The Associated Press reports that a White House internal investigation has released the findings of an internal investigation into the recent incident involving a low-flying Air Force One over New York City; and that, in consequence of the 'embarassing incident,' Louis Caldera of the White House Military Office has submitted his resignation, effectively accepting the blame:

------------------------------------------
(Excerpts)

WASHINGTON – The White House official who authorized a $328,835 photo-op of Air Force One soaring above New York City resigned under fire Friday as the administration tried to move past the embarrassing incident that sent panicked workers rushing into the streets amid flashbacks of Sept. 11.

As former Army Secretary Louis Caldera took the fall for the flyover, the White House released the findings of an internal investigation that portrayed him as out of the loop in a cycle of missed messages and questionable judgments as plans for the photo shoot proceeded.

NEW! 9/11: Blueprint for Truth – The Architecture of Destruction — 2008 Companion Edition DVD. 10, 30 and 60-minute abridged versions and Bonus material. Note: You can get a $10 discount by purchasing both the "2-hour Research Edition" and the "Companion Edition" together.

We have been asked for 2 years now to provide a 1-hour and a 30-minute version of our popular, but long, dynamic multimedia presentation "9/11: Blueprint for Truth – The Architecture of Destruction". We have listened to the feedback and have edited out all but the facts from the 2-hour 2008 Research Edition.

Pentagon’s Black Budget Grows to More Than $50 Billion

* By Noah Shachtman Email Author
* May 7, 2009 |
* 7:39 pm |
* Categories: Paper Pushers, Beltway Bandits, Politicians, Spies, Secrecy and Surveillance

The Pentagon wants to spend just over $50 billion on classified programs next year, newly-released Defense Department budget documents reveal. “That’s the largest-ever sum,” according to Aviation Week’s Bill Sweetman, a longtime black-budget seer — a three percent increase over last year’s total.

It makes the Pentagon’s secret operations, including the intelligence budgets nested inside, “roughly equal in magnitude to the entire defense budgets of the UK, France or Japan,” Sweetman adds. All in all, about seven and a half percent of the Defense Department’s total spending is now classified.

Black-world weapons-buying “remains dominated by the single line item,” according to Sweetman. (You can find it under the Air Force’s “other procurement” section, on page F-21 here.) “This year’s number stands just above $16 billion. In inflation-adjusted terms, that’s 240 per cent more than it was ten years ago.”

An attendee of Jones' UC Davis lecture has posted a lo-fi version of the lecture at YouTube;

http://www.youtube.com/user/DrStevenJonesLecture

I'm assuming that higher quality video is in the pipeline somewhere, and when it become available, we'll front page that version.

(Introductions from Bonnie Faulkner and Janette MacKinlay)

Jon Gold
5/7/2009

Today, Rawstory reported on New York Times columnist Frank Rich, and his belief that the Defense Department Inspector General's office's investigations over the years may have been cover-ups that were "carried out in response to "orders from above." He said that any report "over the past five or six years during the war in Iraq" may be suspect, and that "there may be a much bigger story here."

Really?

Pentagon Attack Cab Driver Lloyde England's Virtual Confession

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GHM5f9lVho

The Wall Street Journal, by way of Siobhan Gorman, reports that "Civilian air-traffic computer networks have been penetrated multiple times in recent years, including an attack that partially shut down air-traffic data systems in Alaska, according to a government report."

The concerns are reiterated on the website of congressman Tom Petri.

But the notion that the FAA could allow (direct or indirect) internet access to flight control systems is dubious. What could be the reasons behind this publication? Let's examine some hypotheses.

• Genuine concern - Some security breaches to non-critical systems are blown out of proportion, but are made public in genuine concern for FAA IT security as it relates to national security
• Fearmongering - Fan the flames of the security hype, easing the adoption of new laws, allowing the government draconian control over internet infrastructure

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/05/economy-will-not-recover-until.html

One of the leading business schools in America - the Wharton School of Business - has written an essay on the psychological causes and solutions to the economic crisis. Wharton points out that restoring trust is the key to recovery, and that trust cannot be restored until wrongdoers are held accountable:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/07/flight-93-memorial-land-c_n_198884.html

PITTSBURGH — The government will begin taking land from seven property owners so that the Flight 93 memorial can be built in time for the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the National Park Service said.

In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, the park service said it had teamed up with a group representing the victims' families to work with landowners since before 2005 to acquire the land.

