Updates

This file consists of stuff that came in after the deadline for the current issue of Fair Play.

Secret '64 Memo Doubts Bullet Idea

By Michael Dorman, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Newsday (8/11/97)

A Warren Commission member expressed serious reservations about one of the panel's more controversial conclusions, the theory that a single shot wounded both President John F. Kennedy and Texas Gov. John Connally, a long-secret document has revealed. The "magic-bullet" theory was essential to the commission's conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone assassin.

Marked "confidential," the released document was a memorandum sent by commission member John J. McCloy to the commission's chief counsel, J. Lee Rankin. It was dated June 24, 1964, seven months after Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, and conveyed McCloy's critique of a draft of the final Warren Commission report.

"I think too much effort is expended on attempting to prove that the first bullet, which hit the president, was also responsible for all of Connally's wounds," McCloy wrote. "The evidence against this is not fully stated." He added that a section of the report dealing with the possibility of shots being fired at Kennedy's motorcade from an overpass was "not well done." Elsewhere, McCloy questioned the commission's account that a bullet found on a stretcher at Dallas' Parkland Hospital - where Kennedy and Connally were treated after being shot - was the "magic bullet." He wrote: "The statement concerning the bullet which was found on the stretcher is not particularly persuasive because there is no indication that the `stretcher bullet' was in fact the bullet which caused the [Connally] wrist wound."

The "magic-bullet" theory's importance to the conclusion that Oswald alone killed Kennedy lay in the number and timing of the shots fired at the president's motorcade. The commission concluded there was time for Oswald to fire no more than three shots and that he did, in fact, fire three times. One was said to have missed the presidential limousine entirely. A second - the fatal bullet - was said to have struck Kennedy in the back of the head. That left just one more bullet, but it was known that Kennedy also had been struck in the lower part of the back of his neck and that Connally had suffered wounds to his back, right wrist and left thigh.

If the commission had decided that separate bullets had struck Kennedy and Connally, it would have been forced to conclude there had been a fourth bullet. And since there had not been time for Oswald to fire more than three shots, it would have meant there must have been a second shooter. The commission responded with the "magic-bullet" theory - concluding the bullet that struck Kennedy in the neck passed through his body, hit Connally in the back, emerged from his chest, then passed through his wrist into his thigh.

It has been perhaps the conclusion most criticized by conspiracy theorists. The document recently released by the U.S. Assassination Records Review Board - which screens Kennedy assassination documents and releases those that will not endanger national security - also contains many other suggestions by McCloy on revising the draft report. Some of those suggestions were adopted by the commission. But the commission did not revise the sections dealing with the "magic-bullet" theory. Nor did it revise other sections criticized by McCloy, dealing with the Kennedy and Connally wounds. He asked at one point, for example: "Why is there no citation of authority with regard to the wound in the president's back and its path through his body?"

McCloy, who died in 1989, served as Kennedy's disarmament adviser.

Trust buys 8.5-acre tract in West End

Transcontinental considers resale, development options

08/11/97

By Steve Brown / The Dallas Morning News

A Dallas real estate investment trust has purchased the largest undeveloped property in downtown's West End entertainment district.

Transcontinental Realty Investors bought the 8.5-acre tract on Houston Street from a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The undeveloped tract - formerly the Missouri-Kansas Texas "Katy" rail yard, stretches from just north of the Dallas County Administration Building - formerly the Texas School Book Depository - to Woodall Rodgers Freeway. The acquisition includes the former Katy freight warehouse on the west side of Houston Street.

Union Pacific Railroad has been trying to sell the West End rail yard for almost a decade. The property is now used for surface parking.

"Everybody has looked at it, but these people have finally stepped up and bought it," said property broker Newt Walker, who negotiated the sale. "The railroads have owned this property for more than 100 years. It's the largest potential development site in the West End and one of the biggest downtown."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but property owners in the area estimate that the land sold for more than $7 million.

Transcontinental Realty bought the land as an investment for future development or resale, said Cooper B. Stuart, vice president of Basic Capital Management Inc., an affiliate of Transcontinental Realty.

Previous potential buyers of the old rail yard had studied the property for construction of a hotel, apartments or additional restaurant and retail space.

Longtime city thoroughfare plans call for an expansion of Houston Street, which serves the property, to connect with Cedar Springs Road north of downtown.

Transcontinental Realty has been an aggressive downtown investor in recent years.

In 1994 and 1995, the real estate investment trust purchased the Hartford Building and the adjacent three-building Republic Towers complex at Bryan and St. Paul streets.

Transcontinental Realty in recent weeks has been negotiating to purchase the former Great Reserve Life Insurance building on Live Oak Street.

Transcontinental also has acquired several development sites in Las Colinas and along LBJ Freeway in northwest Dallas County, some of which have already been resold to developers.

More Lancer Conference info

Note: Fair Play has no financial interest in the Lancer conference. We provide the following information on the assumption that it is of interest to readers. We received the following information from JFK-Lancer in late July.

