On long weekends the interest in Whitey Bulger declines and we all go about dealing with things that demand attention and that we can’t get to during the work week. When I was discussing with a friend some of the things we used to do in the 1980s I was reminded that I was talking about “ancient history,” something this friend thought had no relevance to our present time even though I did.
When we read about Whitey we hear of things he did in his boyhood (70+ years ago) or in prison (he got out 48 years ago, the same time David Margolis joined the Justice Department – I wonder if he is part of the FBI team investigating Ibragim Todashev) or even back to the last alleged murder which happened 28 years ago. Is this too ancient history and of no importance?
I think not. Whitey’s case is relevant today as spring-board to understanding the past and to where we stand today. I’ve used it to examine and take a hard look at our criminal justice system, the FBI, the Justice Department and our government in general. There is much going on that most prefer not to see but they ignore these happenings at the jeopardy to ourselves and those who come after us.
I am able to do this because of the Internet. The internet as it slowly expanded into a tool for the general public has truly brought about a new age. It is a threat to every authority that would abuse its power. It allows people to speak out on topics freely and others to hear opinions that are not filtered through media interests that have hidden agendas. It escapes the control of the normal news channels run by those whose motives are often not known.
Traditionally mainstream media decided what we should know about and how much of it we should know. For example, it could decide that when people were dying from a forced famine in Ukraine that we’d read only wonderful things about Uncle Joe Stalin. Or, that the terrorist attack on Lee Rigby the other day be practically ignored except by Kevin Cullen in the Globe who gave it a passing reference.
I’ve been able to point out that many of the things we have been told and continue to be told about Whitey Bulger and those around him are plainly wrong. Think of how this would not be possible prior to the Internet. I could have written to newspapers setting out my thoughts but those would be filtered by strangers. I could have written books but those too are subject to another’s decision as to whether to publish them. My thoughts would have been known only to myself and those around me. With the Internet that is no longer the case
The traditional media finds the Internet to be bothersome. Its members argue that too many people can say things without having them edited or checked for accuracy. But as we’ve seen that process as used by the media does not guarantee the truth. Look at all the false information that came out in the days after the Marathon Terrorist Attack. Look at all the false information coming out concerning the killing of Todashev from all these inside sources that are as accurate as people forecasting the weather. Consider all the questions that remain today about those incidents that the mainstream media has no interest in seeking answers to.
Where the traditional media errs is in not recognizing that the veracity of those who write on the Internet can be quickly checked by going back over their prior writings and by looking at the source material that is used. Any assertion can be quickly checked not only against present day happenings but also against historical records.
What I find most amazing about the Internet is that it is in its nascent stages. Who can imagine what it will become as it grows out of its childhood. I’d guess within a very short time you’ll be able to read almost any article no matter in what language it is written; or, a few years after that, when travelling, you’ll be able to speak in English with people in any country in the world and your words will be delivered to them immediately in their own language. I wonder as these barriers come down will that bring us into a more peaceful era.
At one time it was thought best that people be kept ignorant. The last great revolution prior to the Internet was the invention of the printing press that allowed information to be spread more widely. Without that it is fair to say we would not know Thomas Paine nor there have been an American Revolution.
Eric Hoffer has told us that the worst thing those in power can do is to allow someone to recognize that her life can be better. Once that is done she will never be content with the life she has. The Internet has given us the chance to see things can be made better. That’s why it is a great threat to those in power.
Matt; there’s a very wise 81 year old Asian man down the Newton YMCA who’ve I’ve known for 30 years (he’s not at all fluent in English and he’s not very fond of doctors and lawyers for good experiential reasons). Anyway after 4-15-13 (we were discussing its horror and the horror of wars in general) he asked me a “legal” question which resounded on all fronts. He said, “If my neighbor’s tree or the city’s tree hangs over my property, and the limb falls on my car, and causes me damage, who is responsible.” Well, I said that even though the limb is hanging over your property if it falls and causes harm to you, the fault lies with the property owner who owns the tree. Then I said, the two supposed “loan wolfs” who killed four, wounded 400, and terrorized OUR CITY were the fallen limbs of a rotten decadent tree and those who owned that tree, planted it, nourished it, aided and abetted its fruition, are responsible. So, too, are those whose duty it was to trim those branches before the fell and evil befell Boston.
Bill:
‘The right answer to your Asian friend’s question is he has the right to cut down anything that intrudes over his property. His negligence is the proximate cause of his his car’s injury. The real right answer is he should be thankful it didn’t fall on him.
There is a Ron Unz column in The American Conservative called “Our American Pravda” about the media’s willful blind eye to government malfeasance and political sleight-of-hand that I would like to hear Matt comment on. It seems to echo many of the opinions expressed here at “Whitey”.
It can be found at http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/our-american-pravda/
Jeff:
Just finished reading the Ron Unz column. I was intrigued by it and deeply appreciate your interest in calling it to my attention. Unz sets out in a well written and deeply researched column and in a much better manner than I could ever do some of the things that I have been talking about here. The silence of the press or as Unz said the Pravda like approach where it only tells us certain things we are supposed to believe and leaves the truth in a trash barrel runs all through the Whitey case and the associated matters. Unz agrees with me that the only way to learn the truth is through the Internet. This is why I’m suggesting it be protected from the Government which has, as Unz demonstrates, controlled the news for decades. The Internet presents a great threat to our rulers who more and more are beginning to recognize this.
