the CIA and DIA, the covert and unseen actions of the state.
If you're going to devote a segment to foreign policy shifts post JFK, and you fail to mention the significance of LBJ's ties to Israel and America's resultant foreign policy subservience to that state, it's not a serious doco. Sorry.
New COPA project - John Geraghty - 25-06-2009
Mark Stapleton Wrote:John Geraghty Wrote:Part 4
Foreign policy shifts following the death of the President. The intensification of armed conflict in Vietnam juxtaposed with Kennedy’s proposed policies before his death. An examination of those hawks who advocated an increased presence and a full scale U.S. invasion of Vietnam.
Also including the assassination of Diem, the actions of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA, détente with Soviet Union and Cuba, and Kennedy's clear intent to end the nuclear arms race and find real peace. In specific focus will be the actions of the Joint Chiefs of staff, their actions being the overt actions of the state, and the CIA and DIA, the covert and unseen actions of the state.
If you're going to devote a segment to foreign policy shifts post JFK, and you fail to mention the significance of LBJ's ties to Israel and America's resultant foreign policy subservience to that state, it's not a serious doco. Sorry.
That's your opinion Mark. I agree that Israel exerts serious control over the U.S. but it's my opinion that this was no as a direct result of the Kennedy assassination but as a modus operandi for the expansion of U.S. emperialism.
All the best
New COPA project - Mark Stapleton - 25-06-2009
John Geraghty Wrote:I agree that Israel exerts serious control over the U.S. but it's my opinion that this was no as a direct result of the Kennedy assassination but as a modus operandi for the expansion of U.S. emperialism.
All the best
I'm interested in why you would discount Israeli participation in JFK's murder when so many factors indicate otherwise.
In any case, the turnaround in US policy towards Israel post JFK is now well documented. I can't think of a more significant foreign policy change during that period and if you can, I'd be pleased to hear about it.
Leaving it out of your doco would drain it of credibility, imo. If the purpose is to encourage informed debate, all the facts should be on the table.
New COPA project - Dawn Meredith - 25-06-2009
John, great idea. I hope this gets lots of support, both financial and people spreading the COPA word. John Judge has been almost alone at the helm way too long.
Mark, could you go into a bit more detail on the specifics of JFK vs. LBJ vis a vis Isreal? That is a new area for me that I have not seen anyone write on.
Aside from a couple of quotes by JFK.
Thanks,
Dawn
New COPA project - Mark Stapleton - 26-06-2009
Dawn Meredith Wrote:John, great idea. I hope this gets lots of support, both financial and people spreading the COPA word. John Judge has been almost alone at the helm way too long.
Mark, could you go into a bit more detail on the specifics of JFK vs. LBJ vis a vis Isreal? That is a new area for me that I have not seen anyone write on.
Aside from a couple of quotes by JFK.
Thanks,
Dawn
Briefly, at the time of his death JFK was in a standoff with Israeli PM Ben-Gurion over Israel's nuclear ambitions. Over the years, documents have been declassified which reveal the circumstances surrounding this issue, which was hidden from the public for decades. BG resigned as PM in June 1963, and claimed that the existence of Israel was in danger because of Kennedy's insistence that Israel remain nuclear-free. Kennedy then continued the pressure on BG's successor, Levi Eshkol, who avoided direct conflict with JFK on the issue by postponing it on a variety of pretexts.
LBJ was a patron of Israel, supporting them consistently after his arrival in Washington. Former AIPAC director I.L. Kenan called Johnson 'Ísrael's Texas friend'. When Eisenhower considered sanctions against Israel over its failure to withdraw its forces from the Sinai during the Suez crisis in early 1957, LBJ persuaded minority house leader Senator William Knowland to come with him to the white House to tell the President it just wouldn't do. (Piper, p65).
Once LBJ became President, the pressure was off Israel. LBJ half heartedly pursued them about the nuclear reactor in Dimona, finally agreeing to a regime of US inspections, which were fully under the control and manipulated by the Israeli hosts. The reprocessing plant Israel had built underneath the facility was never detected by inspectors and Israel got the bomb. He was also remarkably generous to Israel--a policy still current today--and boosted military aid from nothing to $300 million by 1966. He also covered up for Israel the disgraceful USS Liberty incident in 1967, proving once again where his real loyalty lay.
I don't want to hijack this thread, although it probably looks that way to some readers. I'm just suggesting to John that if COPA's doco is going to focus on US foreign policy changes which resulted from JFK's death, the ommission of this particular foreign policy change will render the project devoid of credibility.