Monday, January 26 2009   -   Letters to the Editor

Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel
1/26/2009

Machiavelli wrote, "There are many who think a wise prince ought, when he has the chance, to foment astutely some enmity, so that by suppressing it he will augment his greatness."

This tactic has often been used or considered. Germany was blamed during World War I for an unprovoked attack on the "Lusitania," which was carrying arms to the British, and the Vietnam War was expanded based on a false report on Aug. 4, 1964, of an attack in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Operation Northwoods, a 1962 military plan to fake a Cuban attack on the U.S., proposed shooting down a civilian plane with Americans onboard.

 

Monday, January 26 2009   -   Accountability

For immediate release
January 23, 2009

The Guantanamo Bay Detention Center continues to be an enormous stain on America's reputation. Newly elected President Obama has taken the first step in removing this stain by keeping his campaign promise to the American people.

The temporary halting of proceedings at Gitmo gives us the "audacity to hope" that President Obama will be able to restore America's good name, which has been repeatedly tarnished during the past eight years.

We appreciate the tough decisions that President Obama has been forced to make and admire him for taking these difficult tasks on. We look forward to hearing his plan for closing Guantanamo Bay forever, finding a just way to try the detainees and putting an end to this horrific chapter in America's history.

# # #

Patty Casazza
Monica Gabrielle
Mindy Kleinberg
Lorie Van Auken

 

Friday, January 23 2009   -   9/11 Consequences

January 23, 2009
By Michael Doyle
McClatchy Newspapers

...As one of his first acts, President Barack Obama issued an order reversing his predecessor's approach toward the release of government documents. Scholars, journalists, farmers and the simply curious now await the reopening of federal information taps tightened since 2001.

In fiscal 2007, for instance, the Defense Department completely granted approximately 48 percent of the FOIA requests it processed. In fiscal 1998, by contrast, the Clinton administration's Defense Department completely granted approximately 61 percent of FOIA requests.

The Pentagon was not alone, a review of federal agency reports shows. Percentages are approximate, because of how the reports are compiled, but trends are obvious.

 

Friday, January 23 2009   -   Other Important News

January 23, 2009
Project on Government Oversight

Honorable Carl Levin, Chairman

Honorable John McCain, Ranking Member

The undersigned groups commends you, Chairman Levin, for your decision to wait to evaluate the impact of President Obama's new revolving door restrictions requiring appointees to recuse themselves from work related to their former employer or clients, as well as from matters or issues for which he lobbied. Proceeding with the nomination of William J. Lynn III, a former Raytheon Company lobbyist, to the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense clearly violates President Obama's Executive Order (EO). We believe your cautious approach is an important exercise of congressional oversight. Upon reviewing the President's just released EO and its waiver provisions we urge you to go one step further and reject the nomination of Mr. Lynn.

This letter is not to suggest that Mr. Lynn is not qualified for the position. Before the President issued his Ethics Commitment by Executive Branch Personnel Executive Order, there would have been little ground for questioning the proposed nomination of Mr. Lynn. However, given that the new pledge required by President Obama is written to preclude any appointee from participating "in any particular matter on which I lobbied within the 2 years before the date of my appointment," or accepting "employment with any executive agency that I lobbied within the 2 years before the date of my appointment," the undersigned groups believe that Mr. Lynn simply could not effectively serve as the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

 

Friday, January 23 2009   -   9/11 Consequences

David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Wednesday January 21, 2009
RawStory.com

 

Friday, January 23 2009   -   Accountability

By Scott Horton
January 22, 2009
Harper's

In an interview on Tuesday evening with the German television program “Frontal 21,” on channel ZDF Professor Manfred Nowak, the United Nations Rapporteur responsible for torture, stated that with George W. Bush’s head of state immunity now terminated, the new government of Barack Obama was obligated by international law to commence a criminal investigation into Bush’s torture practices.

"The evidence is sitting on the table," he stated. "There is no avoiding the fact that this was torture." He pointed to the U.S. undertakings under the Convention Against Torture in which the country committed that it would criminally prosecute anyone who tortured, or extradite the person to a state that would prosecute him. "The government of the United States is required to take all necessary steps to bring George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld before a court," Nowak said.

 

Thursday, January 22 2009   -   Truth Movement News

The Dallas 9/11 Truth Group gave out more than 4,000 newspaper-sized flyers ( http://www.911blogger.com/node/18142 ) and over 1600 DVDs during their marches in both Dallas MLK Parades.

There was the Dallas MLK Parade on Saturday, the 17th.

Monday, the 19th, 9/11 Truth also was represented in The Elite News Dr. Martin Luther King Parade-"The People's Parade." This parade is the second largest of its kind in the country, and has always been dubbed "The Peoples Parade." In 2008, it was reported to have had a turnout of an estimated 200,000 people.

