Is a coin company profiting off 9/11? Are their commemorative coins a scam? Anderson Cooper is keeping them honest.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/27/kth-coin-scam-exploiting-tragedy-o...

CNN exploiting Anderson Cooper exploiting a scam exploiting 9/11 that the government exploited to exploit Iraqi oil fields?

no doubt that these people selling these coins are the scum of the earth - so - I guess we'll give Cooper a pass on this one.

Luke Ryland, proprietor of the blog Let Sibel Edmonds Speak, discusses the disclosure of pre-9/11 FBI investigations that corroborate some of Sibel Edmonds’ previously unsupported claims, Turkish lobbies involved in Congressional bribery and drug trafficking, US foreign military aid (funded by taxpayers) that keeps the world awash in F-16s and lines the pockets of defense contractors and the best online resources for getting up to speed on Sibel Edmonds’ story.

http://antiwar.com/radio/2010/03/19/luke-ryland-5/

The website AntiWar.com - which has historically shown mixed interest in 9.11 Truth issues, is running this interview with Coleen Rowley. It was a pleasure for me to meet Coleen at the Treason in America conference last week. It was somewhat sureal that, years after including her story in my film, she was rushing up to me in person, after my presentation, to shake my hand and thank me.

Coleen is an extremely important part of our efforts to reach out and connect with a new audience. Like Cindy Sheehan she is building bridges for 9/11 Truth with the antiwar community - and we should all support and promote her efforts as vigorously as possible.

http://antiwar.com/radio/2010/03/13/coleen-rowley/

Coleen Rowley, retired FBI agent and 9/11 whistleblower, discusses the myth that FISA restrictions (and not incompetence at FBI and CIA headquarters) prevented critical intelligence sharing prior to 9/11, CIA Director George Tenet’s August 2001 “Islamic Extremist Learns to Fly” powerpoint briefing about Zacarias Moussaoui and why the creation of the DHS and increased centralization of intelligence organizations did nothing to fix 9/11 failures.

The anniversary of 9/11 never ceases to evoke strong feelings here in NYC. I had hoped that the years would heal these wounds - but they have not.

I ride the E Train to work every morning. This is the one subway line that has the World Trade Center as its final stop. The train today had small pockets of people carrying photos of loved ones, dressed in their best clothes, as they were apparently on their way to ground zero for the anniversary.

There is never really very much conversation on the trains in the morning. This is afterall the most highly populated yet most lonely city in the world. But, this morning the silence seemed deafening, as we shared a subway car with family members holding large photos of their loved ones that stared back at us with faces that look so much like our own. Ordinary people with ordinary faces, snapshots from the past, in happier times - just like any of us - cut short in their prime - no chance to say goodbye or bring their loved ones to closure.

9/11 Truth Under Siege - Disinformation and Disruption on the 7th Anniversary of 9/11

For many years this problem has torn us apart from the inside. Even those of us who have our hearts in the right place – and integrity on our side – have been divided over the issue of disinformation for 7 long years.

- 911Blogger itself inadvertently promoted the work of such known disruptors for years, who now actively promote hoax theories and slander against 911Blogger, after years of internal strife and division here over the issue of whether they should be allowed to participate – or censored.
- Even a 9/11 stalwart such as Jon Gold has found himself at odds with other sincere activists who openly opposed his support of the NYC Ballot Initiative, as it was conceived, controlled and managed by a well known NYC activist who has organized 9/11 anniversary events which publicly branded other 9/11 activists as government agents and terrorists.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/washington/07anthrax.html?_r=1&partner...

September 7, 2008

Seeking Details, Lawmakers Cite Anthrax Doubts

By SCOTT SHANE and ERIC LICHTBLAU
WASHINGTON — A month after the F.B.I. declared that an Army scientist was the anthrax killer, leading members of Congress are demanding more information about the seven-year investigation, saying they do not think the bureau has proved its case.

In a letter sent Friday to Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Democratic leaders of the House Judiciary Committee said that “important and lingering questions remain that are crucial for you to address, especially since there will never be a trial to examine the facts of the case.”

The scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, committed suicide in July, and Mr. Mueller is likely to face demands for additional answers about the anthrax case when he appears before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on Sept. 16 and 17.

This cannot stand.

The recent attacks upon Rosie O'Donnell from FoxNews cannot be allowed to go unanswered by the 911 Truth community.

