tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65605702012-01-20T10:06:11.345-08:00Is it news or propaganda? How can you tell? Read and learn how Real History informs the present, empowering you to wake up and smell what's brewing.Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.comBlogger3991100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-75149628641285069122011-11-21T17:47:00.000-08:002011-11-21T17:52:04.061-08:00

Major thanks to David Talbot and the staff at Salon.com who had the guts to let the truth be heard in their publication. I'm very grateful and impressed that I was allowed to write what I wrote there. See for yourself.http://www.salon.com/2011/11/21/the_other_kennedy_conspiracy/

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-50047984720790905862011-11-14T12:24:00.000-08:002011-11-14T12:26:37.964-08:00

[This review first appeared at http://consortiumnews.com/2011/11/14/the-lost-history-of-j-edgar/]The more you know about history, the less you will enjoy J. Edgar.I understand the problems with dramatizing history. Characters often need to be combined, events invented to connect known episodes, dialog invented because who knows what was actually said in any given situation. I usually cut

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-83441592341480068242011-10-30T14:35:00.000-07:002011-10-30T14:37:25.173-07:00

New Regency Pictures must be thrilled at the fortuitous timing of the launch of their new film “In Time.” The science fiction thriller revolves around a world in which time is the ultimate currency and most people can’t get enough of it. The world is divided into time zones, most of them poor, except for the zone of New Greenwich, where the richest 1 percent live. The premise of the world of the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-91897063950247272012011-10-22T13:27:00.000-07:002011-10-22T13:42:06.179-07:00

Wow. I mean, just, wow. It's one thing to believe something. It's another to know it. I used to simply believe it was possible to program someone highly hypnotizable to kill, or pretend to kill, someone else. But now I don't just believe. I know. I saw it done, on this British show.Master hypnotist Derren Brown has a new series of shows called "The Experiment" on Channel 4 in the UK. In his

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-50143242645265198392011-10-21T09:31:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:38:10.433-07:00

The film Anonymous deals with a longstanding debate many people have never heard about: the question of who wrote the plays of William Shakespeare. While the answer seems obvious, numerous scholars have concluded the answer is anything but.Some of the many notables who have challenged the notion that the barely educated Shakespeare wrote those brilliant works, filled with literary and cultural

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-50510705816342779082011-09-23T10:31:00.000-07:002011-09-23T10:36:27.277-07:00

A man walks into a very high-tech bar. As he sits down on a stool he notices that the bartender is a robot. The robot clicks to attention and asks, "Sir, what will you have?"The man thinks a moment then replies, "A martini please."The robot clicks a couple of times and mixes the best martini the man had ever had.The robot then asks, "Sir, what is your IQ?" The man answers "Oh, about 164."The

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-80949789884237138752011-09-11T18:30:00.000-07:002011-09-11T19:25:41.673-07:00

Ten years ago this day, I woke early. It was a little after 5 a.m. West Coast time. I turned on the TV, as I do when I wake earlier than usual, and would have commenced flipping through the channels had it not been for the dramatic image in front of me. One of the World Trade Center buildings was on fire.I watched live as the second plane hit the second tower. Stunned. Horrified.I remember

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-59540624664073003272011-08-10T15:30:00.001-07:002011-08-10T15:36:41.208-07:00

I just found that someone had transcribed and posted the discussion I was party to last year. I have not compared to the original videos. I hope you do, before quoting! Transcript by PottersvilleUSA.com. Feel free to republish with attribution to PottersvilleUSA.com. A panel discussion with author James W. Douglass (JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE: WHY HE DIED AND WHY IT MATTERS) With filmmaker Oliver

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-16833671745118379452011-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:002011-08-10T11:39:25.808-07:00

What happens when one party gives tax cuts to the rich and then uses cries of “economic crisis!” to justify destroying labor unions, protections for the poorer among us, and environmental safeguards? We just found out, in Wisconsin. Although Democrats failed to reclaim the State Senate, what happened was an extraordinary victory for the party, nonetheless. Consider: Each of the candidates up

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-5811516650309123462011-08-08T08:59:00.000-07:002011-08-08T09:06:30.048-07:00

So the First Lady was a conspiracy theorist. Not a huge surprise, nor is it a surprise that the media is focusing instead on sexual revelations rather than the important news that Jackie believed a conspiracy killed her husband. I just hope Caroline kept a copy of the tapes, lest someone be tempted to doctor them. I also think it's horrible that ABC essentially resorted to blackmailing Caroline

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-25564191354510786452011-04-08T10:39:00.000-07:002011-04-08T10:39:53.209-07:00

Will repost this here later but please see my article Strange Twist in Wisconsin Battle. Important!

