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Tag: JFK

  • Emma Stone Slated to Play Rosemary Kennedy In Biopic About the Mentally-Ill Sister of JFK

    Emma Stone Slated to Play Rosemary Kennedy In Biopic About the Mentally-Ill Sister of JFK

    Emma Stone has been asked to take on the role of Rosemary Kennedy in a new biopic about the mentally-ill sister of John F Kennedy, Jr..

    According to Variety, the Oscar-nominated actress will portray the eldest daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, and sibling to senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, during her final days in Letters to Rosemary.

    Rosemary led a difficult life and was one of the first people in America to undergo a prefrontal lobotomy at the age of 23.

    The botched lobotomy, which left the young woman permanently incapacitated, will be the focus of the film penned by Nick Yarborough.

    The script explores the moments leading up to the lobotomy, what happened during the procedure and the lasting affects on the family in the years following the procedure.

    Rosemary Kennedy was reportedly an affectionate and dutiful daughter who was always eager to please her father. After displaying behavioral problems that caused her to fall behind the achievements of her siblings, Joseph Kennedy arranged the lobotomy. A year later, that same young woman was unable to form a sentence, which became one of many dark family secrets and a source of shame and embarrassment for the family.

    The film starring Emma Stone has been on the coveted Black List of unproduced screenplays and is currently being shopped to studios and independent financiers. So far no one has shown interest just yet.

  • Natalie Portman Stars As ‘Jackie,’ Movie Revolves Around JFK Assassination

    Aside from her stint playing Jane Foster in the last Thor movie, Natalie Portman has been pretty low-key the past few years. But that’s set to change as the actress has signed on to portray Jackie Kennedy.

    Reports coming out of the Cannes Film Festival say that the Oscar winning actress will star as the titular Jackie.

    The film revolves around the four days following the assassination of John F. Kennedy and shows the impact it had on his wife.

    “Jackie talks about the days when Jackie Kennedy becomes an icon but has lost everything,” said Vincent Maraval of French film distribution company Wild Bunch.

    The movie will have Chilean director Pablo Larrain at the helm. The director’s newest film, The Club, won the Grand Jury Prize at The Berlin International Film Festival and prompted Portman to hop on board the Jackie project.

    The project will also reunite Portman with her Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky, who’s coming in as producer.

    It has taken a very long time for project to see the light of day. It was originally conceived to be a project of Aronofsky and then-fiancee Rachel Weisz in 2010. But the end of the relationship also meant the end of the project.

    Luckily, Fox Searchlight was able to resurrect it and secure another notable director to lead it.

    It’s been a big week for the Star Wars queen. Aside from nabbing the role of Jackie Kennedy, the 33-year-old actress is also set to star as Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

    Those roles are sure to add to Portman’s already full plate this year. She’s just completed her directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness which is being screened at this year’s Cannes.

    The new mother also has the movies Jane Got a Gun, Terence Malick’s Weightless and Planetarium in the works.

  • Passenger Dies on Plane After Vomiting Fit From Nigeria to JFK Causing Ebola Scare

    A passenger died on a flight from Nigeria to JFK flight after a vomiting fit Thursday. A top lawmaker said officials gave the corpse only a “cursory” exam before declaring that the victim did not have Ebola.

    The unnamed 63-year-old passenger boarded an Arik Air plane Wednesday night out of Lagos, Nigeria, which has had 19 Ebola cases this year.

    “The authorities conducted tests on the body and it was only a short evaluation that suggested he did not have the deadly virus, prompting concerns there are still ‘vulnerabilities’ at airports,” reports Mail Online.

    Rep. Peter King (R-NY) berated airports preparedness for an Ebola outbreak in a letter to Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, saying the handling of the remains exposed some serious flaws.

    Between 70 and 100 passengers a day arrive at JFK from the Ebola-laden countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, King noted, with access to public restrooms and in contact with other travelers before they go through their first screening.

    “Given the high volume of travelers at JFK, it is essential that extraordinary measures are taken to intercept possible Ebola-infected passengers,” King wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Customs Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske.

    “These individuals transit the airport with the rest of the traveling population, including using the restrooms,” King wrote.

