Sat Jan 17, 2009
By Louis Charbonneau
ReutersUK

BEIRUT, Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he was relieved about an Israeli ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and urged the Jewish state to withdraw all of its troops as soon as possible.

"I am relieved that the Israeli government has decided to cease hostilities as of midnight GMT," Ban told reporters. "This should be the first step leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza," he said, adding that he wanted the withdrawal "as soon as possible".

He said that Hamas militants also needed to do their part to bring an end to the violence by halting their rocket attacks against southern Israel.

"Hamas militants must stop firing rockets now," he said.

January 16, 2009
by Steven Jones

The 116th peer-reviewed paper was published today in the Journal of 9/11 Studies:
"The Missing Jolt: A Simple Refutation of the NIST-Bazant Collapse Hypothesis"
by Prof. Graeme MacQueen and Tony Szamboti. Take a look!
http://journalof911studies.com/volume/2008/TheMissingJolt4.pdf

This fine paper underwent several months of rather arduous peer-review preceding its publication in the Journal of 9/11 Studies. The paper supports work by James Gourley published in the Journal of Engineering Mechanics and recent analysis by David Chandler. A few quotes from the paper should wet your interest:

"In its Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers, the National Institute of Standards and Technology summarizes its three year study and outlines its explanation of the total collapse of WTC 1 and WTC 2.[1] Readers of the report will find that the roughly $20 million expended on this effort have resulted in an explanation of the total collapse of these buildings that is so vague it barely qualifies as a hypothesis. But it does have one crucial feature of a hypothesis: it is, in principle, falsifiable. In fact, it is easy to demonstrate that it is false.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A 45-year-old man who died of cancer due to breathing in toxic dust following the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 has become the latest addition to the attacks' overall toll.

Leon Bernard Heyward, 45, died on October 18, 2008 from "lymphoma complicating sarcoidosis," bringing the overall death toll from the attacks to 2,752, the New York City medical examiner's office said.

"The Government has determined that continued prosecution of this case as to LINDAUER would not be in the interests of justice."*

Michael Collins
"Scoop" Independent News

(Jan. 16, Wash. DC) The Department of Justice entered a motion to drop all charges against Susan Lindauer yesterday morning, Jan. 15, 2009. The filing (see below) at the federal district court in lower Manhattan ends the government's attempt to prosecute her for allegedly acting as an "unregistered agent" for Iraq. Since her arrest in early 2004, she has repeatedly asked for a trial to present evidence that she had been a United States intelligence asset since the early 1990's.

By filing this order, the government surrendered forever its ability to prosecute Lindauer as an "Iraqi foreign agent" and for lesser charges contained in the indictment, including a one week trip to Baghdad in March, 2002.

Lindauer made the following statement today, Jan 16, 2009: "I am disgusted by this case. They think that they have defeated me by denying my day in court. It could not be more wrong. If we can't have a criminal trial, we're going to have a civil trial for damages."

Lindauer was arrested in March, 2004 shortly after offering to testify before a Bush appointed blue ribbon commission evaluating U.S. pre-war intelligence on Iraq. In late February, she informed the offices of two commission members, Sen. McCain (R-AZ) and Trent Lott (R-MS), that she could testify that U.S. pre-war intelligence was proactive and effective, not a popular view at that time.

From US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Action Alert re. Kucinich's Bill, HR66
January 12th, 2009

Last Friday, the House of Representatives voted 390 yes, 5 no, and 22 present to pass H.Res.34, “recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself” and “reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel.” To see if your Representative cosponsored this resolution, click here.

> Kucinich: UN should investigate Israeli Gaza strikes
> Gaza orgs: Silence is complicity
Appeal, various undersigned -- With the death toll in Gaza growing hourly, silence is complicity. It is imperative for concerned citizens to demand that their governments take immediate action in order to stop Israeli genocide in Gaza.
> Israel Navy ships turn back boat carrying Gaza humanitarian aid
> Patients and refugees evacuated as Al-Quds hospital burns
> White Phosphorous and Dense Inert Metal Explosives: Is Israel Using Banned and Experimental Munitions in Gaza?
> President-elect prepares diplomatic offensive
Right after inauguration, team to be appointed to deal with Middle East troubles

By Clint Hendler
Columbia Journalism Review
January 14, 2009

Advocates for open and transparent government are quick to note that no American presidential administration has, in practice, been enthusiastic about reducing secrecy in the executive branch--for some obvious and sometimes quite legitimate reasons. There are secrets that almost everyone agrees should remain secret. But secrecy must be balanced with the citizens' right to examine the operations of their government--to learn, to improve, to enforce, and sometimes to shame. That's especially true when there are political or bureaucratic incentives for secrecy that deserve far less respect than true matters of national security. And despite the bipartisan resistance from those in power, the arc of history has trended, if unevenly, toward openness. Claims of excessive secrecy have become a tried and true political battering ram, easily wielded by the party in opposition. Technological evolution has not only made the dissemination of information easier and faster, but also has heightened our appetite for disclosure. The trend isn't confined to the political sphere. Betty Ford's frank discussion of her struggles with cancer and alcoholism in the 1970s marked a new era of openness in our personal medical lives, and the invention of the personal video camera spawned a cottage industry around moments--gaffes, goofs, tragedies--that were once private.

By Bob Woodward
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 14, 2009; Page A01

The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition."

"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.

Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured.