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-55774227063602373562011-03-01T09:50:00.000-08:002011-03-01T09:51:38.763-08:00

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, the convicted assassin of Robert Kennedy, who I believe was convicted unfairly, is seeking parole today. If you want to read a good short summary of the case, start here: http://www.realhistoryarchives.com/collections/assassinations/rfk.htm.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-11940282627817426282011-02-09T17:18:00.000-08:002011-02-09T17:21:25.724-08:00

I'm surprised that otherwise intelligent people continue to believe the myth that the media is "liberal." I think it's worth discussing what a liberal media would look like if we had one, so we can better understand that we don't have one.Let's imagine a fictional cable network called LNN - the Liberal News Network. What might the morning news on such a channel be?The show might lead with

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-85234887162179701652010-11-22T13:09:00.000-08:002010-11-23T07:42:20.605-08:00

I've only gotten to know President John F. Kennedy posthumously. And after years of wading through books good and bad, filled with information and disinformation, it's clear that Kennedy is still being killed. You see, it wasn't enough to destroy the man. He was killed, I now understand, because he was seeking a new way for America, one of cooperation with other nations rather than domination,

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-69168296980404297282010-11-15T19:24:00.001-08:002010-11-15T20:33:39.401-08:00

Here is the entire talk, filmed at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills, California, on November 8, 2010, 50 years to the day after John F. Kennedy was elected President. I have to say, each and every one of these men was just as nice and genuine and brilliant offstage as they were onstage. It was such a treat to share the stage with them for this event! YouTube limits uploads to 15 minutes, hence

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-41966225924869838132010-11-10T20:17:00.001-08:002010-11-10T20:22:46.959-08:00

I had such a wonderful time sharing the stage with these remarkable people. I wish you all could have been there.Thank you, those of you who came up to me afterwards and introduced yourselves. You ROCK for caring about Real History!!!I believe the full video of the event will eventually be posted, but for now, here's a 15 minute digest version:

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-11628520477485370502010-11-05T09:04:00.000-07:002010-11-05T09:09:17.036-07:00

Reprinted from my article at ConsortiumNews.com.It was rather horrifying to wake to hear that the Obama administration is considering sending hunter-killer teams into Yemen in hopes of seeking out and killing suspected terrorists.First, there’s no guarantee that the people the CIA has identified are, in fact, terrorists. There is no court for assessing evidence and no appeal process if mistakes

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-8703539512451406732010-10-29T10:21:00.000-07:002010-10-29T10:32:38.998-07:00

If you live near the Los Angeles area, I really encourage you to come hear Jim Douglass, Oliver Stone and myself speak on a panel moderated by Robert Ellsberg (son of yes, THAT Daniel Ellsberg) about Jim's excellent book JFK and the Unspeakable: Why he died and why it matters. It's the single best book I've ever read on Kennedy's life and death. It hones in on the most important parts of that

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-48660983036209291132010-10-13T11:17:00.000-07:002010-10-13T11:54:45.678-07:00

Reprinted with permission from Black Box Voting.If you have a choice, vote the old fashioned way: At the polls, allowing plenty of time, and ready to assert your right to vote, by provisional ballot if necessary, if you are told your name is not on the list. Although it is "easy and fun", vote by mail is second only to Internet voting in the risk it presents to American democracy. To get a

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-25141051282869659962010-09-15T08:33:00.000-07:002010-09-15T08:35:08.721-07:00

Rory Kennedy's upcoming HBO documentary “The Fence” (“La Barba”) presents a compelling argument that the border fence, the subject of the film, is an ill-conceived and expensive mistake. The documentary itself crosses that difficult border from education into entertainment. The audience at the preview screening in Los Angeles was laughing heartily many times throughout the film. The facts about

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-46956853698334821922010-09-03T09:14:00.000-07:002010-09-03T09:32:13.648-07:00

I've become increasingly disillusioned with so-called "news" programs these days. It seems that "balance" has been substituted for actual fact. Is it fear? The media owners' biases? For the life of me, I don't know why "news" networks put opinions on the air instead of actual content.For example, who cares whether someone thinks tax cuts will help the economy? Why not examine the actual facts to

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-41107807767119707942010-07-17T19:01:00.000-07:002010-07-17T19:28:25.545-07:00

Oliver Stone is under attack again, which isn’t a surprise, given that no other filmmaker has been so willing to challenge the “conventional wisdom” in an effort to uncover the facts about important events.After seeing what the media did to Stone for his excellent and provocative film “JFK,” I concluded that the press had become almost a reverse template. If the media trashes a Stone film, I know

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-4889977528794247672010-07-10T10:28:00.000-07:002010-07-10T10:31:03.339-07:00

We should have listened to Nikola Tesla when we had the chance.At the height of his popularity as the key inventor who pioneered commercial electricity, Tesla cautioned the world of the inefficiencies of burning substances to generate energy, especially coal, the predominate fuel source of the day.Not only did the burning process waste most the potential energy of coal, Nikola Tesla argued, but

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-713791309271451302010-05-13T10:44:00.000-07:002010-05-13T10:46:51.666-07:00

I wrote about a paper these two wrote here, in which the authors recommended the government "cognitively infiltrate" groups in which conspiracy theories were discussed. It's a stunning paper. I recommend you read my questions to the one of the paper's authors at the link above and then listen in tonight at www.blackopradio.com (~7pm Pacific Time). The show will also be archived for later

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-53296224054265057562010-03-26T08:19:00.000-07:002010-03-26T08:21:38.570-07:00