    “It is only after they arrive at the Customs and Border Protection primary screening location that they are separated and sent to secondary inspection for a medical check and to complete the questionnaire,” he wrote Johnson.

    His letter demands Homeland Security up measures to identify potentially infected passengers during flights and at the terminal itself before reaching the screening location. King also said Port Authority police and Customs and Border Protection officials who come into contact with high-risk passengers need to be better trained and understand protocols.

    “Based on what I know of this situation, I have very serious concerns about the cursory exam conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official to determine the passenger did not have Ebola, as well as the lack of instructions provided to CBP and [Port Authority] Police regarding handling the remains and the remainder of the passengers,” he wrote.

  • Hulu Greenlights Series Based On Stephen King Book ’11/22/63′

    Hulu Greenlights Series Based On Stephen King Book ’11/22/63′

    Hulu announced that it has greenlit a new original series called 11/22/63 based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. It comes from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, writer Bridget Carpenter and Warner Bros. Television.

    Abrams, King, Carpenter and Bryan Burk are all serving as executive producers. Bad Robot’s Kathy Lingg is co-executive producer, and Athena Wickham is producer.

    Here’s the description:

    Based upon the best-selling 2011 novel written by King and published by Scribner, 11/22/63 is a thriller in which high school English teacher Jake Epping travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald, his falling in love and the past itself … which doesn’t want to be changed.

    It will be a nine-hour series. Carpenter will write the teleplay.

    Hulu head of content Craig Erwich said, “J.J. Abrams and Stephen King are two of the most celebrated storytellers of our time, and we are excited to be working with them and Warner Bros. Television to bring this unique take on one of the most seminal historic events of the twentieth century to Hulu. 11/22/63 already resonated with audiences as a best-selling novel, and we are looking forward to bringing the riveting story to the screen.”

    “If I ever wrote a book that cries out for long-form, event TV programming, 11/22/63 is it,” said King. “I’m excited that it’s going to happen, and am looking forward to working with J.J. Abrams and the whole Bad Robot team.”

    Abrams added, “I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since I was in junior high school. The chance to work with him at all, let alone on a story so compelling, emotional and imaginative, is a dream. We are thrilled to be working with Hulu on this very special project.”

    Hulu will be the U.S. home for the series, and Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution will distribute it globally.

    Image via Wikimedia

  • Ashley Madison Put Up a Rather Interesting Billboard in Little Rock

    Ashley Madison, the online dating site for married people with the slogan “life’s short, have an affair,” has put up a rather interesting billboard in Little Rock, Arkansas.

    I should say a rather interesting and rather appropriate billboard for Little Rock, Arkansas, home of our nation’s 42nd President.

    “Who said cheaters never prosper. Happy Presidents Day!” reads the billboard, which features images of Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Presidents Day is next Monday, February 17th.

    Of course, Little Rock is the capital and largest city in Arkansas, home to Bill Clinton. He served as both the 40th and 42nd Governor of the state before taking a job at a much higher office. As we all know, Clinton was impeached in a ridiculous spectacle in 1998–all over an affair he had with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky, and his subsequent “perjury and obstruction of justice.”

    Though FDR’s extracurricular activities never got him impeached, the New Deal President is rumored to have had affairs with multiple women. Kennedy, on the other hand–well, we all know about Kennedy.

    “Throughout history, men in positions of power – in particular, men in politics – have sought the romantic company of women who were not their wives,” says Noel Biderman. CEO and Founder, AshleyMadison.com. “We picked these three Presidents for the campaign, as each had well-known affairs during their Presidencies. Yet, despite their extra-marital dalliances, Americans revere each of these men as great leaders. That is because Americans love a champion, and they’re willing to forgive these types of transgressions when it comes to a so called winner.”

    It’s interesting that all three politicians Ashley Madison chose to include in their new ad campaign are Democrats. I guess they decided that Larry Craig tapping his foot in the Minneapolis airport bathroom didn’t make for the best mental image.

    Image via Ashley Madison

  • Lufthansa Heist: 5 Mobsters Arrested For Crime

    Today a man alleged to have been involved in the 1978 Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy airport, New York,  is among 5 men taken into custody by the authorities for the crime.