 

Wednesday, January 21 2009   -   9/11 A/V Galleries

Obama limits ex-presidents' discretion on records

By MARK SHERMAN
January 21, 2009
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has issued an executive order that limits the ability of former presidents to block the release of sensitive records of their time in the White House.

Obama's action Wednesday in his first full day in office overturns an earlier order issued by George W. Bush.

Obama said former presidents may ask to have certain documents kept private, but they no longer may compel the National Archives to do so.

 

Wednesday, January 21 2009   -   Truth Movement News

Richard Gage, AIA founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth discusses a welcome letter of response from Michael J. Heimbach, Asst. Director in the FBI division of Counterterrorism.
Video follows:

 

Wednesday, January 21 2009   -   9/11 Consequences

January 21, 2009
by Philippe Naughton
TimesOnline

Barack Obama has wasted no time in getting down to the business of government, asking prosecutors to halt controversial military trials at Guantanamo Bay within hours of his inauguration.

The request was issued via the Department of Defence even as President Obama and his wife Michelle waltzed their way through a series of glitzy inaugural balls.

Mr Obama pledged during his campaign to close the prison camp on Cuba set up in 2001 to hold detainees from the 'War on Terror'. The camp's legality has always been questioned, and former inmates and human rights experts said the harsh interrogation techniques deployed inside it amounted to torture.

Last night's request was for a 120-day stay in the trials of five alleged 9/11 plotters - including the self-proclaimed 'mastermind' behind America's worst terror attack - and of a Canadian accused of killing a US soldier in Afghanistan. Mr Obama had been expected to issue an executive order as early as today for the full closure of the camp, but accepts that it might take months to rehouse some 250 inmates still held there.

 

Wednesday, January 21 2009   -   Other Important News

During an automatic backup, our server somehow took the site offline, as well as our store website. It was down beginning early this morning, and our volunteer "web guy" was unable to look at it until very late in the afternoon. No doubt he could explain better than I just what happened, but suffice it to say it appears this was nothing nefarious--just a "glitch" the way only a server can glitch... And of course, in keeping with Murphy's Law #1,774,452, it had to happen the day immediately after we sent a fundraising appeal containing links to our donate page! We appreciate your patience, and the kind emails many of you sent to us notifying us of the problem. Links in the email we sent yesterday will now work correctly. Again, thanks for your support and your kind patience. Janice  

Monday, January 19 2009   -   9/11 Precedents

By Sam Greenhill
Last updated at 1:16 AM on 20th December 2008
DailyMail

Her sinking with the loss of almost 1,200 lives caused such outrage that it propelled the U.S. into the First World War.

But now divers have revealed a dark secret about the cargo carried by the Lusitania on its final journey in May 1915.

Munitions they found in the hold suggest that the Germans had been right all along in claiming the ship was carrying war materials and was a legitimate military target.

 

Monday, January 19 2009   -   Resources and Materials

January 10, 2009
Electric Politics Podcast Schedule Resumes January 16

Well, I enjoyed having two weeks off, but I'm glad to get back to podcasting. So here's the starting lineup for the new season. Friday, January 16, my guest is Martin Fletcher of The Times of London (not to be confused with Martin Fletcher of NBC news). Martin is a roving reporter without portfolio and previously the Times' foreign editor, their Washington Bureau Chief, and a foreign correspondent. He talks to me from Israel. The Friday following, January 23, my guest is Dr. James Petras, who's got a lot to say about Zionism in America. After that, I'm not sure -- a couple interviews are pending, on arms control and on the economy. So we'll see... And as I say, I'm glad to be back!

Links follow:
 

Sunday, January 18 2009   -   9/11 Consequences

What Obama Must Do
A Letter to the New President

PAUL KRUGMAN
Jan 14, 2009
Rolling Stone

Dear Mr. President:

Like FDR three-quarters of a century ago, you're taking charge at a moment when all the old certainties have vanished, all the conventional wisdom been proved wrong. We're not living in a world you or anyone else expected to see. Many presidents have to deal with crises, but very few have been forced to deal from Day One with a crisis on the scale America now faces.

So, what should you do?

 

Sunday, January 18 2009   -   Resources and Materials

January 17, 2009

DC 911Truth has produced an attractive new brochure to be distributed at the Obama Inauguration and surrounding events. On the cover, President Obama is asked to "help America learn the truth about 9/11," but the interior is aimed at general audiences who may not be aware of problems with the official account, or who may be quick to dismiss any questions as conspiracy theories.

In a concise and straightforward way, the brochure presents the many facts that challenge the 9/11 Commission Report (including doubts expressed by Co-Chairs Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton themselves), as well as contradictions in the accepted narrative about air defense, the alleged hijackers, the destruction of the World Trade Center, and the anthrax attacks. Only statements that could be verified in mainstream news sources were included and carefully footnoted, so as to maximize the credibility of the piece.