Human Rights Watch Mourns Loss of Alison Des Forges

Alison's loss is a devastating blow not only to Human Rights Watch but also to the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region.
Kenneth Roth, executive director

Leading Rwanda Expert Killed in Plane Crash
February 13, 2009

(New York) - It is with enormous sadness that Human Rights Watch announces the death of our beloved colleague Dr. Alison Des Forges, who was killed in the crash of Flight 3407 from Newark to Buffalo on February 12, 2009. Des Forges, senior adviser to Human Rights Watch's Africa division for almost two decades, dedicated her life to working on Rwanda and was the world's leading expert on the 1994 Rwanda genocide and its aftermath.

Three major human rights organizations have declared the Department of Defense was running secret prisons at Bagram and in Iraq, actively sought ways around the terms of the Geneva conventions and cooperated with the CIA's "ghost detention" program which saw prisoners hidden from Red Cross oversight.

The arrival of the documents comes on the same day the ACLU published two unredacted pages of a government report which reveals detainees in US custody were tortured to death.

A multimedia presentation suitable for professionals and laymen alike.
Please alert your friends and relatives who are architects, engineers, and construction professionals.
A special welcome to attendees of the American Citizens' Summit at the nearby Denver Sheraton downtown sponsored by the Transpartisan Alliance.

Digg this article! Now that Huffington Post has allowed the need for 9/11 investigation to finally grace it's (very well-read) pages, let's support them with a quick Digg, so people understand that this issue is indeed supported by many readers. Click here to digg it .

– Ed.

Patrick Leahy has a point when he urges President Obama to open investigations about the Bush administration. However, he's not pointing at the issue that we need to start with. Namely, September 11th. What really happened? More than a few people know - and I am not alone in calling for those who know to start talking and fess up. Let's not let this go the way of the JFK assassination - and whether with subpoenas or on their own volition, I demand that Dick Cheney, George W. Bush - both of whom refused to testify under oath during the 9/11 Commission proceedings -- Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Karl Rove, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Armitage, Larry Wilkerson, George Tenet, Robert Mueller and the rest - as well as Bill Clinton and Al Gore (both of whom also refused to testify under oath) -- start talking, and in a public arena. And I'm calling on the Obama administration to open up a probe and unravel the web of deceit.

Before we tuck the Bush administration into bed and hiss, "Nighty Night, you lying scoundrels," before we go on to lock the door on that heinous era of American history, we do indeed need to probe what happened under their watch. But the event that most concerns me is what happened on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Oh yeah, that's history, old news, the 9/11 Commission figured it all out, right? Except that members of the 9/11 Commission say it was "set up to fail" and that the investigation was severely hampered. So do assorted former members of the CIA, who demand a fresh look at the events of that day.

GeorgeWashington's Blogspot
February 10, 2009

On 9/11, the FBI believed that bombs were involved in the attacks.

How do I know that?

Because, according to the FBI's website:

Following the massive terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, the FBI dedicated 7,000 of its 11,000 Special Agents and thousands of FBI support personnel to the PENTTBOM investigation. "PENTTBOM" is short for Pentagon, Twin Towers Bombing.

(see also this and this).

Indeed, the FBI told a reporter for USA Today that FBI agents believed there were bombs in the Twin Towers.

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY), and Michael McMahon (D-NY) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to address the health crisis caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. H.R. 847, the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, would provide medical monitoring and treatment for those exposed to toxins released by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. The bill would also provide compensation for economic losses due to illnesses or injuries caused by the attacks.

The previous version of the bill was set to be considered by the House last fall but because of the financial crisis and other factors, it had to be delayed. The Members of Congress are hopeful that the bill will have strong bipartisan support when it is voted on by the House in the coming months. In addition, during his presidential campaign President Barack Obama signaled his strong support for helping the heroes and heroines of 9/11.

"Thousands lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, but in the years that followed thousands more lost their health. This bill provides proper care to those who are suffering and demonstrates that America will not abandon its first responders and all those affected," Rep. Maloney said. "I thank Speaker Pelosi and my colleagues in the New York delegation for their dedication to fulfilling America's moral responsibility to care for those who were harmed by the terrorist attacks on our nation."

by Leo Standora
NY Daily News
February 5th 2009

Many Sept. 11 first responders - most of them cops, firemen and construction workers who took ill after working at Ground Zero - suffered lung problems more than five years later, according to a new study.

