16-04-2010, 01:05 PM
Jack, I am reposting from EF your bio of John Armstrong. Thank you for that. He was very circumspect when I met him in Dallas. You are right, not at all egotistical. Not pushing his book. Just fascinating to speak with and I could tell he had made some money in the building trades. (One does not get to live in Hawaii unless one has accumulated some decent income).
I just DO NOT UNDERSTAND why anyone seeks to destroy this work. To what end? I question the motives of such a person or people.
Dawn
Dean:
Whatever one thinks about Harvey and Lee, it is a very unique book in that many of its premises could be proved with witnesses who are still living and evidence that continues to be very impressive. I did not agree with Armstrong on the impact of every piece of the evidence but some of the evidence is jaw-dropping. Watch the interviews and read the book. John Armstrong conducted one of the most impressive investigations of the JFK case ever done. John is unique in that he lets the evidence speak for itself. I believe you or I (or any attorney) could go into court and easily prove that the government was engaged in a covert activity and was manipulating the identities of Oswald. Jack White is not making outrageous comments about the evidence. Whether you agree with him or not on other issues the evidence here is very solid. I am not commenting on Judyth and whether this makes a difference for her argument. I am simply agreeing with Jack that John Armstrong has compiled a mountain of evidence and the fact that individual pieces of the evidence might be questioned in no way detracts from the volumess of evidence John acquired.
John engaged in his research in a thorough and painstakiing manner. John is actually a very modest man. One of the differences between him and myself are in examples like John Pic. John located him but was very reserve in his contacts whereas I would have been knocking at Pic's door. What is amazing is how much more evidence Armstrong acquired but did not publish. John was fortunate to have the resources to do what few of us could have. I deeply respect John's work. It does not detract from other work I highly respect such as Lifton's. I predict the work of both will withstand the test of time. I have always realized that my credibility could be destroyed by being led down false roads. It is the tragedy of Garrison. I have been extremely cautious. However, I stand unequivocally behind these two men.
Best,
Doug Weldn
Thanks, Doug...an excellent analysis. Among your most important points John's MODESTY and RESTRAINT.
He has the LEAST EGO OF ANY RESEARCHER I KNOW. He entered JFK research at a very late date (1990s)
with his mind a blank notebook with NO PREVIOUS INFORMATION. Therefore he was untainted with much
that had happened for the previous 30 years. Once intrigued by the video THE MANY FACES OF LEE HARVEY
OSWALD, he was hooked and decided to find out for himself by trying to find out who Oswald was AS IF
IT WERE A BUSINESS PROJECT such as had thrice made him quite wealthy. He made independent fortunes
first in HOMEBUILDING in Alaska, developing a business model which concentrated on luxury dwellings for
those moving there to develop oil and natural resources. After several years of success, he decided to move
to the Midland Texas area to pursue the OIL BUSINESS. He developed a business model which used
computer technology and a study of oil markets to trade in oil futures. He is sorta a genius at seeing
business plans in the marketplace. Trading in oil futures does not depend on drilling oil wells, but on
accurate guessing about those who do. He developed computer graphing programs which traced trading in
oil futures over a period of years and noted periodic predictable spikes in highs and lows, which allowed
him to guess with remarkable accuracy how oil was traded. He made a second fortune in the oil business,
and retired in Tulsa where he still dabbled in oil. But John is a restless guy, always looking for a NEW
CHALLENGE. He noted that fortunes were being made in a little publicized area of finance...TRADING IN
COMMODITIES FUTURES. (commodities are such mundane things as "pork bellies"). He studied the
market and developed another business model, using his computer graphs to predict futures trading
like he had done in oil...and made his third fortune. He was seeking a new challenge in the 1990s when
he read some JFK books and watched some documentaries. He saw THE MANY FACES OF LHO and began
to wonder JUST WHO IS THIS GUY OSWALD? LHO he soon found was the most UNDERSTUDIED part
of 11-22-63. He decided to approach it like he would with a business venture...with logic and a
"business model" and his laptop computer. This time he was not out to make a fourth fortune...he
was only looking for the SATISFACTION OF KNOWING WHO OSWALD WAS. He began gathering
all the evidence he could, and noting it in his computer. Like his business models, he quickly saw a
pattern emerging. By entering searchable dates and places in his computer, he found MULTIPLE
INSTANCES WHERE THE OFFICIAL RECORD SHOWED LHO IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
AT THE SAME TIME. He started separating these into TWO TIMELINES of TWO DIFFERENT individuals.