    Federal agents have carried out a series of raids in the NY metro area to apprehend the suspects. A 78-year-old Vincent Asaro of Howard Beach is one of the mobsters facing a series of charges including the infamous JFK airport robbery that happened over 3 decades ago.

    “An FBI operation is ongoing. We will release further details later this morning,” said FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser to ABC News.

    Asaro will be the first suspect to face charges in the Lufthansa heist case. The only other person who has ever been charged is airport worker Louis Werner. Werner was accused of providing critical information to the mobsters in order for them to carry out the crime. Other suspects in the case have died and only a small fraction of the money has been recovered.

    More than $5 million in cash and $1 million worth of jewelry was stolen during the robbery that took place on Dec. 11, 1978. This is equivalent to about $20 million today. At the time, it was the biggest heist ever pulled off in the United States. Despite long investigations, nothing came of it, though in 1990 Hollywood released “Goodfellas”, a movie that made the heist even more famous.

    Federal prosecutors indicted the five men with a number of crimes including murder, robbery, exhortation, bookmaking and arson. The four other suspects apprehended are Jack Bonventre, Jerome Asaro, John “Bazoo” Ragano and Thomas “Tommy D” Di Fiore. The men are all believed to belong to the Bonanno crime family.

    The men will be arraigned in U.S district court in Brooklyn on Thursday.

    According to Langmesser, Vincent Asaro was arrested following an investigation conducted last summer at the home of another mobster called James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke. Some time ago human remains were found at Burke’s home and were identified as those of Paul Katz. Katz was allegedly murdered in 1969 by Vincent Asaro and his accomplice Jerome Asaro because they believed he was a police informant.

    Further details of the arrests are still developing.

    http://youtu.be/yt-GyX8-4Qg

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • JFK Conspiracy: “X-Men: Days of Future Past” Viral Video

    With the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death this past Friday we’ve all seen our fair share of conspiracy theories. With that in mind, let me introduce you to one of the more odd theories you may come across. It appears as though Magneto, of X-Men fame, was in Dallas on the day of JFK’s death and may have played an intrigule part in what transpired.

    This is of course an interesting viral marketing campaign for next year’s sequel “X-Men Days of the Future Past”. You can dive a little deeper by visiting TheBentBullet.com. If you’d like a little more information about the film, you can check out the official synopsis below:

    “The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original “X-Men” film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from “X-Men: First Class,” in an epic battle that must change the past — to save our future.”

    “X-Men: Days of Future Past” will release nationwide on May 23, 2014. You can checkout the trailer for the film below:

    Image: (YouTube)

  • Caroline Kennedy On Familiar Ground In Japan

    A week before the 50th anniversary of her father’s death, Caroline Kennedy entered the country she studied and began to admire many years ago: Japan.

    Kennedy was sworn in as the US Ambassador to Japan on November 12, 2013, making her the first female US Ambassador to the Asian country.

    Kennedy has long been enamored with Japan, and the fondness was strengthened while she was working at the New York Metropolitan Museum in New York City.

    “…I loved to walk through the Japanese galleries, and I became more familiar with Japanese arts and culture,” she said in an interview. “I have long admired Japanese civilization and I know that America has no more important ally than Japan.”

    Hear what Caroline has to say about her new position in her own words by watching the video below:

    Kennedy studied Japanese art while in college, and spent her 1986 honeymoon with husband Edwin Schlossberg in Kyoto and Nara.

    Her trip to Tokyo comes at a time in which the US and other countries have made a historical deal with Iran to put a temporary halt on the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear weapons production. This type of work is close to the only living child of John F Kennedy, as she said her father considered the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to be his biggest success, and that she is proud to work for a president whose aim is to eliminate this frightful weapon from the world.

    Twitter was full of kind words to Kennedy on the anniversary of her father’s death.

    Although Kennedy has basically stayed away from being in any type of political position, she has held many leadership roles in a variety of institutions, including the John F Kennedy Library Foundation, the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • 50th Anniversary Of JFK Assassination Commemorated

    The 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination was commemorated Friday in Dallas amidst prayers and tears. President Kennedy was only 46 when he was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. His assassination marks one of the darkest moments in the American history.