Experts say findings by Mount Sinai Medical Center's medical monitoring program prove those exposed to toxic dust in the twin towers' collapse suffer persistent illnesses, ranging from asthma to reactive airway disease and shortness of breath.

The study could help experts who have long been struggling to set standards for defining a post-Sept. 11 illness and how long it takes to develop.

The monitoring program examined more than 3,160 WTC responders between 2004 and 2007, repeating exams conducted between the middle of 2002 and 2004.

Slightly more than 24% of those examined had abnormal lung function, the study found.

September 11th Advocates
Statement Regarding Guantanamo Quagmire and Accountability
February 10, 2009

The Military Commissions System at Guantanamo Bay was an attempt by the Bush Administration to create an “extralegal zone”, wherein the rule of law was ignored. Many Guantanamo detainees were subject to detention without charges, rendition and illegal torture. The Military Commissions System, which allowed evidence obtained through torture and coercive interrogation tactics, has been a dismal failure both legally and practically. The Supreme Court has rejected the policies of this system each time it has reviewed them. Because of the Bush Administration’s mistaken belief in its ability to craft a new legal system, which clearly created avoidable moral and legal challenges, justice may never be served.

President Obama has paused all proceedings at Guantanamo Bay for 120 days in order for his legal team to attempt to design a system in which the verdicts will withstand the scrutiny of the inevitable appeals process. He is rightfully attempting to fix the quagmire that was created by the previous administration.

February 1, 2009

In reference to our FOIA request, the FBI has sent us 13 additional PENTTBOM videos. This is the second round release (not counting the CCTV Pentagon, CITGO, and Doubletree video releases). Each DVD contains 1 video from the 'menu' list. Here is a summary of what was sent:

K3074: Footage of the second plane impacting the WTC. The video also captures the collapses.
NE418: Pentagon witness saying he saw a plane land into the Pentagon, followed by another plane (C130).
(Continued...)

WHEREAS religious leaders seek to promote various universal values, including love, justice, and truth; and

WHEREAS religious leaders throughout history have spoken out on moral issues; and

WHEREAS the official account of 9/11 has been shown by scientists and professionals in relevant fields to be false beyond a reasonable doubt; and

WHEREAS the official account of 9/11 has been used as a pretext for wars that have killed and maimed millions of innocent people and caused enormous ecological damage to our planet; and . . .

Counter-terrorism experts presumably have some insight into terrorism, right?

In fact, numerous high-level counter-terrorism experts question the government's investigation of - and explanation for - 9/11.

Read more for examples of who this includes.

February 3, 2009
George Washington's Blog

Terrell (Terry) E. Arnold was the number 2 counter-terrorism official at the U.S. State Department, and is one of the world's leading experts on terror.

Arnold served as the Deputy Director, Office of Counter-Terrorism and Emergency Planning, at the U.S. State Department. He is also the former Chairman of the Department of International Studies at the National War College.

Arnold has worked as a crisis management consultant for several Federal agencies, including The State Department, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Customs Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is the author of numerous books on terror*. Arnold is a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean war.

When the New York Times explored the political beliefs of Daniel Sunjata, an actor on the FX network's show "Rescue Me," it was under the banner of a "sinister theory."

The "sinister theory" that a group of neoconservative politicians may have colluded to allow, or bring about, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

On Thursday's Fox and Friends, Greg Gutfield, provocative host of Fox's late night program Red Eye, called individuals like Sunjata, who question the events of 9/11, "mentally ill."

Michael D. Shear, Peter Finn and Dan Eggen
The Washington Post
Thursday, February 5, 2009; 6:23 PM

President Obama will gather tomorrow with victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and U.S.S. Cole bombing for a face-to-face meeting as his administration struggles to decide how to handle detainees at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, several of those invited said.

The previously undisclosed meeting at the White House tomorrow afternoon will give the new president a chance to explain his decision to close the controversial prison facility where the U.S. has placed many suspected terrorists since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Obama has been assailed by conservative critics who say the decision to close the facility within a year will lead to putting many of those terrorists back on the street. In a recent interview, former vice president Dick Cheney, an architect of the Bush administration's war on terror, criticized the decision as reckless.

By Paul Craig Roberts
February 04, 2009
Information Clearinghouse

If America were infected with terrorists, we would not need the government to tell us. We would know it from events. As there are no events, the US government substitutes warnings in order to keep alive the fear that causes the public to accept pointless wars, the infringement of civil liberty, national ID cards, and inconveniences and harrassments when they fly.

The most obvious indication that there are no terrorist cells is that not a single neocon has been assassinated.