"But with few exceptions, these negotiations have been unsuccessful," said the statement.

Landowners dispute that negotiations have taken place and say they are disappointed at the turn of events.

The seven property owners own about 500 acres still needed for what will ultimately be a $58 million, 2,200-acre permanent memorial and national park at the crash site near Shanksville, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

"We always prefer to get that land from a willing seller. And sometimes you can just not come to an agreement on certain things," park service spokesman Phil Sheridan said.

Find the original link here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090507/ap_on_re_us/us_flight93_memorial;_ylt=At3I2EEDNeBg.e.TSE2_kbPZn414

By DAN NEPHIN, Associated Press Writer Dan Nephin, Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH – The government will begin taking land from seven property owners so that the Flight 93 memorial can be built in time for the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the National Park Service said.

In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, the park service said it had teamed up with a group representing the victims' families to work with landowners since before 2005 to acquire the land.

"But with few exceptions, these negotiations have been unsuccessful," said the statement.

Landowners dispute that negotiations have taken place and say they are disappointed at the turn of events.

The seven property owners own about 500 acres still needed for what will ultimately be a $58 million, 2,200-acre permanent memorial and national park at the crash site near Shanksville, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/05/06/us-interrogators-killed-dozens-human-rights-researcher-and-rights-group-say/

"United States interrogators killed nearly four dozen detainees during or after their interrogations, according a report published by a human rights researcher based on a Human Rights First report and followup investigations.

In all, 98 detainees have died while in US hands. Thirty-four homicides have been identified, with at least eight detainees — and as many as 12 — having been tortured to death, according to a 2006 Human Rights First report that underwrites the researcher’s posting. The causes of 48 more deaths remain uncertain.

The researcher, John Sifton, worked for five years for Human Rights Watch. In a posting Tuesday, he documents myriad cases of detainees who died at the hands of their US interrogators. Some of the instances he cites are graphic.

Quite possibly our best show yet. We primarily discuss the movement's news of the past month: the peer-reviewed work on nano-thermate by Jones and company (and the censorship at Wikipedia) along with "Rescue Me." From those main points the hour-long discussion tangents off to touch a few other issues as well. I am the one on the far right (screen right, table left). A good, vigorous discussion. In a metro area of 2-3 million, maybe at least a few dozen or even hundred watched?

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/05/us-votes-for-911-style-commission-to.html

Am I excited that "US lawmakers voted Wednesday to create a 9/11-style commission of experts to probe the causes of last year’s devastating financial meltdown and to draw lessons to prevent its recurrence"?

Of course.

The 9/11 Commission has - in retrospect - expressed confidence in the whole process:

( Initial posting at 911truth.org : http://911truth.org/article.php?story=20090506155958670 )

by Ken Jenkins
May 1, 2009

How many times has this happened to you? You are explaining to someone some of the rational, logical reasons why the official story of 9/11 can't be true, perhaps explaining how WTC 7 fell in the exact manner of a professionally planned controlled demolition -- a job which would typically take weeks to prepare -- when out comes a 'thought stopper' phrase like:

"That's just another conspiracy theory!" or ...

"Do you also believe in Big Foot and tin foil hats?"

Or perhaps the person gets angry and/or agitated. Facts no longer matter at that point, and you can tell the person does not want to hear any more. For example, the following response came from someone after they were given a 20-minute summary of 9/11 Truth information:

"I wouldn't believe that, even if it were true!"

That reaction defies all logic and reason. But it clearly illustrates just how irrational some peoples' defenses can be. Here are a few more honest responses/defenses:

[Let's post some comments on CBC's site debunking this ridiculous diatribe by a long-time producer at "CBC Radio's premier program of contemporary thought"]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/05/05/f-vp-handler.html

The Ideas Guy
Richard Handler

Don't read this, I've been abducted by aliens

Last Updated: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 | 1:15 PM ET
By Richard Handler CBC News

On May 15, the world will be presented with another conspiracy theory in the form of Hollywood entertainment as Dan Brown's novel, Angels and Demons, finds its way to the big screen.

In the movie (as in the novel), an ultra-secret group called The Illuminati are preparing to blow up the Vatican. They murder cardinals and fool around with weapons of mass destruction. (Perhaps that is why George W. Bush never found them in Iraq: they were right under our noses in Rome, maybe under an ancient statue or a café.)