    “Our collective hearts were broken,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told a crowd of about 5,000 who came to remember JFK in Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was assassinated. “A new era dawned and another waned a half century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas,” Rawlings said.

    Kennedy is remembered  for his youthful vigor, his handling of the Cuban missile crisis as well as the founding of the Peace Corps.  Several people attending the event recounted how important JFK was to America’s History.

    “If that hadn’t happened, history might have changed. He was a different kind of president,” said Douglas Ducharme, a Canadian attending the event.

    During the event, there were a few scuffles along the perimeter fence around the Dealey plaza between the police and the protesters. There were also some conspiracy theorists who want to take part in the event. Others wanted attention for their concerns about police brutality in Dallas.

    As a result of JFK assassination, several conspiracy theories have been formed as to how he was shot. Conspiracy theorists have expressed doubt about the findings of the official warren commission claiming that the gunman Harvey Oswald might have acted alone. Conspiracy theorists have blamed Fidel Castro, the mob, the CIA,  the  Secret Service, Lyndon Johnson among others.

    A recent Gallup poll  showed that 61%  percent of Americans believe that Oswald did not act alone. Though that percentage may seem high, its the lowest its been since the 1960s.

    Oswald shot the president from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository as Kennedy rode in an open presidential limo. Two days later after the assassination, Oswald was shot dead by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby while in police custody.

    Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? Film director Oliver Stone gives his opinion.

    (Source NBC News  and main image via Wikipedia)

  • JFK Grave Site To Be Visited By Obama And Clinton

    The 50th anniversary of the former US president, John F. Kennedy will be commemorated on Friday, November 22.  Before the commemoration, President Obama, accompanied by Bill and Hillary Clinton will visit JFK’s grave site on Wednesday, USA today reports.

    An administration official revealed that Obama will make a visit to the Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery accompanied by Michelle Obama and the Clintons.

    Obama will lay a wreath close to the eternal flame. The visit comes 2 days before the November 22nd half-century of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Kennedy was shot twice on Friday, November 22, 1963 as he entered Dealey Plaza in an open Presidential limousine in Dallas.

    On Wednesday Obama will present the Presidential Medals of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian honors) to this year’s recipients in a morning ceremony at the White House.

    Former president, Bill Clinton, will be one of this year’s 16 recipients of the award, according to a statement from the White House. Other awardees include: media mogul and philanthropist, Oprah Winfrey,  astronaut Sally Ride, and Nobel Prize winner Mario Molina among others. On Friday, the actual anniversary day, Obama will meet leaders and volunteers from Peace Corps, an organization established by JFK in 1961.

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States, holding office from January 1961 until he was assassinated in November 1963 . JFK’s body is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

    Footage from the day President Kennedy was assassinated

    http://youtu.be/V-LA0ypFXig

    (image via Wikipedia)

  • JFK Assassination Was a Conspiracy According to 61% of Americans

    As the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy fast approaches, it’s a good time to remind everyone that the majority of Americans still think the official story is bullshit.

    According to a new poll from Gallup, 61% of Americans think that other individuals were involved in the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. Put another way, 6 out of 10 Americans identify themselves as JFK assassination conspiracy theorists.

    That means that the majority of Americans still aren’t buying the findings of the official government inquiry, the Warren Commission, who concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in carrying out the assassination.

    Although 61% may seem like a high percentage – it actually represents a marked decline in conspiracy believers over the past few decades. In 2001, for instance, a whopping 81% of Americans believed that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone or that other men were involved in a conspiracy. That number has been steadily declining since.

    As Gallup’s chart shows, the “lone gunman” theory failed to fly with most Americans even in the years following the killing of Kennedy.

    While a majority of Americans feel that the official story leaves much to be desired, many of them of hard pressed to decide on who the other conspirators actually were. In fact, 40% of Americans could not name a single person or group that they felt were part of a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy.

    Among those who could, the Mafia and the Federal Government (unspecific) were the top vote getters with 13% each. Other names that topped the list of possible conspirators were the CIA, Fidel Castro, KKK, Russia, Communists, J.Edgar Hoover, Teamsters, and Big Business (unspecific).