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November In Dallas '97 Update

Please visit our conference web page for an update on speakers and the agenda of the 1997 November In Dallas Conference.

http://snni.com/~jfklancr/Dallas97.html"

We believe you will be very pleased with speakers and program we have so far -- and look for a few more surprises coming soon.

*=====>SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS
GEORGE MICHAEL EVICA
MARY FERRELL
MATTHEW SMITH
JOACHIM MARKUS
PETER DALE SCOTT
JOHN ARMSTRONG
JOSEPH BACKES
RICHARD BARTHOLOMEW
DEBRA CONWAY
FRANK CAMPER
CHRIS COURTWRIGHT
CHARLES DRAGO
IAN GRIGGS
ED HOFFMAN, with interpreter Ron Friedrich.
DAVID LIFTON
JIM MARRS
BRAD PARKER
JERRY ROSE
MARTIN SHACKELFORD
JACK WHITE

(Speakers' list will be updated as confirmed.)

*=====>AWARDS DINNER (Saturday, Nov. 22)
JFK Lancer-Mary Ferrell Awards and Dinner
"New Frontier" Awards
"Mary Ferrell Pioneer" Awards

*=====>Please take special note of the three workshops planned:
Films and Photos
Medical Contradictions
Files and Documents

These workshops will be open to all conference attendees and will provide, along with a topic workbook and opportunity for discussion and debate, a strong foundation in these areas of research.

With these workshops and materials provided, along with the expert researchers in attendance and your participation, this conference will be different than any other JFK conference previously held. It is our sincere desire to provide knowledge, focus, and goals towards the solution of this case.

*=====>The Remembrance Ceremony:
Saturday, November 22 12:00 - 12:30 pm, Dealey Plaza
Mary Ferrell will deliver the Keynote address at the Dallas Grand Hotel immediately before leaving for the ceremony.

*=====>Please send all abstracts for speaking to George Michael Evica:
George Michael Evica, conference chair.
107 N. Beacon St.
Hartford, CT 06105
phone/fax:860-523-8504
email: evica@uhavax.hartford.edu

New URL for Assassination Journal Web Site

The site of the assassiantion journal JFK/Deep Politics Quarterly has been moved. Its new URL is:

http://www.njmetronet.com/jfkdpq

JFK/DPQ is edited by Jan Stevens and Walt Brown. Mr. Stevens maintains the web site; he says, "The JFK/DPQ site is being totally updated and revamped and the new additons (including our new PHOTO ARCHIVE) will be up and running" by late July. The old site and its URL will be valid until that time.

Touché

To Fair Play:
In response to your coverage of the recent fourth annual COPA conference, I hope to get back to a more serious point of view than was expressed in the review of the conference you termed "gossipy". Obviously, we can't please everyone, though we do our best to make the conferences accessible, functional, informative and balanced. We had several purposes in holding the conference where and when we did this year, and we have an overarching purpose and rules of play that guide all our conferences.

COPA's national conferences have been held in Washington, DC for several years now, where our offices are based. The primary reasons are that we have access here to Congress, the Archives II collection, the AARC, and national media coverage. We have also been working closely with and monitoring the Assassination Records Review Board, also based here. Many of our conferences have been planned jointly to coincide with their board meetings or public hearings as well. This year, fearing that funding might end for the ARRB, we decided to hold the conference in the spring, allowing a possible lobbying response in Congress or media coverage of the issue. We didn't want to hold our meeting after the ARRB had already ended its work in September. As it turned out, the legislation that would guarantee a one-year extension for the ARRB was already in progress in both House and Senate with little opposition, and it now sits on President Clinton's desk awaiting signature (HR 1553, call 202-456-1111 to urge his support).

We had also determined that the expense to registrants of holding the conference in the DC hotels was prohibitive for many, and we wanted to extend participation by meeting at a college campus or community center instead. That also required a meeting when school was out of session in late spring/early summer. Georgetown University had the most reasonable rates of any local campus. Since the University charged for all meeting space, we had to ask a reasonable registration rate, but participants saved money on rooming and meal tickets. We felt the academic atmosphere would lend itself to our semi-professional conferences as well. We had made final arrangements by the end of February, but we could not afford a mailing about the conference until April. Many people had assumed that we would be holding it in the fall as in other years, so attendance suffered somewhat. However, about 75 people attended and we videotaped presentations as usual. The presentations were content rich and informative as well.

As long as people look at COPA from the outside, taking a critical stance as "consumers" of a product, our limited resources will probably not be able to please them. COPA is an organization that depends on the input and talent of its members. The Working Panels that meet each year include ones on evidence that get good attendance, and others on organizational work that lack participation. No national organization can depend on the efforts of a single individual to do every aspect of the necessary work. I rely on people to help run the conferences every year who have a variety of expertise. If those interested in the assassinations want to have an organization that can lobby for their interests in the press and Congress, put on serious, semi-professional conferences, and produce press releases and publications that have an impact on the public, then working together in one national coalition is essential. No other organization or publication replicates the work that COPA is set up to accomplish. Our efforts aim at the general public and at opinion-makers and legislators, not just at the researchers. We can do nothing without the participation of our membership though, and financial support is crucial but not enough. We rely on the skills of our members to make things happen, including our webpage, our administrative work, our outreach and our conferences. We are glad to hear constructive criticism, and happier yet to involve volunteers in making things run smoothly at the conferences. With greater resources we could hire professional staff, but we attempt instead to keep the costs low and to entice people inside our organization to moderate panels, keep time, be cooperative and assist with technical problems at the events.