That was the genesis of H&L. It took him 12 years, but he finally self-published all that he had
found. He spent a year in China getting the book published as economically as possible. He was
satisfied. He knew who LHO really was. He wanted to share it with the research community, which
he had never been a part of. It was time to move on the the next challenge...back to his first love,
building luxury homes (in Hawaii). He lives in a luxurious estate he built overlooking the Pacific, in
a tropical paradise. He no longer devotes any time to JFK research. Why should he? He found
what he had wanted to know.
To show how thorough his research was, he used NO INFORMATION in the book unless he had
two different sources on a subject. He flew around the world gathering information and interviews,
to places like Argentina, Switzerland, New York, Washington, New Orleans, Ohio, Florida and
many other places seeking single bits of information. He employed Britisher Malcolm Blunt
as his research assistant. He asked me to help with certain tasks, mostly involving photos.
He collected every known photo of LHO or his family. He purchased copies of every document
which mentioned any member of the Oswald family. He organized them into 50+ 4-inch ring
binders by timelines, and entered the gist of each record into his computer. He visited every
site mentioned in a document, where practical. He and I, for instance, spent a day driving
around Fort Worth to see and photograph EVERY school or residence mentioned in a document.
We drove to nearby Benbrook to get a feel for where the Oswalds lived as a child. I was
present when he interviewed Georgia Bell, who lived there across from the Oswalds. We
visited the nearby house where Robert lived. We went to the nearby elementary school,
where John went inside and inquired about LHO school records. We went to the county
courthouse, where he searched records for all the properties owned by Marguerite. I was
present when he interviewed Franchetta Schubert, who had been a fellow student at
Stripling with LHO, and knew where he and Marguerite lived.
John published NOTHING UNLESS he could prove it, showing great restraint. No rumors or
theories...just facts.
When finished, he went back to his specialty of making money, disdaining being a JFK
research celebrity. He prefers the anonymity of sitting in his Pacific paradise, talking
on his cellphone to his broker in New York, and buying and selling commodity futures.
He is a very private guy who wants no limelight. he likes it that way.
Jack
I just DO NOT UNDERSTAND why anyone seeks to destroy this work. To what end? I question the motives of such a person or people.
Dawn
Dean:
Whatever one thinks about Harvey and Lee, it is a very unique book in that many of its premises could be proved with witnesses who are still living and evidence that continues to be very impressive. I did not agree with Armstrong on the impact of every piece of the evidence but some of the evidence is jaw-dropping. Watch the interviews and read the book. John Armstrong conducted one of the most impressive investigations of the JFK case ever done. John is unique in that he lets the evidence speak for itself. I believe you or I (or any attorney) could go into court and easily prove that the government was engaged in a covert activity and was manipulating the identities of Oswald. Jack White is not making outrageous comments about the evidence. Whether you agree with him or not on other issues the evidence here is very solid. I am not commenting on Judyth and whether this makes a difference for her argument. I am simply agreeing with Jack that John Armstrong has compiled a mountain of evidence and the fact that individual pieces of the evidence might be questioned in no way detracts from the volumess of evidence John acquired.
John engaged in his research in a thorough and painstakiing manner. John is actually a very modest man. One of the differences between him and myself are in examples like John Pic. John located him but was very reserve in his contacts whereas I would have been knocking at Pic's door. What is amazing is how much more evidence Armstrong acquired but did not publish. John was fortunate to have the resources to do what few of us could have. I deeply respect John's work. It does not detract from other work I highly respect such as Lifton's. I predict the work of both will withstand the test of time. I have always realized that my credibility could be destroyed by being led down false roads. It is the tragedy of Garrison. I have been extremely cautious. However, I stand unequivocally behind these two men.
Best,
Doug Weldn
Thanks, Doug...an excellent analysis. Among your most important points John's MODESTY and RESTRAINT.