During his acceptance speech at the 1964 Republican convention, presidential candidate Barry Goldwater famously said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.” But was he correct? Last weekend, those words were wrapped around a brick and thrown through the window of the Monroe Democratic Committee headquarters office in Rochester, New York.Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-New York, whose Niagara

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-43819789400803369142010-03-05T20:01:00.000-08:002010-03-05T20:45:30.387-08:00

Robert Greenwald, bless him, is gathering signatures in an effort to persuade the History Channel to act like a History Channel and not like an adjunct of Rush Limbaugh, distorting history to serve an agenda.Greenwald sees this as a politically motivated effort. I see something more sinister, as I'll explain in a minute. This upcoming miniseries is produced by Joel Surnow, producer of "24" and

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-46170289053402368572010-02-15T19:37:00.000-08:002010-02-15T20:39:51.765-08:00

Wow. Even I didn't think they could be this dumb. The CIA's most friendly defenders on the JFK Assassination are now all together, in one site called "Washington Decoded."I mean, how silly can they get? Consider the posters there:1. Priscilla Johson McMillan. Her CIA file listed her at a "witting collaborator." And not only did she write a book about Marina Oswald and her husband Lee Harvey

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-45436766217003077552010-02-10T20:05:00.000-08:002010-02-10T22:47:37.888-08:00

I was forwarded this email today, causing me to shake my head at the ignorance of those who believe anything they read, no matter how ridiculous it is, if it conforms to their overall view of the world.Here's the message with my commentary interspersed. I left out most of the images, but had to include the first and last ones for reasons that will become clear.Did you know that the ACLU American

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-80090717429232269392010-02-05T22:50:00.000-08:002010-02-05T23:41:56.558-08:00

Did you catch this today?Veteran journalist Gerald Posner acknowledged today that he copied five sentences from a Miami Herald article this week for a piece he wrote for the Daily Beast. The Daily Beast appended an editor's note to the beginning of Posner's piece today, explaining that the copying was "inadvertent" and that the Daily Beast has deleted the copied passages.Posner admitted that he

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-28824667334162097962010-02-05T22:22:00.000-08:002010-02-05T22:26:18.540-08:00

From this article:Haiti's disaster, on the front of every newspaper, has given Goldman Sachs an unequalled opportunity. A simple act of generosity could bring it front-page publicity, one that would do much to allay the controversy on everyone's lips. By donating just half of their bonuses to Haitian relief, they will outmatch the Haitian GDP, and improve not only their image but their tax

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-15788042266292531042010-02-04T13:42:00.001-08:002010-02-04T13:43:50.635-08:00

Okay, how cool is this? Check it out for yourself:http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-readThe individual articles are here:Part 1: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/americas-sorry-history-haiti-part-iPart 2: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/americas-sad-history-haiti

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-23535668580401562742010-01-31T23:14:00.000-08:002010-01-31T23:22:21.551-08:00

Excerpted from my article at ConsortiumNews.com:The Haitians have a saying in their native créole language: Piti, piti, wazo fe nich li. “Little by little, the bird builds its nest.”Freed of the powerful grip of the Duvaliers in 1986, and despite a dysfunctional system, little by little, the Haitians undertook the difficult work of rebuilding their nation into a more democratic place from

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-11966991420574277572010-01-30T18:22:00.000-08:002010-01-30T18:25:17.833-08:00

I just completed a long article on Haiti for ConsortiumNews.com, which will be published in two parts. Part 1 is up today - Part 2 should be up tomorrow.There are some interesting nuggets related to George de Mohrenschildt's strange role in Haiti as well.Start here: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/013010a.htmlAnd I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-43034059066947132792010-01-27T11:56:00.000-08:002010-01-28T19:18:19.180-08:00

We've all been speculating about what Obama will or won't say tonight. Here's the speech I personally would like to hear. I have no illusions that I will get anything close. But I had to share.I wanted to come before you tonight with a different story.I wanted to tell you that people on the right and left have come together to do what's best for this country, that people put aside their fears,

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-55656145863447719232010-01-26T23:44:00.001-08:002010-01-26T23:47:59.921-08:00

Cyril Wecht was kind enough to give me permission to share his letter to the authors of that awful "Conspiracy Theories" paper where the authors suggested the government infiltrate spaces where conspiracies are discussed to sow doubt and dissuade people from looking into such matters.Here is what Cyril had to say to the authors, Cass Sunstein (now an Obama appointee) and Adrian Vermeule. Both men

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-67158207795856250192010-01-20T17:19:00.000-08:002010-01-20T17:22:26.468-08:00

I'm working hard on an article re the sorry history of America's interventions in Haiti. But I felt compelled to write and share this short version as well, in limerick form.Hang on, HaitiAmerica's got Haiti's backOr so you will read on the rackBut if truth be toldThe public's been rolledAmerica's got Haiti backWe occupied them once beforeFor years til 1934We left them untetheredWhile bankers

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-37904756233241816222010-01-15T22:23:00.000-08:002010-01-16T00:40:10.245-08:00