    “It is possible that new evidence in the Kennedy assassination will never materialize. The JFK Assassination Records Collection Act, enacted in 1992, declassified 98% of the unreleased documents in the Warren Commission’s investigation, with other unreleased assassination documents scheduled for release in 2017. Thus far, public documents not originally released in or part of the Warren Commission’s report from 1964 have not demonstrated that there was any kind of conspiracy, yet clearly most Americans disagree with the official findings. Speculating about who was really responsible for Kennedy’s death will likely remain a topic of fascination for the American public for many years to come,” says Gallup.

    And there’s the rub. As with many famous historical events, the public perception is at odds with what the government officially puts out there. And though the JFK “conspiracy theorists” are waning, at least according to this poll, there’s no doubt that the assassination of Kennedy will remain one of the most hotly-debated events in American history for quite some time.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • CBS to Live-Stream Original JFK Assassination Coverage Online

    CBS to Live-Stream Original JFK Assassination Coverage Online

    Next Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, and CBS is remembering the historic event with a “real-time” broadcast of the original 1963 coverage, as it aired on that fateful day.

    At 1:40 pm EST on Friday, November 22nd, CBSNews.com will begin to stream Walter Cronkite’s famous coverage of the event, as it happened 50 years ago. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas’ Dealey Plaza at 1:30 pm EST. The significance of 1:40 pm is that it’s the precise time when Cronkite broke into scheduled programming to alert the country that shots had been fired.

    The coverage will continue for four days, culminating in a broadcast of Kennedy’s funeral on Monday, November 25th.

    From CBS News:

    “Face The Nation” anchor and CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer, who was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on the day of the assassination, will introduce the online stream.

    Schieffer will also recount his extraordinary experience as a young journalist who conducted the first interview with Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother, while giving her a ride from Fort Worth to Dallas to see her son in custody hours after he fired the fatal shot.

    In addition to the as-it-happened web streams, CBSNews.com will provide ongoing coverage of the 50th anniversary commemoration events and in-depth reports on Kennedy’s presidency, including features on the space race, civil rights, and foreign policy.

    Those wanting to relive the famous four days in November can tune in next Friday at CBSNews’ dedicated JFK assassination portal.

    Last year marked the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s famous Moon speech, and NASA streamed it live on their site in real time.

    Image via YouTube

  • JFK Assassination: Yep, There’s an App for That, Too

    Are you a tech savvy history buff? Can you not get enough information on the JFK assassination in the midst of all the anniversary frenzy? Well, Apple has you covered. Check out the new Grassy Knoll Report App.

    The app is an interactive tool that uses historical research and analysis with modern photography and GPS-enabled maps, in order to fully explore the conspiracy of all conspiracies that ended in the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963. It was written by Joe Williams, who is an award-winning reporter and film critic for the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

    For 99 cents, you can explore the various conspiracy theories that have been floated over the years involving everyone from the CIA to the Mafia, and virtually stand behind the fence where the kill shot was allegedly fired. You can also visit Parkland Hospital where the famous “magic bullet” was discovered, or follow Lee Harvey Oswald on his journey from Mexico City to Dallas, where his life supposedly ended in murder.

    You can also take a virtual ride out to Oak Cliff where Dallas policeman J.D. Tippit was shot to death by a mystery gunman and shadow Jack Ruby on his infamous crazy weekend that ended in murder, and view the basement where Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald. What a ride.

    This thing includes articles on the assassination conspiracy theory, timelines, and coverage of key locations and people. You can also see how these locations look in the present day, as well as historical photos.

    This app is awesome for those of us that just happen to be obsessed with JFK, Oswald, or conspiracies in general. Even Jimmy Fallon knows a great thing when he sees it, saying, “The Grassy Knoll Report is amazing. Everyone needs to see this.”

    Image via wikimedia commons

  • Dan Rather Not Hurt by Cut From JFK Commemoration

    Dan Rather is the famous face of the momentous occasion 50 years ago, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

    That fateful day, many American families were gathered around their television screens to hear the awful, heartbreaking report on what had taken place in Dallas in 1963.

