Oswald In Helsinki

[Dan O'meara]

If the point is that Oswald got his visa faster than others, but this is just a detail that has no larger implication, then it doesn't really matter why or how.  If the claim, however, is that Oswald getting expediated treatment is indicative of some involvement with the CIA or Russian intelligence, then it begs the question why did they need to expediate his visa in 1959?  Logically, someone would then look to how Oswald spent the two days or so afterward afforded by this expediated treatment.  Did anything significant or time sensitive happen in those two days?  If not, why not just process his visa in a normal manner?  Why any rush?  My experience here is that CTers like to point out real or imagined anomalies but then are uninterested in explaining the significance of those alleged anomalies.  It's the implication that is important.  The reasons are of no apparent interest because it undermines the desired narrative.

If you weren't so blinded by your rabid bias you would see I'm genuinely working through a real anomaly.
An anomaly raised by your own hero, Rankin.
Because of your blindness you can't see that Oswald getting his visa in two days is anomalous. You think it could just happen. That it's not worth looking into. You don't think anything is worth looking into. You know what happened so there's no need for questions or evidence or any of these inconvenient things.

What is the importance of this anomaly?
Answer this question - why did your hero, Rankin, think it was of "significance" that Oswald's visa was issued so quickly?
What might it mean if the normal protocol for issuing a visa is bypassed?
If there is even the slightest potential of CIA involvement in the expedition of the Oswald's visa it must be looked into.
I know you don't understand why this is the case. In your mind Oswald did it alone with no involvement from anyone else, therefore any examination of anything that questions your belief system must be wrong. Everyone is wrong to investigate or research this issue because you know that it's already been settled. No more questions need be asked.

[Richard Smith]

If you weren't so blinded by your rabid bias you would see I'm genuinely working through a real anomaly.
An anomaly raised by your own hero, Rankin.
Because of your blindness you can't see that Oswald getting his visa in two days is anomalous. You think it could just happen. That it's not worth looking into. You don't think anything is worth looking into. You know what happened so there's no need for questions or evidence or any of these inconvenient things.

What is the importance of this anomaly?
Answer this question - why did your hero, Rankin, think it was of "significance" that Oswald's visa was issued so quickly?
What might it mean if the normal protocol for issuing a visa is bypassed?
If there is even the slightest potential of CIA involvement in the expedition of the Oswald's visa it must be looked into.
I know you don't understand why this is the case. In your mind Oswald did it alone with no involvement from anyone else, therefore any examination of anything that questions your belief system must be wrong. Everyone is wrong to investigate or research this issue because you know that it's already been settled. No more questions need be asked.

Deja vu.  Make this all about me.  I have merely posed a simple question for you.  Was there any apparent time sensitive reason for an intelligence agency to have expediated Oswald's visa in 1959?  Why do you keep referring in response to Rankin as "my hero"?  I have never expressed any opinion about Rankin.  If I understand your position correctly, however, you believe that Rankin and the WC were involved in the framing of Oswald and/or cover up of a conspiracy to assassinate JFK and that in so doing they did not pursue leads that pointed in other directions.  But here suddenly you reverse course and are citing these same people as identifying possible connections to intelligence agencies.  Do you see any inconsistency in those views?  And, of course, you have selectively and dishonestly quoted Rankin.  He did not say he thought this was of "significance."  LOL.  He wrote that "it may have some significance."  An entirely different statement when the full context is provided and your bias is removed.  To characterize this as having "significance" means that he had reached a conclusion about the event.  To write that it "may have some significance" merely means he thought it worth looking into.  He goes on even further to suggest that there is doubt as whether Oswald even received his visa more quickly than normal by framing that as a question. 

[Dan O'meara]

Deja vu.  Make this all about me.  I have merely posed a simple question for you.  Was there any apparent time sensitive reason for an intelligence agency to have expediated Oswald's visa in 1959?  Why do you keep referring in response to Rankin as "my hero"?  I have never expressed any opinion about Rankin.  If I understand your position correctly, however, you believe that Rankin and the WC were involved in the framing of Oswald and/or cover up of a conspiracy to assassinate JFK and that in so doing they did not pursue leads that pointed in other directions.  But here suddenly you reverse course and are citing these same people as identifying possible connections to intelligence agencies.  Do you see any inconsistency in those views?  And, of course, you have selectively and dishonestly quoted Rankin.  He did not say he thought this was of "significance."  LOL.  He wrote that "it may have some significance."  An entirely different statement when the full context is provided and your bias is removed.  To characterize this as having "significance" means that he had reached a conclusion about the event.  To write that it "may have some significance" merely means he thought it worth looking into.  He goes on even further to suggest that there is doubt as whether Oswald even received his visa more quickly than normal by framing that as a question.

If I understand your position correctly, however, you believe that Rankin and the WC were involved in the framing of Oswald

This is the third or fourth time you have made this bizarre accusation.
You don't seem to be aware that the WC was formed months after the assassination so how could they be involved in framing Oswald?
It is such a weird accusation to make.
Because you keep making the same accusation, it makes me wonder about your mental health.
You seemed very detached from what's going on.

Was there any apparent time sensitive reason for an intelligence agency to have expediated Oswald's visa in 1959?