I'll have more to say about this over time - but an email touting Obama's role in suppressing conspiracy theories is going around. While I do not have enough evidence to know if Obama knew or agreed with the opinions in the paper referenced below, it's certainly cause for question and concern.Glenn Greenwald sums it up nicely here:It's certainly true that one can easily find irrational conspiracy

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-53467268805099399402009-12-31T10:30:00.000-08:002009-12-31T10:44:03.769-08:00

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has decried President Barack Obama for not taking a more belligerent tone against terrorism, accusing him of making Americans less safe when he “pretends we aren’t at war with terrorists.” But Obama is not Dick Cheney, and thank goodness.I think Obama understands that words of war do not inspire fear in the enemy. They often simply create new enemies.I hope Obama

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-26211617262125973802009-12-16T22:15:00.000-08:002009-12-16T22:16:57.386-08:00

The film “Invictus” dramatizes the real-world events of 1995, when newly installed South African President Nelson Mandela urged his country to come together behind its rugby team, the Springboks, when South Africa hosted the once-every-four-years Rugby World Cup. The team had been, to many South Africans, a hated symbol of apartheid, cheered by the white Afrikaners but rooted against by the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-54773612523808627342009-12-14T09:45:00.000-08:002009-12-14T09:55:55.902-08:00

If there’s one book I wish President Obama would read over the holidays, it is JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters.Obama, like President John F. Kennedy, has had his first encounters with the permanent warfare establishment, and so far, has been persuaded by their arguments. This book could open his eyes – and ours – to the possibility of another path.In this eloquent,

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-85623158985480567192009-11-30T15:07:00.000-08:002009-11-30T15:10:40.211-08:00

President Barack Obama appears set to approve a dramatic increase in troops in Afghanistan. The original goal of the U.S. effort there was to find and capture Osama bin Laden. Why is Washington not still seeking the man who allegedly masterminded the attack on American on Sept. 11, 2001?In an Oct. 7, 2008, debate, candidate Obama said, "We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaeda. That has to

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-51921504401058318192009-11-23T15:25:00.001-08:002009-11-24T23:32:14.061-08:00

I'm very depressed that people know so little of our history that they can invite Lamar Waldron on the air to talk about his provably false story of the Kennedy assassination. His book hinges on a plan he says President Kennedy had to invade Cuba in December. If that were true, neither the CIA nor the mob would have had any motive to kill Kennedy, for one. But the simple fact is, Kennedy provably

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-41842097442584367052009-11-16T08:39:00.000-08:002009-11-16T08:40:59.690-08:00

Can people really influence the physical world with thought alone? And if so, dare we use that power for evil, instead of good? Or will the effort come back to haunt us? That is the quandary posed by the film "The Men Who Stare at Goats," and, even more so, by the book of the same name that inspired the film.First, run -- do not walk, do not pass Go -- to the theater to see "The Men Who Stare at

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-11228985139902566372009-11-03T11:55:00.001-08:002009-11-03T11:59:16.478-08:00

I reviewed "This is It" - the film documenting the stage show Michael Jackson was nearly finished creating when he was killed (remember, the police are calling it a homicide) over at Consortium News.One of the reasons I write is to defend the dead, who are no longer around to defend themselves. Michael Jackson is in need of continued defense, and I hope to be able to write more about him at some

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-91702597327455016562009-10-29T15:13:00.000-07:002009-10-29T15:19:41.107-07:00

I sometimes wonder about Posner's IQ level. Look at this, from here:Early Wednesday morning at nearly 1:00 A.M., I checked my email for a final time and saw notice of a newsbreak from The New York Times that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and the man often called the Pablo Escobar of the country’s heroin trade, has been on a CIA payroll for the past eight years. I

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-18277732802477702812009-10-27T19:08:00.000-07:002009-10-27T19:12:56.302-07:00

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials.The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitary force that

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-62899615912512025792009-10-21T20:42:00.001-07:002010-09-17T15:44:28.127-07:00

FYI, I started to review C. David Heymann's book Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story but found the entire book relies on Heymann's credibility as an honest broker, because all his key witnesses are dead, and the families of dead people can't sue for libel. So I started researching Heymann and his previous works. I'll give you a hint as to what I found. He lies right on the cover of his book, claiming

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-90728200479577939212009-09-24T21:02:00.000-07:002009-09-24T21:19:41.128-07:00

I've long been a supporter of FAIR, and this story is particularly interesting to me, because I can't help wonder if the CIA was involved in the coup that removed Zelaya, and what role the CIA may have played in the AP's (mis)reporting of this story. In any case, this is a worthy alert, and I hope you'll join me in taking action on the below information. USA Today, AP Mislead on Honduran Coup9/24

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-88613861427457839272009-09-20T06:59:00.000-07:002009-09-30T13:18:33.223-07:00

I'm always disappointed when the film doesn't match its advertisements, no matter how good the film or important its message. So I have to admit I was a little disappointed with The Informant! because I was expecting a comedy, but got something quite a bit darker. Had I expected instead to see a smart, suspenseful drama going in, I'm certain I would have enjoyed the experience more. I'm hoping