There are almost always technical problems with audio/visual equipment and a lack of trained volunteers to coordinate fixing them. This year a microphone was stolen from the meeting room and Marriott was slow in replacing it. The agenda shifted off slightly because of it, and we caught up prior to the lunch hour. I was not aware that John Newman's talk had been cut short. However, I did know that John Armstrong, who refused to edit his talk to the 45 minutes allotted to him (longer than any other speaker), and insisted in taking over the lunch hour instead. After an hour and 45 minutes he was "cut short" by one of the staff. There have to be some rules, and some consideration of other speakers for the conference to work. All speakers would like to have unlimited time, but we could not possibly accommodate the many important presentations in any reasonable way in a three day conference. People have time to speak with each other throughout the events as well, and anyone can arrange an informal meeting during the conference schedule.

In defense of Stephanie Fraser, whose work has been complimented over the past three years by almost all conference participants and board members, she can hardly be called "obnoxius". She does work tirelessly to oppose testing and production of nuclear weapons around the world when she is not giving time to help organize our conferences. Is that a criticism? Kennedy was heading in that direction when he was killed. This is, in fact, the first complaint I have heard from anyone about her work. If asking people to pay their registration fee and intervening to make the schedule work is "annoying" COPA members, then I'm glad she's doing so. I have seen her go out of her way many times to accommodate and support those attending the conference, trying to make sure all are included and their needs are met. I can't account for subjective opinions save to ask that they be looked at in light of a broader perspective than self interest.

Our theme this year was Full Disclosure: MLK, RFK, JFK. Our keynote speaker was Dr. William Pepper, who was excellent at both his panel and dinner presentations. We have created a special video of both talks, available from COPA ($25 postpaid), and a transcript will appear in the upcoming Open Secrets. The ARRB representative Tom Samoluk answered questions at a panel presentation and a board and founding member luncheon, updating people on their efforts. There was substantive discussion of medical and forensic evidence in JFK's murder, Oswald's history, both the Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinations, ballistic investigations, and the remaining work ahead to insure full disclosure by the ARRB. For the first time, we got substantial press coverage, and our press conference was aired by C-SPAN several times (people are urged to call in for a re-airing once the King story breaks open again) and filmed by Black Entertainment Television. UPI, AP and the Washington Post also attended, but failed to write us up. We discounted the session with Dr. Pepper to encourage public attendance, but failed to get a large number of community residents to attend. The conference was well advertised on talk radio, in the City Paper and at community events.

The conference led to a large number of membership renewals and new members. We also received a major donation at the event that will allow us to put out another newsletter and to function for a few more months. We are relying on our members and our board to build the organization and ensure its financial success. COPA needs new members from across the country. If you are already a COPA member, we need you to recruit them. If you are not a member, then join now. Next year, 1998, is the 35th anniversary of the JFK assassination. It is also the 30th anniversary for the MLK and RFK murders. We plan to hold regional meetings in Memphis on April 4 and in Los Angeles on June 5, building for our national conference in Dallas, Texas on November 20-22, 1998. The Review Board will have finished its work, there will hopefully have been new developments in the King and RFK cases. The documents pending release currently will be public and can be analyzed. The attention of the press will be riveted on Dallas and the events of November 22, 1963 as well as the other anniversaries. We want to be visible, and we want to begin to build for our largest conference yet. Mark your calendars.

In addition, we will hold our annual, regional meeting in Dallas on November 21-23 this year at the Paramount Hotel and the nearby Dallas County Courthouse building. We hope you will join us. Pre-registration will be slightly higher this year, $50, but still includes COPA membership for 1998. That offer is good until October 1, 1997. After that date, full registration will be $65 for all events. Working Panels meet Saturday and Sunday during the day at the Paramount's ballroom, and a resource room will be set up to sell research aids. Friday and Saturday evenings will include speakers and films at the George Allen Building of the Dallas County Courthouse on Houston and Main Streets. Day and evening session rates will be available. Rooms at the Paramount Hotel will be discounted for COPA registrants, call them to reserve before October 31 at 214-761-9090. Disount fares are also available on AMTRAK and USAIR. Call COPA for more details at 202-785-5299.

COPA is nothing more or less than what you are willing to make it! As Ben Franklin said, if we don't hang together we will surely hang separately.

COPA
P.O. Box 772
Washington, DC 20044
202-785-5299
202-584-1021 (fax)
email: copa@nicom.com
website: http://www.nicom.com/~copa

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