Jfk, Hoffa, And The Mob; Journey To The Occupied Lands; Monsters Among Us

Three new entries in PBS' award-winning Frontline series shed light on subjects as diverse as the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. JFK, Hoffa, and the Mob is the latest tell-all in the JFK conspiracy sweepstakes, which carries the added bonus of looking into the 1975 disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa. Tonight's tellee is Frank Ragano, former attorney to both Hoffa and mob boss Santo Trafficante. While dancing all over the historical board of the past 30 years, Ragano suggests that Kennedy was assassinated because of Bobby Kennedy's big-time leaning on organized crime in America. On his deathbed Trafficante purportedly revealed to Ragano that Mafia bigwig Carlos Marcello was behind the JFK assassination. And Hoffa? Upon hearing of JFK's death, Hoffa reputedly said: "Did you hear the good news? They killed the son of a bitch." Although the program flirts around with the suggestion that Hoffa may have been involved in the Kennedy assassination--a plot line more deserving of a National Enquirer cover ("Hoffa 2nd Trigger Man in JFK Killing!") than an investigative Frontline report--the program eventually stops toying with the audience and "concludes" that Hoffa was not directly linked. Then it's on to speculations about what happened to Hoffa (Ragano points the finger at Hoffa's successor and, of course, the mob). Late in the show, Ragano drops another interesting tidbit: the late Jim Garrison--who wrote On the Trail of the Assassins, the book which Oliver Stone based his JFK on--was actually covering up for the Mafia, knowingly leading the country down a false path. Whether Ragano--who is currently facing his second conviction for tax evasion and is busy writing his "memoirs"--is a credible witness to history is, on one level, beside the point. The fascination that JFK's assassination holds for contemporary America is virtually unparalleled by any other recent event, and the itch of the mystery so persistent, that we will gladly indulge in any reason to scratch it once again. In short, JFK, Hoffa, and the Mob will be a popular addition.Journey to the Occupied Lands, the 90-minute report on Arab-Israeli relations, has the double benefit of being very reasonably priced ($49.95) and offering the most lucid explanation we've yet seen on the subject. Producer-correspondent Michael Ambrosino journeys to the "occupied lands" of the West Bank and Gaza, which Israel gained in the 1967 war and kept as a necessary buffer against further Arab aggression. As peace talks continue to go slowly between Palestine and Israel, the argument revolves around land. Since, for political reasons, Americans have always been given a favorable portrait of Israel, most are not aware of the very real concerns of the Palestinian Arabs. Although Geneva Convention law clearly states that an occupying country may not transplant its people onto occupied soil, Israel has basically set aside 4/5ths of the occupied territories for its own use (usage which includes building housing developments which Israeli families move in to). Palestinians complain about the harsh and restrictive security measures employed by the Israeli military (there have been several charges of torture). They're also not pleased with the fact that Israel regularly bulldozes new houses built by Palestinians (in theory, Palestinians are supposed to obtain a building permit, in practice, the applications are routinely denied.) While Israel points out that aggression has come from outside Israel's borders and a 10-mile wide country (the old boundary) is not enough to provide security for the people, Palestine charges that although Turkey, Great Britain, Jordan, and Israel have all occupied Palestine in the past, only Israel has helped herself to the land. Should there be a settlement between negotiators, what will happen to the Israeli families now living in Palestine? Will they willingly give up their property? Doubtful. An excellent documentary which gives equal time to the Palestinian side of the Middle East situation.Monsters Among Us goes to Washington State to look at the new "sexual predator" law aimed at keeping violent sex offenders off the street. At least that's the purported reason for the documentary. In reality, the program is more interested in allowing the audience to play peekaboo psychology with the currently most notorious of the "monsters," Westley Allan Dodd, whose arrest in 1989 for the murder of three young boys came at the end of fifteen years of repeated child molestation. A disproportionate amount of time is spent on Dodd, whose "normal" appearance and reportedly "normal" childhood set the stage for the program's obvious foregone conclusion: there is no stereotypical "monster" (so why have we been gawking for the last hour? Because that's what makes for good television.) The other half of this disjointed program goes inside Washington's penitentiary at Walla Walla to talk with other violent sex offenders. In the show's most chilling scene, we listen to a group of sex criminals in therapy talking about their confused and violent emotions toward women and/or children, and then are told that all of these men are due to be released from prison soon. What is ultimately most maddening about Monsters Among Us is that rather than probe the ethical questions involved in the "sexual predator" law, or tackle the recidivism question, the program constantly cuts away to either Dodd or another violent sex offender. Disturbing and often riveting, the film nevertheless fails to give a coherent reading of the new Washington State law and its larger meaning (if any), though it excels in putting these "monsters" in our face.Ultimately, Monsters Among Us can't decide what its focus is or should be, and is therefore an optional purchase. JFK, Hoffa, and the Mob is recommended. Journey to the Occupied Lands is highly recommended and an Editor's Choice. (See DINOSAURS for availability.)