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-54915560541800480892009-09-16T10:29:00.000-07:002009-09-16T10:37:16.449-07:00

While we've been concentrating on the healthcare debate, the economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, another story important to American democracy has gotten inadequate attention: a single company is poised to monopolize the counting of over 75 percent of the nation's votes.Earlier this month, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), which counted roughly 50 percent of the ballots in the last

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-71197152619785177572009-09-14T21:09:00.000-07:002009-09-14T21:14:56.067-07:00

... and that's no joke. But it is a song. I'd say enjoy, but it's more like, watch it and weep. This would be funny if it weren't so true.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-80374882420738154052009-08-26T03:04:00.000-07:002009-08-26T03:05:39.181-07:00

Rest in Peace, Senator Ted KennedyThe Lion of the Senate is gone, and our country is the poorer for his passing. Senator Ted Kennedy passed away late last night, surrounded by his family. While we all knew that, given his prognosis, this event seemed inevitable, I am immensely sad now that he is gone.I had the great privilege of seeing Ted Kennedy on two occasions of great personal

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-3497040916399982432009-08-23T15:22:00.000-07:002009-08-23T15:24:32.684-07:00

I wrote an article showing how the official story doesn't hold a lot of water, re the Lockerbie shooting, and how investigators have come up with a more plausible, if much darker, scenario that involved sneaking a bomb in via a CIA-monitored drug-ring. See the details over at Consortium News.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-91418343631549874492009-08-20T15:23:00.000-07:002009-08-20T22:31:49.558-07:00

Another of my friends, Gary Aguilar, has given me permission to share another rebuttal response to more propaganda. A letter has been circulated, ostensibly from "Dr. Stephen Fraser." Gary offers this point-by-point rebuttal, with links. Enjoy, and circulate broadly!Dear Merk et al,I read with interest the first pdf attachment you sent, "HealthCareLtr09.pdf." Then I googled up the on-line bill it

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-89170794962829091482009-08-20T15:21:00.000-07:002009-08-20T15:23:23.094-07:00

The people are making such hay."They let the bomber get away!"But what they don't knowIs the trial was all "show"And the truth is not known to this day.(More later. Lots of background to come.)

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-35534797796991931042009-08-07T11:03:00.000-07:002009-08-07T11:06:47.929-07:00

Just saw this on Google News and had to capture.Which is it? Are unemployment rates going up, or down? A fact shouldn't be subject to spin. So why do we have two stories making opposite cases?

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-19815014989000365492009-08-04T20:48:00.000-07:002010-02-13T05:52:52.713-08:00

One of my email correspondents sent me this wonderful rebuttal to one of those dastardly hate mail items regarding Obama. He took the time to respond. I obtained his permission to share, although I'm withholding his home address, which he included in the original missive.The next time someone you know forwards you crap like this - please be a Carl and take the time to respond. That one action may

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-66313940229934428312009-08-03T19:20:00.000-07:002009-08-03T20:04:43.910-07:00

One of the "worst" things to happen to the election reform movement was Obama's election. A lot of people who were starting to care about whether or not our votes were counted honestly sat back and said hey, the system worked after all, so I don't need to worry about my vote.Those people are so wrong.Obama had such a substantial lead going into the election there was simply no point in trying to

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-20364402525266420602009-07-23T19:50:00.000-07:002009-07-23T20:04:57.967-07:00

I stumbled upon David Neal's review of Jim Douglass's book, and asked permission to share it with you here. I love his point of view here. You will too. We are all jurors in an ongoing trial to find the truth of John Kennedy's murder. Most of us have fallen asleep; some left the chamber, and others don't even care anymore.But a few, a very small few, have been paying attention for the last 45

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-24431231911271114842009-07-22T13:29:00.001-07:002009-07-22T13:32:29.082-07:00

Hey all - I'll have more to say about this eventually, but this year's COPA conference in Dallas will include some heavy hitters. I hear that Jim Douglass, author of what I consider the single best book on the Kennedy assassination to date, JFK and the Unspeakable, will be doing the keynote address.Neither Jim nor I will be speaking at that other conference, JFK Lancer. So if you can only go to

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-41228643413121778442009-07-16T17:29:00.000-07:002009-07-16T17:53:07.640-07:00

Robert Kennedy Jr. speaks fluently here about the problems with the media and how the degradation of quality information has led to our current political state. Well, current as of a couple of years back.This is just under 30 minutes, and worth every second of your time.I rarely post such videos. This one is the best I've seen in a very long time.Enjoy, and learn. His father would be so proud.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-56103818562744885072009-07-10T12:38:00.000-07:002009-07-10T12:40:29.071-07:00

As I wrote over at ConsortiumNews today:On TV this week, with a measure of disbelief in their voices, the pundits ask, did the CIA lie to or deliberately mislead Congress? How is that not a rhetorical question?The Agency has a long history of manipulating Congress and others to support its programs. That this was posed as an actual question reveals the media’s historical illiteracy in this matter

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-69166133590840415482009-06-17T12:48:00.001-07:002009-06-17T12:49:10.529-07:00