You keep asking this question as well.
Over and over again.
You acknowledge that the issuance of Oswald's visa was indeed expedited but seem to question the very thing you are acknowledging because there isn't "any apparent time sensitive reason" for expediting the visa.
The issuance of the visa was expedited. You start with that. Then ask - why was it expedited?
That's how it works.

To write that it "may have some significance" merely means he thought it worth looking into.


Why did he think it was worth looking into?

He goes on even further to suggest that there is doubt as whether Oswald even received his visa more quickly than normal by framing that as a question.

Can you quote where he expresses this doubt?

Beyond that, do you any kind of contribution to make to this subject?
Do you have any knowledge about it?

[Dan O'meara]

Oswald certainly had a knack for bypassing red tape. Getting his Soviet tourist visa in record time seems par for the course:

"Colonel B. J. Kozak, a military officer with direct knowledge of dependency discharges, provided an even more specific timeframe: "It normally took between 3 to 6 months for a hardship discharge to be approved." (DiEugenio, Destiny Betrayed; p.136). Yet, for Oswald, all standard protocols were seemingly cast aside. He submitted his request on August 17, 1959—and by August 28, just eleven days later, the Dependency Discharge Board had already approved it.(WCR; p.688)"
[ https://www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/the-oswald-puzzle-the-pieces-that-won-t-fit-part-2 ]

Stranger and stranger.

[Richard Smith]

If I understand your position correctly, however, you believe that Rankin and the WC were involved in the framing of Oswald

This is the third or fourth time you have made this bizarre accusation.
You don't seem to be aware that the WC was formed months after the assassination so how could they be involved in framing Oswald?
It is such a weird accusation to make.
Because you keep making the same accusation, it makes me wonder about your mental health.
You seemed very detached from what's going on.

Was there any apparent time sensitive reason for an intelligence agency to have expediated Oswald's visa in 1959?

You keep asking this question as well.
Over and over again.
You acknowledge that the issuance of Oswald's visa was indeed expedited but seem to question the very thing you are acknowledging because there isn't "any apparent time sensitive reason" for expediting the visa.
The issuance of the visa was expedited. You start with that. Then ask - why was it expedited?
That's how it works.

To write that it "may have some significance" merely means he thought it worth looking into.


Why did he think it was worth looking into?

He goes on even further to suggest that there is doubt as whether Oswald even received his visa more quickly than normal by framing that as a question.

Can you quote where he expresses this doubt?

Beyond that, do you any kind of contribution to make to this subject?
Do you have any knowledge about it?

Ugh.  Here is what Rankin wrote:

"We are of course interested in the question of the regularity of procedures because we want to know whether, if Oswald did in fact obtain his visa more quickly than normal, his doing so was significant, or whether it may have been only the result of not- infrequent deviation from normal procedures."

Rankin did not conclude that this was "significant" as you have falsely claimed.  He didn't even conclude that Oswald's visa had been expediated.  He raised some questions regarding that process.  Here are some questions that you ignore:

1) What, if any, response was there to this inquiry?
2) Why would any intelligence agency need to expediate Oswald's visa by a couple of days?  What possible reason could they have for doing so and potentially raising a red flag for any counterintelligence agency?  If there was no apparent reason to do so, what implication can be drawn about the likelihood that anything sinister was going on?
3) Did Oswald, in fact, do anything of a time sensitive manner in those first couple of days in the USSR?

Again, if you believe Rankin was part of some cover up of a conspiracy to assassinate JFK with the objective to put all the blame on Oswald, why would he be the one highlighting a potential anomaly to that outcome?  You are trying to eat your cake and have it too.

[Richard Smith]

According to Bugliosi's book the Soviet consul in Helsinki, Gregory Golub, who handled visas had authority to grant visas to Americans on his own authority and that he was able to do so within minutes if there were no red flags.  In Oswald's case, he was nineteen and listed his occupation as a "student."  In addition, a dispatch from the US embassy on Oct. 9 - before Oswald's arrival - noted that a couple of US businessmen had been advised to go to Golub to obtain visas, had done so, and were immediately granted visas with proof of "Intourist reservations." 

[Dan O'meara]

According to Bugliosi's book the Soviet consul in Helsinki, Gregory Golub, who handled visas had authority to grant visas to Americans on his own authority and that he was able to do so within minutes if there were no red flags.  In Oswald's case, he was nineteen and listed his occupation as a "student."  In addition, a dispatch from the US embassy on Oct. 9 - before Oswald's arrival - noted that a couple of US businessmen had been advised to go to Golub to obtain visas, had done so, and were immediately granted visas with proof of "Intourist reservations."

I've already covered Golub in earlier posts and the significance of his ability to grant visas without prior approval from Moscow.
Have the manners to read the work you are critiquing.

[Dan O'meara]

Came across this in a post by Jim Root:

"In 1993 former KGB Colonel Oleg Nechiporenko published his book, Passport to Assassination. Within this publication, Nechiporenko has reproduced a photocopy of Oswald’s 1959 visa application form. To the surprise of most assassination researchers the application was signed and dated by Oswald on October 13, 1959, one day later than had been assumed by the Warren Commission. Lee Harvey Oswald received an entry visa from the Soviet consulate within twenty-four hours."

Can't find a pic of this visa application form.
Does anyone know anything about this?