He has the LEAST EGO OF ANY RESEARCHER I KNOW. He entered JFK research at a very late date (1990s)
with his mind a blank notebook with NO PREVIOUS INFORMATION. Therefore he was untainted with much
that had happened for the previous 30 years. Once intrigued by the video THE MANY FACES OF LEE HARVEY
OSWALD, he was hooked and decided to find out for himself by trying to find out who Oswald was AS IF
IT WERE A BUSINESS PROJECT such as had thrice made him quite wealthy. He made independent fortunes
first in HOMEBUILDING in Alaska, developing a business model which concentrated on luxury dwellings for
those moving there to develop oil and natural resources. After several years of success, he decided to move
to the Midland Texas area to pursue the OIL BUSINESS. He developed a business model which used
computer technology and a study of oil markets to trade in oil futures. He is sorta a genius at seeing
business plans in the marketplace. Trading in oil futures does not depend on drilling oil wells, but on
accurate guessing about those who do. He developed computer graphing programs which traced trading in
oil futures over a period of years and noted periodic predictable spikes in highs and lows, which allowed
him to guess with remarkable accuracy how oil was traded. He made a second fortune in the oil business,
and retired in Tulsa where he still dabbled in oil. But John is a restless guy, always looking for a NEW
CHALLENGE. He noted that fortunes were being made in a little publicized area of finance...TRADING IN
COMMODITIES FUTURES. (commodities are such mundane things as "pork bellies"). He studied the
market and developed another business model, using his computer graphs to predict futures trading
like he had done in oil...and made his third fortune. He was seeking a new challenge in the 1990s when
he read some JFK books and watched some documentaries. He saw THE MANY FACES OF LHO and began
to wonder JUST WHO IS THIS GUY OSWALD? LHO he soon found was the most UNDERSTUDIED part
of 11-22-63. He decided to approach it like he would with a business venture...with logic and a
"business model" and his laptop computer. This time he was not out to make a fourth fortune...he
was only looking for the SATISFACTION OF KNOWING WHO OSWALD WAS. He began gathering
all the evidence he could, and noting it in his computer. Like his business models, he quickly saw a
pattern emerging. By entering searchable dates and places in his computer, he found MULTIPLE
INSTANCES WHERE THE OFFICIAL RECORD SHOWED LHO IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
AT THE SAME TIME. He started separating these into TWO TIMELINES of TWO DIFFERENT individuals.
That was the genesis of H&L. It took him 12 years, but he finally self-published all that he had
found. He spent a year in China getting the book published as economically as possible. He was
satisfied. He knew who LHO really was. He wanted to share it with the research community, which
he had never been a part of. It was time to move on the the next challenge...back to his first love,
building luxury homes (in Hawaii). He lives in a luxurious estate he built overlooking the Pacific, in
a tropical paradise. He no longer devotes any time to JFK research. Why should he? He found
what he had wanted to know.
To show how thorough his research was, he used NO INFORMATION in the book unless he had
two different sources on a subject. He flew around the world gathering information and interviews,
to places like Argentina, Switzerland, New York, Washington, New Orleans, Ohio, Florida and
many other places seeking single bits of information. He employed Britisher Malcolm Blunt
as his research assistant. He asked me to help with certain tasks, mostly involving photos.
He collected every known photo of LHO or his family. He purchased copies of every document
which mentioned any member of the Oswald family. He organized them into 50+ 4-inch ring
binders by timelines, and entered the gist of each record into his computer. He visited every
site mentioned in a document, where practical. He and I, for instance, spent a day driving
around Fort Worth to see and photograph EVERY school or residence mentioned in a document.
We drove to nearby Benbrook to get a feel for where the Oswalds lived as a child. I was
present when he interviewed Georgia Bell, who lived there across from the Oswalds. We
visited the nearby house where Robert lived. We went to the nearby elementary school,
where John went inside and inquired about LHO school records. We went to the county
courthouse, where he searched records for all the properties owned by Marguerite. I was
present when he interviewed Franchetta Schubert, who had been a fellow student at
Stripling with LHO, and knew where he and Marguerite lived.
John published NOTHING UNLESS he could prove it, showing great restraint. No rumors or
theories...just facts.
When finished, he went back to his specialty of making money, disdaining being a JFK
research celebrity. He prefers the anonymity of sitting in his Pacific paradise, talking
on his cellphone to his broker in New York, and buying and selling commodity futures.
He is a very private guy who wants no limelight. he likes it that way.
Jack