As I wrote over at Consortium News:The Right has been bashing President Obama for not calling the Iranian elections a fraud. Perhaps Obama understands that you can’t tell someone to fix a problem you haven’t first fixed in your own house.American democracy is seriously at risk so long as many of our votes are counted solely by machines. As electronic voting has moved into the U.S. (and other

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-52912986298238762922009-06-09T19:58:00.000-07:002009-06-09T20:01:21.277-07:00

Dear Readers,I'm reposting, with David Swanson's permission, his important and succinct ten reasons why no thinking person should support torture as U.S. policy. This came from his blog at http://www.davidswanson.org. Please share broadly.Why Would Anyone Oppose Torture?By dswanson - Posted on 09 June 2009By David SwansonSomeone recently asked if I could please explain to him why anybody would

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-47075182759178833532009-06-03T22:55:00.001-07:002009-06-03T22:58:49.204-07:00

Forty-one years ago, on the morning of June 4, 1968, reporter Jack Newfield rose early and drove around Los Angeles before the sun came up, before the polls for the California primary opened. What he saw contradicted the conventional wisdom that people of color and poverty didn’t vote. He saw long lines of people in some of the poorest areas of the city lined up to vote for Senator Robert Francis

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-90698599376815951032009-05-13T19:50:00.000-07:002009-05-13T20:00:18.547-07:00

Hey, dear Real History afficianados. I wanted to tell you that I do Twitter, occasionally. I expect to do that a little more, mostly because it's a quick, fast way to share a link or two that isn't worthy of a blog entry.If you want to 'follow' my 'tweets' you can go to www.Twitter.com and look me up. I'm there as lisapease.I hope people caught Rachel Maddow tonight on MSNBC. She quoted testimony

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-19283566582301669582009-04-29T09:33:00.001-07:002009-04-29T14:45:11.472-07:00

Please see my article today at Consortiumnews.com re Arlen Specter's JFK Specter.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-11525540848483363122009-04-28T17:15:00.000-07:002009-04-28T17:22:15.449-07:00

Why was the military trying to film a plane low-flying over NYC?I don't buy the explanation - the only one given - that they were just trying to update file photos. Because according to this article, the exercise cost nearly $330,000!But what really disturbs me are two lines in this story: ... The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft, which functions as Air Force One when the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-91158427691273326392009-04-02T12:24:00.000-07:002009-04-02T12:25:27.988-07:00

This story is a reminder of why so many of us worked so hard to get Barack Obama elected President. He's showing exactly the kind of diplomatic skills we so desperately need in anyone who would help America be a leader in the world again. Read the full thing, but here's a teaser: According to sources inside the room, President Obama just played peacemaker in a spat between French President

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-35423513281845926082009-03-29T21:56:00.000-07:002009-03-29T22:35:50.853-07:00

I've talked about this many times before, and will talk about it many times again. But this article should be required reading for anyone interested in how our news is shaped. And I'm sure the CIA isn't the only group with its hooks in the media.Please read, if you haven't already, Carl Bernstein's landmark piece, "The CIA and the Media," originally published in Rolling Stone in 1977. The New

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-67730504879206825222009-03-21T21:13:00.000-07:002009-03-21T21:19:20.109-07:00

Either I should have been in counterintelligence, or I have seen way too many movies. I really enjoyed this film, but saw the final twist coming less than 20 minutes into the film! Still, it was fun being proven right, and when is it ever not fun to watch Clive Owen?I talked to someone today who just hated the film - found it hard to follow and didn't care about any of them. But I enjoyed the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-19712548248053996522009-03-14T16:05:00.000-07:002009-03-14T16:18:54.972-07:00

“After 9/11, I haven’t written about this yet, but the Central Intelligence Agency was very deeply involved in domestic activities against people they thought to be enemies of the state. Without any legal authority for it. They haven’t been called on it yet. That does happen."Right now, today, there was a story in the New York Times that if you read it carefully mentioned something known as the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-87901492165172435132009-03-08T08:52:00.000-07:002009-03-08T08:55:14.756-07:00

Quick note: I found a way to save the Real History Archives, so they'll be around for some time to come.Quick note 2: I watched the Watchmen, and wished I hadn't. See my review over at ConsortiumNews.com.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-21065530038379968952009-02-26T07:16:00.001-08:002009-02-26T07:25:04.889-08:00

Your vote is seriously at risk, and we have possibly only the next two years to fix it. Two years into Bill Clinton's term, we lost Congress, and didn't gain it back until nearly twelve years later. So time is of the essence.There's a very good bill that, while not perfect, moves the ball very far down the field toward a victory of an accurate and transparent vote, at least at the federal

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-20491222604926959822009-02-24T07:26:00.000-08:002009-02-24T07:29:57.313-08:00

I wanted to point you to my new article at Bob Parry's site Consortium News, one of the few places that regularly posts about Real History. Here's the start of my piece, and a link: Robert Parry recently wrote of how President Obama's early actions might bring him a "Seven Days in May moment," referring to a fictitious coup attempt from a film of the same name, in which a popular military figure