Summaries of 9/11 Commission Interviews Released

Kevin Fenton
January 14, 2009
Posted at History Commons Groups

The National Archives today released a set of records the 9/11 Commission gave it. It did so today because the commission told it it had to wait until 2009 to do so, presumably on the off chance that people would have forgotten about it all by then. The records are in two groups, Memorandums for the Record (MFR), which are available online, and other records, which are not available online.

I have been trawling through the ones that are available online and I have learned a few things of interest.

From The National Archives Legislative Branch - The Center for Legislative Archives
January 14, 2009

FAQs on the 9/11 Commission Records

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the 9/11 Commission, was an independent, bipartisan commission created by Congress. The Commission's mandate was to provide a "full and complete accounting" of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and to provide recommendations as to how to prevent such attacks in the future. The Commission, extant from 2003 - 2004, held hearings, conducted interviews, and produced a report.

When the 9/11 Commission closed on August 21, 2004, it transferred legal custody of its records to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Commission encouraged the release of its records to the fullest extent possible in January 2009. Because the Commission was part of the legislative branch its records are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Approximately 35% of the Commission's archived textual records are now publicly available. Due to the collection's volume and the large percentage of national security classified files, NARA staff was unable to process the entire collection by January 2009. Review and processing focused on the portion of the collection that contains unique documents created by the Commission and those that reveal the most about the scope of the investigation and the internal workings of the Commission and its staff.

Click Here To Listen: http://noliesradio.org
LIVE Thursday, Jan 15th at 6am Pacific - 9am Eastern - 14:00 GMT

Who is the real Eric Holder? Is he a real civil rights advocate who recently made a speech advocating the closing of Gitmo and the stopping of rendition, torture, and warrantless secret domestic searches and wiretaps? Is he a coverup attorney who has been accused of deflecting press attention from a possible murder of a witness regarding the government's culpilbility in the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing and defending Chiquita Brands role in the funding of death squads in Columbia? Or is he simply a slimy lawyer accused of infuence peddling in his role in the pardon of Mark Rich in the Clinton Whitehouse? See our website for the sources on these statements.
http://noliesradio.org

Michael J. Fox to play paraplegic on FX series

By DANIEL FRANKEL
January 14, 2009

It's been a hot-potato even for the most heavyweight of political pundits in recent years, but the fifth season of the FX series "Rescue Me" will intrepidly delve into the controversial theory that the 9/11 attacks were aided or perpetrated by the U.S. government.

Season five will find the men of Engine 62 divided over the polarizing theory after a journalist working on a 10-year-anniversary story delves up painful memories.

"I think there are a lot of well-thought-out ideas and theories (about 9/11) that to me make more sense than has been popularly espoused, and I'm glad we could explore it in the context of the show," said cast member Daniel Sanjata, addressing tube journos at the Television Critics Assn. confab in Universal City Tuesday.

January 13, 2009
by Larisa Alexandrovna
RawStary.com

New information surrounding the December plane crash which killed GOP internet consultant Michael Connell casts doubt on some of the rumors and speculation surrounding his death but doesn't close the books on the circumstances surrounding the Republican technology star's tragic end.

Michael Connell, a high-level IT guru for the Republican National Committee and the US Chamber of Commerce, died Dec. 19, 2008 at 5:53 PM ET when his airplane crashed near Ohio’s Akron-Canton airport.

Although there has been speculation in the media about the possibility of sabotage in Connell death, authorities do not suspect foul play. The official investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not yet determined the cause of the crash; their final report is required to be produced within a year.

Every second there is a bomb
Adham Khalil writing from Jabaliya refugee camp, the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 13 January 2009
... We are living under complete siege with daily killings and our houses destroyed. Hamas and other Palestinian factions are trying to defend Palestinians from the continuing massacres, invasions and air strikes. The Israeli occupation and actions in Gaza are terrorist actions, as are many of their actions and policies dating back to their ethnic cleansing campaign in 1948.

But I think this, right now, is the worst catastrophe I will see in my life.

I don't have any guns or weapons. I struggle by simply telling the truth. Many people have asked me if there is a way to send money or food. But what we really need is our freedom and an end to the fire.

Don't keep silent about the Israeli massacres and Holocaust against Palestinians. The demand for an end to this siege must be louder than the bombs that rain down upon us.

Adham Khalil is a resident of Jabaliya refugee camp and a youth leader at the al-Assria Children's Library. His blog, Free Free Palestine, is at http://nagyelali.blogspot.com. (Reprinted from Electronic Intifada)

– Ed.

by Reprehensor
911blogger.com
January 14, 2009

Yesterday, (1.12.2008), Rep. Kucinich explained why he voted against a resolution endorsing Israel's over-the-top aggression in Gaza. Also, please take a moment to sign this petition at AVAAZ.org;

GAZA: STOP THE BLOODSHED

Kucinich Part 1 of 2

January 13, 2008
Email call to action from Center for Constitutional Rights

The inauguration is almost upon us, and I am writing you with two important related matters. The first is a call to action to phone your senators with questions for Eric Holder's hearing on his nomination to be the next Attorney General. The second is to send you a link to a report we released yesterday on the simple steps to closing Guantanamo.

While President-Elect Obama has said he will close the base, he has yet to say how or when, which are the most important questions. We are all excited at the chance for a new beginning: it is up to us to make it one we can be proud of. Please call your senators, and please download and distribute our report so we can end this terrible chapter in our history.