    This is what the nation collectively saw on CBS:

    Unfortunately, Dan Rather won’t be a part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination on CBS, according to Yahoo. In 2006, he left CBS on terms that were not amicable. He waited to see if he would be asked to take part in the highly publicized commemoration on CBS, but when he wasn’t, he decided to provide his accounts, memories, and name for someone else.

    “I held off doing anything for anybody else for a while, thinking I may be asked to do something,” Rather told the AP. “I can’t say I had any reason for that hope.”

    He continued, “This is not a good idea to say ‘We want to change the historical record so we’re going to airbrush this guy out because we don’t like him’. They may want to control the way the public thinks about my record, but I’m pretty sure they have not been able to do that.”

    He will join Tom Brokaw on a special edition of the Today show on NBC on the anniversary of the assassination, instead. CBS has not mentioned yet whether they will use Dan Rather’s historic footage in their special.

    NBC is not the only network that will benefit from Rather’s fairly exclusive experience. He was also interviewed for a segment on CNN’s series The Sixties to air on the same day.

    Rather has also been seen around Dealey Plaza in Dallas, where Kennedy was shot. He is reportedly filming an hour special for his AXS show, Dan Rather Reports, which will air on November 18. Looks like CBS could be the loser on this anniversary revival in the interest around the John F. Kennedy assassination.

    Image via wikimedia commons

  • Dan Rather Not Involved in NBC’s JFK Coverage

    Legendary journalist Dan Rather was instrumental during the original coverage of the JFK assassination; however, CBS has not asked him to participate in coverage for the 50th anniversary. Rather reported for CBS in 1963 on the day of the assassination and was involved in the coverage of President JFK’s initial visit to Dallas. His commentary (such as the voice over in the video below) during the actual tragedy will be used.

    Rather left CBS in 2006 after conflict escalated between the network and himself over a 2004 story relating to President George W. Bush. The popular journalist spoke about his anticipation at potentially reconnecting with the network in lieu of the upcoming anniversary coverage.

    “I held off doing anything for anybody else for a while, thinking I may be asked to do something (for CBS). I can’t say I had any reason for that hope,” he said.

    Rather filed a lawsuit for $70 million against CBS, but the lawsuit was thrown out in 2010. Regardless of the snub, the 82-year-old is still going strong with his present involvement in the news outlet, Dan Rather Reports. The show’s Twitter page even recognized Rather’s continued enjoyment at participating in a good story on his most recent birthday.

    CBS may have let the chance to interview one of the actual reporters during the assassination pass by, but another network did not miss the opportunity. NBC’s Tom Brokaw conducted an extensive and exclusive interview with Dan Rather, which will air on the actual anniversary (November 22) of JFK’s assassination.

    This news will do nothing to quell the lingering rumors of tension between CBS and Dan Rather.

    [Image Via Wikimedia Commons]

  • JFK Gravesite Has Eternal Flame Restored

    The eternal flame at John F. Kennedy’s gravesite is a somewhat lesser-known national treasure, but none the less a heartwarming symbol of unyielding hope in the face of danger and persecution. The spot was incredibly popular shortly after Kennedy’s death, and while it is not as popular now, it still maintains a steady flow of tourists, making Arlington National Cemetery an equally popular spot. The flame’s traditional spot in the cemetery has been uprooted for the past few months, however, while construction has been going on.

    The flame has made headlines today, however, by being returned to its rightful home. Today, workers moved the flame back to the permanent burner from the temporary burner it has been on since April, when the construction began. The flame was visible to tourists during its stay at the temporary burner.

    The work done to the permanent burner included new gas airlines, a new burner assembly, as well as new drainage lines to run below the flame. These improvements had been expected to end around May, but the flame remained on its temporary burner throughout October, supposedly because of the government shutdown. Luckily, the flame was restored before the 50th anniversary of the 35th president’s assassination, which is about a month away.

    The reasons for improving upon the site are varied. There was a lot of wear and tear from four decades of of non-stop use that needed to be fixed and improved upon. Officials from the cemetary also claim that the new equipment will provide for easier maintenance, making way for a better experience for all.