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-27955547198704979812009-02-22T21:55:00.000-08:002009-02-24T16:31:46.273-08:00

Truly, I will have lots to say about real history again in the near future - very near future. And I've found a way to save my site for a while - and I'll have more to say about that soon as well.But meanwhile. The Oscars! Hugh Jackman rocked as a host. As he told Barbara Walters, the Oscars needed "a little more show, and a little less biz." Boy, did he deliver.And you know why he's the sexiest

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-84725080571268209982009-02-20T15:19:00.002-08:002009-02-20T17:53:58.636-08:00

Los Angeles is busily preparing for the Super Bowl of the Entertainment Industry, the Oscars. The Hollywood and Highland complex that hosts the Kodak Theater has been bristling with security for days, guarding the newly installed bleachers, ensuring no one gets near enough to the places where the celebrities will soon be to do damage.I’m looking forward to the Oscars this year more than in

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-13362826009549745392009-02-16T19:59:00.001-08:002009-02-16T21:06:48.794-08:00

Dear Readers,I'll continue to maintain this blog from time to time, but my Real History Archives site is so old and out of date, and in need of an overhaul that I'll never have time for, that I've decided to retire it, at least for the time being.I hope to be spending much more time this year pursuing other writing projects, which will not leave me as much time for online work. But if I'm excited

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-12904102312039311002009-01-21T05:04:00.000-08:002009-01-22T17:44:13.714-08:00

I had the most amazing and wonderful experience in DC for the inauguration.This journey started last February when I flew to Wisconsin at the last minute to see Barack Obama speak on the night of the Potomac Primaries last February. While waiting in line for several hours, I made conversation with an incredibly smart, warm, and politically-aware woman and her son. We stayed in touch after I

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-54749312326491696942009-01-17T21:05:00.000-08:002009-01-17T21:07:27.179-08:00

Not since Bobby have we seen this much love for one man. Obama is the hope of not just America, but the world. Before we see witness Tuesday's outpouring, let's take a moment to reflect on this. People who weren't alive then can't understand how the Kennedys were loved, and the cost at which that love was earned.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-59642380082282644392009-01-16T08:57:00.000-08:002009-01-16T09:05:59.650-08:00

Ever since I finished reading Jim Douglass' book JFK and the Unspeakable, I've been longing to spend time telling you why this is the single best book on the assassination ever. But I fear I may never have the time it would take to do the book justice. You'll just have to read it for yourself.Meanwhile - here's a short article that just came out, and an interview with Douglass, that will

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-34370642517611755822009-01-05T20:20:00.000-08:002009-03-13T09:42:17.302-07:00

I had a dream, a few nights ago. No, not Martin Luther King's kind! I dreamt I was in some small hotel, which nonetheless was the place where Michelle and Barack Obama were staying prior to the inauguration in ... San Francisco. Dreams do that, you understand!San Francisco had these futuristic hotels - all exactly the same, evenly spaced like hotels from Monopoly along the north side of the Bay (

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-31434612304757917062009-01-03T07:23:00.001-08:002009-01-03T07:50:41.712-08:00

Imagine you live in, say, San Diego. Imagine that, because of our criminal incursion into Iraq, the rest of the world decided to punish us and help Israel by forcing Americans out of San Diego and allowing Israelis to move there. San Diego is one of the bastions of right wing sentiment, and I can only imagine that such a move would breed a much more virulent antisemitism where only a relatively

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-62926630697929358782008-12-31T11:10:00.000-08:002008-12-31T11:35:52.933-08:00

I have been too busy having fun, for a change, to write. And next year, I hope to be too busy writing offline to have time to blog much online. That said, I couldn't let the calendar page of this year be torn off without a comment.What a year this has been.We saw the political end of one Democratic dynasty when Hillary Clinton lost her bid for the Democratic nomination. And we saw the reemergence

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-64162261729818428222008-12-01T15:52:00.000-08:002008-12-02T13:58:25.332-08:00

I wanted to point you all to my article over at Consortium News, Robert Parry's site, where I discuss how Obama's appointments create not just a team of rivals, but a team of opponents who may sink his plans, and the historical precedent for my fears.Here's the piece: Obama's Risky "Team of Rivals".I also reviewed a FABULOUS film you should all run and see, Slumdog Millionaire.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-27654009682752420492008-11-29T22:12:00.000-08:002008-11-29T22:22:00.116-08:00

After seeing the film "Slumdog Millionaire" (which I reviewed over at Robert Parry's Consortium News site), it struck me how much more we need to be invested in raising up the poor around the world, if for no other reason than to improve our position at home. I've had to be on the phone with call centers of late, and so many of them are in India now. Why? Because they work for less than Americans

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-19780555125851539822008-11-04T21:12:00.000-08:002008-11-04T23:07:15.631-08:00

I have never been so proud of my country as I am tonight. Thanks to literally millions of volunteers, my country is back. The "America that never was America" to Langston Hughes finally is America, tonight. This is the country I love. This is the set of ideals I believe in. That a man of mixed heritage can ascend from the humblest of beginnings to the highest office in the land is the true

