Sunday 22 November 2009

Looking Back - Kennedy Shot Dead In Dallas



On this day in 1963,The President of the United States was assassinated by a gunman in Dallas, Texas.
John F Kennedy was hit in the head and throat when three shots were fired at his open-topped car.
The presidential motorcade was travelling through the main business area of the city.
Texas Governor John Connally was also seriously injured when one of the unknown sniper's bullets hit him in the back. The men were accompanied by their wives, who were both uninjured.
Vice-president Lyndon Johnson - who was following in a different car - has been sworn in as the new US leader.
The presidential party was driving from Dallas airport to the city centre when witnesses said shots were fired from the window of a building overlooking the road.
The president collapsed into Jackie Kennedy's arms, who was heard to cry "Oh no". Seconds later Governor Connally was also hit.
Dallas Times Herald photographer Bob Jackson was in the motorcade close behind the Democrat leader's car and heard the shots as it entered Dealey Plaza.
"As I looked up I saw a rifle being pulled back from a window - it might have been resting on the windowsill - I didn't see a man," he said.
Mr Kennedy's limousine was driven at speed to Parklands Hospital immediately after the shooting.
The president was alive when he was admitted, but died at 1400 local time (1900 GMT) - 35 minutes after being shot.
Police and Secret Service agents stormed the School Book Depository building moments after the shots were fired and recovered a rifle with a telescopic sight, said to be the assassination weapon.
The mood of shock in the US was echoed by Senator Mike Mansfield in an emergency forum of the senate.
A little under an hour after the shooting, a policeman approached Lee Harvey Oswald, believing he recognised his description.
The policeman was shot dead. Oswald was arrested almost immediately under suspicion of murder.
Shortly afterwards, he was also charged with the assassination of President Kennedy.
The suspect was never tried as he was shot dead himself two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.
The Warren Report, commissioned to investigate the president's death, concluded he had been killed by shots fired by Mr Oswald from the School Book Depository building.
But conspiracy enthusiasts quickly turned the assassination into one of the most disputed events in modern history, with theories ranging from claims it was an elaborately staged suicide to the driver being the murderer.



To watch a video clip of the event click the following link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6750000/newsid_6754100/6754129.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1








The National Debt

In view of the current state of the nations economy
perhaps Gordon Brown should consider this!


Cartoon shows King George III and Queen Charlotte standing before the Treasury, moneybags under their arms, their pockets overflowing and bursting with coins (funds from the Treasury to cover Royal debts), William Pitt, his pockets full of coins, hands the king another moneybag taken from an overflowing wheelbarrow; the Prince of Wales, George IV, stands to the right looking destitute; a quadriplegic sits on the ground to the left with an overturned and empty hat between the stubs of his legs, which are fitted with prostheses.
MEDIUM: 1 print : etching.
CREATED/PUBLISHED: [London] : Pubd. by Willm. Holland, 1786 April 21.

Witty Bits

The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.
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Delusions are often functional. A mother's opinions about her children's beauty, intelligence, goodness et cetera, keep her from drowning them at birth.
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To appreciate heaven well, it's good for a person to have some fifteen minutes of hell.
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Men marry because they are tired, women marry because they are curious; both are disappointed.
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You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

Living With Computers


Rich Guy