  • JFK’s Legacy 50 Years After Assassination

    John F. Kennedy, the president with the iconic Hollywood smile, has a legacy that lives on nearly fifty years after his assassination. The navy hero had a wide-spread political career before the tragic end to his life. Congressman by the age of twenty-nine and a senator by the age of thirty-five; there is no surprise that JFK would ultimately be placed in the Oval Office.

    According to historian Robert Caro, “He had a gift for rallying the country to its best, most humane and idealistic impulses.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM1VjpMy9-A

    John F. Kennedy has remained at the forefront of the public’s attention. Many have speculated on the reason behind the continued fascination and intrigue for the historical figure while other figures from history have not maintained the same level of active attention.

    Biographer Robert Dallek, who wrote Camelot’s Court said, “He’s become more and more of an iconic figure as the years have passed. I think it’s partly, of course, because of the assassination. But that doesn’t really account for why he has this phenomenal hold on the public.”

    Part of the hold behind JFK relates to his personal life as much as to his public and political persona. Salacious rumors have also surrounded JFK, and the public continues to want to delve into his personal life.

    David O’Donnell is involved in a 90 minute “Kennedy Tour” in the Boston area due to his affiliation with the city’s visitor’s bureau, and explained the repeat questions he hears.

    “Someone will ask, ‘Did Jack Kennedy have an affair with Marilyn Monroe?’ With this woman? That woman? It’s something people, in an odd way, just accept,” O’Donnell said.

    John F. Kennedy spoke about a nation’s intrinsic value arising from how members of society remember those who are no longer with us. Now, as the anniversary of his assassination approaches, it is time for the country to remember the thought-provoking speeches of President John F Kennedy as well as the man, himself.

    [Image via Wikimedia Commons]

  • JFK Assassination: Secret Service Might Have Been Involved

    The JFK assassination is coming up on its 50th anniversary, and as the date approaches several movies and documentaries will be popping up on television. One of the most intriguing is “JFK: The Smoking Gun”, which will debut on ReelzChannel this fall. In it, retired police detective Colin McLaren says he’s gone through four years worth of evidence regarding the shooting and studied ballistics evidence with Bonar Menninger, author of “Mortal Error: The Shot that Killed JFK”. The two of them agree that Secret Service Agent George Hickey–who was riding in the car behind Kennedy’s limo–fired the second shot in retaliation to Oswald’s, but inexperience and the movement of the car made him misfire, striking Kennedy in the head.

    “What we’re saying is that we believe it was a tragic accident in the heat of that moment. We don’t suggest that he was in any way involved in a conspiracy,” McLaren told the Television Critics Association on Sunday. If what he says is true, then Kennedy might likely have survived Oswald’s shot.

    With the aid of modern forensic technology, McLaren and Menninger have delved deep into the events of that day and say they waited decades for several documents from the investigation to be released in the ’90s.

    “Our documentary is going to be the only one that has opened the case forensically and looked at the evidence from the beginning and examined everything that happened that day in Dealey Plaza,” director Michael Prupas said.

    Hickey passed away two years ago, and since Oswald was killed before he could stand trial, Mclaren and Menninger have lost key people who would know what really happened that day. But they insist they aren’t out to initiate a smear campaign against either Hickey or the Secret Service as an organization.

    “I’m sure that [Hickey] suffered greatly from this,” Menninger said. “The fact that he passed on — maybe it’s time to talk about it.”

  • John F. Kennedy Assassination

    Many people will never forget the date, November 22,1963; the day the beloved president, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. This year, just weeks before the 50th anniversary of his assassination, a television network will take another look into the historical killing through a documentary/drama that suggests a Secret Service agent was actually responsible by accidentally firing one of the bullets that hit Kennedy.

    The show “JFK: The Smoking Gun” will appear on ReelzChannel and will be based on the work of a retired Australian police Detective Colin McLaren and the book “Mortal Error: The Shot that Killed JFK”, by Bonar Menninger. The two-hour docudrama will air on November 3, 2013 in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

    “JFK: The Smoking Gun” suggests that an agent, George Hickey, fired one of the bullets that hit Kennedy. Hickey, who is now dead, was amongst those riding in the car behind Kennedy’s limo that day. The official story has always claimed that John F. Kennedy was killed by a single gunman by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald.