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-81826724958818864232008-11-01T18:15:00.000-07:002008-11-01T18:18:13.541-07:00

I thought I'd share my phone banking experiences today. I went to two different sites, and both were very encouraging.I started at the Culver City Studios site. Yes, the movie studio lot on which the Atlanta burning scene from Gone With the Wind was filmed! I arrived about 12:30pm, and was shocked by how many people were there. The Commissary where we were calling from was bursting at the seams

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-14825962711075323972008-10-24T19:01:00.000-07:002008-10-24T19:07:25.294-07:00

Dick Russell’s second book on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, is an important contribution to the subject's literature. Russell intertwines some of his previously published articles with chapters of never-before-published information, offering updated perspectives on previous revelations and adding new information to the case.Russell’s

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-15999682253267438692008-10-23T19:49:00.000-07:002008-10-23T20:42:31.810-07:00

I have to point out the pattern of voting "glitches" that have been reported so far with early voting. People in several states now have noted that when they cast a vote for Obama, it has switched to McCain. Not once have the votes flipped in the opposite direction. If there were simple error, we'd expect to see mistakes in both directions. But, just as with the errors in 2004, the only votes

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-6039107019206884782008-09-21T18:29:00.000-07:002008-09-21T18:45:52.098-07:00

Dear readers,I will be speaking at the upcoming conference "Making Sense of the Sixties" at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh Saturday, October 4. The conference runs October 3-5, and will feature some of the very latest research re the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and John Kennedy.If you come, please find me and introduce yourself. I really enjoy meeting others who care

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-69134119833885588692008-09-17T09:36:00.000-07:002008-09-17T09:38:26.690-07:00

I got this in email - this is very good. I don't know who wrote it, but it bears circulating.How racism works What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said 'I do' to? What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-42696671045671366712008-09-14T19:54:00.000-07:002008-09-14T20:12:27.465-07:00

I recevied this by email and wanted to share it with you:September 8, 2008Letters to The EditorThe Kennebec JournalAugusta, ME 04330Fax: 623-2220On September 4 and 5, the Kennebec Journal fed its readers rambling, groveling front page “news stories” and distracting op-ed opinions about our all-smiles newest candidate for vice president of the United States. But the KJ failed to tell us about the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-32130905545796992682008-09-11T07:09:00.000-07:002008-09-11T07:38:46.505-07:00

On this horrible anniversary, I find myself again feeling sick and angry all over again at the events, and coverage, of 9/11.MSNBC is replaying their original coverage, which is fascinating. I had never read before that the FBI's antiterrorism team, the same people who had been involved in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, were off in Monterey, California, far from the scene. This was

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-1750062655756540952008-09-04T15:25:00.000-07:002008-09-04T15:26:05.401-07:00

'Nuff said.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-23242573649695129222008-08-29T21:04:00.000-07:002008-08-29T21:05:48.374-07:00

"In 1968, Bobby Kennedy said we would have a black president in 40 years. None of us were willing to take a bet on that," Lowery said. "Tonight I am in awe, not so much by what he said but what he [Obama] is doing—accepting the nomination for president."This per Rev. Joseph Lowry, president emeritus of the SCLC, the organization founded by Martin Luther King, per this article.

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-32098295917044262352008-08-28T22:27:00.000-07:002008-08-28T23:00:34.715-07:00

In the 1995 film "The American President," penned by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner, the fictitious president Andrew Shepard fulfilled many Democrats' fantasy, standing up and fighting back, defending the values so many of us hold with devastatingly simple and clear logic.We watched in pain in 2000 and 2004 as Al Gore and John Kerry tried to squish themselves into portraits unbefitting

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-53606338410125696982008-08-27T20:54:00.000-07:002008-08-27T20:59:55.906-07:00

I have to say, as a Democrat, this is the best night I've had in many, many years. I have a hope that I haven't felt in my entire life, that maybe we really do have a chance to climb back up the cliff from which our Democracy has been dangling, to reclaim a future stolen from us with the assassination of President Kennedy 45 years ago. Maybe. Just maybe, we can get back on track and become the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-12679835218963571512008-08-25T19:24:00.000-07:002008-08-25T19:25:55.792-07:00

There I was, literally sobbing, as I listened to Ted Kennedy, so thrilled that in my lifetime I'd see a Kennedy pass the torch to someone worthy.Then Chris Matthews had to go and gum it up.He said JFK was killed by "a communist" and RFK by "a middle east terrorist."WRONG WRONG WRONG, on both counts, and so obviously so.The CIA was clearly running Oswald in the Soviet Union. This was so clear the

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560570.post-8872044258057308562008-08-22T20:49:00.000-07:002008-08-22T20:50:52.736-07:00

Well, it appears Kaine and Bayh have been notified that they will not be the VP. That leaves only Biden, I think, although some are saying Jack Reed's town is swarming with Secret Service. But I think Obama realizes he needs someone with better name recognition, and the gravitas and experience some believe Obama lacks. That means Biden.We'll see. I'm a little frustrated the news didn't come today

Real History Lisanoreply@blogger.com1