He tells us what we are up against when he says “most Americans do not bother[to pay attention] and simply draw their understanding of the world from what they are told by the major media” and “[f]or most Americans, reality is whatever our media organs tell us, and since these have largely ignored the facts and adverse consequences of our wars in recent years, the American people have similarly forgotten” and “most ordinary Americans are reasonably honest and law-abiding and project that same behavior onto others, including our media and political elites. This differs from the total cynicism found in most other countries around the world.”
I can’t thank you enough for bringing it to my attention,
Thank you for providing that article on America’s Pravda.
Pravda v Itezi. (That’s Czech for “Truth Prevail.”)
Alex:
Pravda in Russian means “truth distorted.”
Interesting story on the Obama administration’s harassment via FBI investigations of government officials who might be leaking information to reporters:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/us/leaks-inquiries-show-how-wide-a-net-is-cast.html?hp
Jon:
Thanks for bringing it to my attention. You called it interesting but I’d call it frightening especially after reading what the FBI did to William Binney. The guy is in his sixties and he worked in a highly responsible job in the N.S.A. for 30 years and is interviewed three times over a leak and thinks he has answered the questions then a dozen FBI agents show up at his house with one pointing a gun at him. Have you ever had someone point a gun at you? It’s not fun to be standing there knowing that the person on the other end can put you out of existence with a nerve twitch. The thing here I find chilling is its similarity with the Todashev killing: he’s interviewed several times and then the law enforcement mob arrives with guns drawn. We see not only the frightening tactics of the FBI, not something we like to think exists in our country; but also the Government following up on the FBI way of doing business which is not to let the people know what it is doing.
Yes indeed, Matt. Yes indeed.
Just a note that Facebook already provides a translation service like you mentioned. I have a friend in South Korea who often posts in Korean and there is often a “translate” link to click and I get the message in English.
N Connolly: keep up the spirited replies. Currently reading through the “RICO” book you recommended.
Jon:
Google also has one that if all right but not great. I can only see things improving over time so that when you speak to your friend you will be talking as if in the same language.
Good ovservations: N. Connolly does have the most incisive, trenchant, hardest-hitting observations and I agree with 90% of them, both in content and tone. Why pull punches at this stage of the game? Really and Sincerely! Plus N’s sense of irony & humor is second to none.
Bill:
Agreed.
Happy Memorial Day. Todashev’s killing seems to be bizarre. He’s in his own apartment after midnight and the FBI, State Police and other law enforcement show up to conduct an interview. Is that the customary practice to do interviews after midnight? Were they invited in or refused? Did they have a no Knock warrant? Did they have a terrorist sniffing dog on the porch? Once he wags his tail they know the inhabitant is a terrorist. Were they in uniform? Did they try a forced entry? Was the occupant confused over who these men were? Was there resistance? Was the gunfire accidental or purposeful? Will the public see the FBI file on Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev? Will the President and Congress participate in the cover up? 2. Compare Todashev’s killing to Callahan’s. Connolly who was 15 hundred miles away and totally unconnected to it gets framed. Mitt Romney had as much to do with Callahan”s demise as Connolly. Martorano the assassin of Callahan is freed by the Feds and is now their star witness. Based on this formula we can expect Florida to charge a T Cop who made a derogatory remark about Chechens, but never left Massachusetts, with homicide. The shooter or shooters go unmolested. 3. In the Martin-Zimmerman affair Zimmerman gets charged with homicide. He was the shooter but claims self defense. Evidence to support his claim is produced I. e. photos of injuries to his face, audio of his screams for help and witnesses that claim the deceased was the aggressor assaulting him. Will we see photos of the FBI injuries? Will we hear audio of it? Will we get the neighbors accounts? Or do we have a secret police unaccountable to the public? 4. There use to a procedure called an Inquest to determine the cause of death and any criminal culpability. It was conducted by a judge. Does Florida have anything similar? Get Mark Furman on this case.
N:
1. Happy Memorial Day to you; who are we supposed to memorialize (remember)? Todashev’s killing is far beyond bizarre. Like it takes two to tango it takes two to conduct an interview; when a force of at least four cops descend on a place after dark it is not to do an interview but to do a raid. Come on you know as well as I do that the cops who went there knew he had a martial arts background. How could he suddenly flair up with or without a knife (they’ve asked Flemmi to get them a throw down knife that can’t be traced. He is using his connection with T. Griffi to come up with a knife whose serial number has been erased. The reason the investigation is taking so long is they have to drive the knife down to Orlando because Homeland Security won’t let them on the plane with a knife.) The rest of the items you mention are good questions that will never be answered. Yes, the president will go along with the cover-up as will Congress.
2. I don’t see anything quite like Todashev’s killing in the annals of criminal justice. It sounds like the FBI agent was playing Russian roulette with him; well maybe not Russian roulette where only one bullet is in the six chambers but Ukrainian roulette where all the chambers are filled with bullets. It was reported the FBI agent who shot Todashev had stitches on some part of his body but I heard that was a mistranslation from FBIism to English; the proper translation is the FBI agent had everyone in stitches telling how he gunned down an unarmed man.
3. We already have neighbors and friends account of Todashev. It is totally opposite what we have been told by the FBI through leaks to the mainstream media. The FBI is not accountable to anyone so you can’t compare other situations with its situation.
4. Florida has an inquest law but the federal agents are not bound by Florida law. The FBI counts on the pusillanimous press to let it do whatever it wants. I don’t think we’ve ever had as cowardly of a press in America as we now have. Can you name me one columnist who is a tough guy from the school of Mike Royko and Jimmy Breslin. Tell me truly, when was the last time anyone criticized the FBI?