    It is believed, by McLaren, that Hickey accidentally pulled the trigger when his car came to an abrupt stop once Lee Harvey Oswald had fired the first shot on the president. McLaren and Menninger also believe that the ballistic profiles show that there were two different types of bullets that hit JFK. One of the bullets, a 6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano, came from Lee Harvey Oswald’s gun while the other bullet hole was believed to be caused by an AR-15; the same gun that Hickey was carrying that day.

    “We don’t suggest that he was in any way involved in a conspiracy,” McLaren said about Hickey. Hickey recalled the shooting, in his original statement from 1963, stating that, “At the end of the last report I reached to the bottom of the car and picked up the AR 15 rifle, cocked and loaded it, and turned to the rear. At this point the cars were passing under the over-pass and as a result we had left the scene of the shooting. I kept the AR 15 rifle ready as we proceeded at a high rate of speed to the hospital.

    The docudrama’s producers have said that the advances in forensic science and the documents that were released during the Clinton administration have added credibility to Menninger’s theory. McLaren told the Television Critics Association on Sunday, “What we’re saying is that we believe it was a tragic accident in the heat of that moment.”

    Our documentary is going to be the only one that has opened the case forensically and looked at the evidence from the beginning and examined everything that happened that day in Dealey Plaza.
    Michael Prupas, the film’s executive director

  • Caroline Kennedy Carries Eternal Flame to Ireland

    Caroline Kennedy, daughter of American president John F. Kennedy, carried an eternal flame from her father’s gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery in the United States, all the way to Dunganstown in County Wexford, Ireland. There she used that flame this past Saturday to light another in commemoration of the president’s historic visit there fifty years earlier.

    While JFK’s visit to Berlin – and his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” quote – is familiar to most Americans, it was his stop at his family’s ancestral homeplace in Ireland on that same trip that was being commemorated on Saturday.

    Caroline Kennedy spoke outside a cabin where her great-great-grandfather was born. At that very cabin, her father as president had visited with relatives during his stop fifty years before. Caroline Kennedy’s speech to those gathered, including Irish premiere Enda Kenny, assured the Irish that, “There was no visit that my father made as president that meant more to him that his visit to Ireland.”

    It was a significant stop for an American president in 1963. It was not just the return of America’s first Irish-Catholic president to the land of his heritage. Ireland had not yet had a visit from an American president since gaining its independence from England in 1921. Kennedy’s stop there signaled America’s recognition of that independence, as well as the success that the Irish could now claim as having one of their own as Leader of the Free World. It was a far cry from the discrimination that had long been their lot in America’s young history. That history was filled with signs that “no Irish need apply” for jobs in America’s cities.

    And it was significant in that, five months later, President John F. Kennedy, Ireland’s pride in the U.S., would be dead. Kennedy was cut down by an assassin’s bullets in November of that year.

  • Caroline Kennedy Leads Family Visit To Ireland

    Caroline Kennedy recently led a family pilgrimage to Ireland to celebrate the 50th anniversary of JFK’s visit and visited the Limerick village of Bruff, which was the birthplace of ancestor Tom Fitzgerald.

    Bruff residents were extremely excited to welcome back the Kennedys and spruced up the town in anticipation of their arrival.

    “This is our gig, our moment,” said Bruff Heritage Group member Paul Dennehy.

    Caroline Kennedy, her cousin Sydney Lawford, and Caroline and Edwin Schlossberg’s three children – Jack, Rose and Tatiana–visited the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul to look over their ancestry records, drawing in residents who were hoping to catch a glimpse of the family. They also read along with a prayer at a special service held in their honor, and Caroline spoke about her Irish heritage.

    “Grandma always had it that the Fitzgeralds were the better half of the family,” she said.

    The family also brought over an eternal flame from JFK’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery, lighting it in a ceremony with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. The emotional event marked the first time the flame has been passed in such a manner.

    “May it be a symbol of the fire in the Irish heart, imagination and soul,” Kenny said.