Meet The Jacobs (The Couple That Befriended Marina Oswald)

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Meet The Jacobs (The Couple That Befriended Marina Oswald)

The Unites States Information Agency (USIA) is a former intelligence group organized to conduct “foreign opinion research, media reaction reporting, and special evaluations and analysis” during the Cold War.i This group first emerged as part of the Coordinator of Information’s (COI) office led by General William Donovan amid WWII. Similar to the Central Intelligence Agency it was reconstituted from minor groups once within that COI’s office but USIA was not created until nineteen fifty-three. They administrated some foreign cultural and educational programs run by the Department of State, used press outlets such as the Voice of America, and gathered worldwide intelligence. Among the projects USIA supported was the American National Exhibition in Russia held in the course of nineteen fifty-nine. The display was presented to demonstrate several aspects of American life to the Russian public and focused on western cultural and technological innovations. Millions of people over the course of months reportedly filled a park in Moscow to observe the gathered displays. Following the exhibition’s successful conclusion one of the USIA’s press officer’s and his family were still present in Russia’s capital until the end of October. That employee’s name was John Jacobs…

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How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 6

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How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 6

Within the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination the Central Intelligence Agency had internally declared Lee Harvey Oswald guilty within forty-eight hours.i The Federal Bureau of Investigation granted the alleged shooter seventy-two hours before its determination of guilt the same day Jack Ruby shot Oswald. American intelligence groups were desperate to find an expedient solution and their suspect’s inability to defend himself was ideal. However, some within the CIA’s leadership believed this had to be another Soviet plot and Oswald was cast in the role of Soviet agent. Such ideas endangered the US government’s allegations that Oswald acted by himself but those not privately endorsing this idea became suspects in Central Intelligence Agency’s hunt for traitors…

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C.A.A. Savastano returns to The Past American Century

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Lee Harvey Oswald and his actions have dominated much of the public discussion about the JFK case, but has this constant focus on him taken away the greater view of events in the JFK assassination? C.A.A. Savastano and your host Mike Swanson discuss this and other related historical subjects.

The Past American Century Podcast w/ C.A.A. Savastano

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The Past American Century podcast is back! Historian Mike Swanson and researcher Carmine Savastano discuss the Warren Commission and its famous Single Bullet Theory. The official idea is compared to some contending evidence, diverging official expert testimony, and the assumptions required to believe it definitely proves its claims.

The Facts and Myths of Mind Control

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Is mind control possible? The Ochelli Effect features a discussion of claims and evidence regarding the possibilities and limitations of mental influencing. These claims regarding such techniques and their possible use in multiple historical assassinations is reviewed.

JFK 101 Part 16: The Present JFK Case

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The first season of a nearly two-year sixteen-episode journey assessing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy ends in this episode of the Ochelli Effect's JFK 101 series. Author Larry Hancock, researcher C.A.A. Savastano, and your host Chuck Ochelli return to offer developments in the case and ideas about the next season of JFK 101.

Deception and Secrets

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Deception and Secrets

It will come as no surprise to those with any familiarity with the internal actions undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency that deception and protecting vital secrets are undeniable necessities for national security. However, some activities venture far beyond what is necessary and despite contrary official statements, other actions have repeatedly occurred not from necessity but agenda. Deciphering what is merely operational requirement and what is possibly nefarious intention can prove difficult at times. There is significant evidence while officials frequently employ benign deception at times questionable and dishonest agendas too are in play...

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A Flawed Investigation

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A Flawed Investigation

The President's (Warren) Commission Executive Sessions reveal a starkly divided group with conflicting ideas about the evidence, mistrust of some public officials and the media influencing the case, and reasonable doubts that were absent from its final pronouncements. Most Commissioners and staff sought to find a resolution based on facts. Unfortunately, some officials deprived the inquiry of the substantial conflicting evidence necessary to do so...

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The Imprisoned Defector

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The Imprisoned Defector

Hearty alpine thistles were in bloom in the rural lanes outside Geneva, Switzerland in the summer of 1962. Just beyond this scenic atmosphere "KGB officer Yuriy Ivanovich Nosenko contacted the CIA...Over the course of five meetings he provided sufficient information to enable the two officers from CIA's Soviet Russia Division...to establish that he was a bona fide source. The major information furnished by him at that time was the identification of a US code technician who had been recruited by the KGB, and the identification of the location of KGB microphones in the US Embassy in Moscow, 52 of which were later found." Nosenko's eventual defection and the drastic shift in his treatment would lead to years of solitary imprisonment...

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The Curse of Cock Robin

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The Curse of Cock Robin

The tale of Cock Robin emerges from within the history of European folklore. A nursery rhyme mourns a heroic figure felled by an unlikely lone sparrow. Some assert it regards the political demise of an English politician and his government. Others have claimed it was a modern version of the Norse tale of the god Baldur's death at the hands of a blind sibling, and some note a resemblance to a Celtic hero murdered by an improbable assassin. The moniker was quietly affixed to John F. Kennedy in a private meeting of the President's Commission... 

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Assign blame where it is verifiably Due

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Assign blame where it is verifiably Due

The integrity of any investigation relies on reasonable standards; among these is the honest disclosure of all relevant evidence by leading officials. No matter what inferences are made by such full disclosure, it is their responsibility to offer the most reliable assessment. They must be unrelenting in their pursuit of those suspected and willing to offer every resource in seeking justice. If this is not the case, the investigation is flawed; hidden motivations can prevent its success. No amount of lower standards can be definitive... 

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A Question of Time

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A Question of Time

Lee Harvey Oswald could not have been employed at the Texas School Book Depository without learning of the job from Ruth Paine.i He then did not plan long in advance to be in the Depository in November. Secret Service Agent Forrest Sorells changed the parade route on November 18, not just before.ii However, the local media did not carry the story with the full route until November 19 at the earliest... 

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The Problematic Single Bullet Theory

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The Problematic Single Bullet Theory

A rebuttal to the famous President's "Warren" Commission Hypothesis

The President's (Warren) Commission has generated divisive findings that some declare are conclusive. However, repeated aspects of the of the single bullet theory do not find support from the Commission's own experts. Unfortunately, the lower evidentiary threshold of a "preponderance of evidence" did not require these discrepancies to enjoy additional review.  If an unbiased and complete review occurred, it would regard all testimony by the Commission witnesses. They would not ignore relevant contending evidence to the advantage of their predisposed findings...

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Skepticism is warranted if the Primary Evidence is repeatedly contending

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Skepticism is warranted if the Primary Evidence is repeatedly contending

A rebuttal of "JFK Conspiracy theories at 50: How Skeptics Got It Wrong and Why It Matters" by David Reitzes

"To dispel the shock and confusion that ensued after accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was gunned down during an abortive police transfer by a strip club operator Jack Ruby, President Johnson convened a blue-ribbon panel composed of distinguished leaders from both the public and private sectors and consisting of both Democrats and Republicans."i  (David Reitzes)
Some critics and advocates of conspiracy offer even handed reports that address the evidence. Some in their reviews of opposing viewpoints offer little evidence and much hyperbole and condescension. Others merely seek to refute opposing arguments with unproven contentions. They overlook the evidence that hampers there favorite official declaration. The article discussed "reminds us that the job of a skeptic is to use critical thinking...to properly assess the evidence, and to use our critical faculties to distinguish verifiable evidence from idle speculation." With that in mind, let us examine the evidence offered and the idle speculation...

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