Not only is FoxNews conflating Ms. O'Donnell's statements out of context - they are also attempting to silence all debate on the issue of 9/11 - and inappropriately using the victim's families as pawns.

Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and FoxNews do NOT represent the interests of the victim's families - anymore than Ann Coulter (who claimed that the Jersey widows were enjoying their husband's deaths) does.

I would like to call on all 911 activists in the NYC area to join me tomorrow morning in front of FoxNews studios at 8:00 am - at 6th avenue and 47th Street. FoxNews broadcasts in front of an open window. I suggest we make our feelings known on live TV.

Anyone with those large red 9/11 Truth signs in the NYC areas should support us in the effort.

This is important. This is the first major breakthrough in the media we have experienced - with a mainstream TV personality demanding answers to 9/11 on daytime television.

I must profess embarrassment. After 5 years of 9/11 activism KSM’s confession today has brought my world crashing down. After years of paranoid conspiracy theories I must now accept the government’s word that this confession is the genuine bona fide article – the final smoking gun behind 9/11.

It is therefore out of respect for our legal system that I will reproduce KSM’s confession here:

I, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, being of sound mind and body, un-coerced through torture, and fully enjoying the legal representation and due process afforded me under the constitution of the United States of America, hereby confess to the following crimes associated with 9/11:

• I confess that in the summer of 2001, I instituted the Visa Express Program in Saudi Arabia which allowed terrorists to enter the United States without even being interviewed by a consular officer. The Visa Express Program was ONLY instituted in Saudi Arabia, and no such privileges were extended to other US allies in Europe or the Middle East – ONLY Saudi Arabia, a country known to have a large population of Muslim fundamentalists hostile to the United States, and loyal to Osama Bin Laden.

You can kiss streaming video goodbye.

$1 Billion?

$1 Billion?????!!!!

The sad thing is that this lawsuit has validity. Clearly Google and YouTube have allowed people to post content that contains protected material.

I think Google and YouTube are going to be forced to shut down shop completely.

From a journalism standpoint you could argue that films (such as my own) contain content under the fair usage interpretation of the law. Since my film is not being sold or profited off of, they would be hard-pressed to make a case.

BUT - i doubt Google and YouTube can police and moderate all content in this way. The $1 Billion lawsuit is the FIRST SALVO in what could be an avalanche of lawsuits from every media company.

as usual - the public loses.

Two FBI Whistleblowers Confirm Illegal Wiretapping of Government Officials and Misuse of FISA

State Secrets Privilege Was Used to Cover Up Corruption and Silence Whistleblowers

The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) has obtained a copy of an official complaint filed by a veteran FBI Special Agent, Gilbert Graham, with the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG). SA Graham’s protected disclosures report the violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in conducting electronic surveillance of high-profile U.S. public officials.

Before his retirement in 2002, SA Gilbert Graham worked for the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO) Squad NS-24. One of the main areas of Mr. Graham’s counterintelligence investigations involved espionage activities by Turkish officials and agents in the United States. On April 2, 2002, Graham filed with the DOJ-OIG a classified protected disclosure, which provided a detailed account of FISA violations involving misuse of FISA warrants to engage in domestic surveillance. In his unclassified report SA Graham states: “It is the complainant’s reasonable belief that the request for ELSUR [electronic surveillance] coverage was a subterfuge to collect evidentiary information concerning public corruption matters.” Graham blew the whistle on this illegal behavior, but the actions were covered up by the Department of Justice and the Attorney General’s office.

It appears that there is a small crack in the ice appearing for 9/11 Truth at Antiwar.com

In the past I have pointed out that Antiwar.com runs editorials by syndicated columnist Paul Craig Roberts - with the exception of editorials he has written on the subject of 9/11 Truth. It appears that Antiwar.com is actively censoring Mr. Roberts on this subject. In fact, Mr. Roberts has contacted me and expressed his opinions on this matter.

And while Antiwar.com regularly runs editorials by Justin Raimondo in which Mr. Raimondo skillfully attempts to pin 9/11 on Israel, it appears that a very clear line has been drawn in which facts regarding American complicity in 9/11 would selectively be allowed to see the light of day.

Strangely enough, while Antiwar.com sees the logic in exposing the recent revelations by Seymour Hersch that the Bush administration is actively and clandestinely funding Al Qaeda-linked groups, it appears that Antiwar.com does not wish to connect the dots and consider the underlying history and relationship between Al Qaeda and the United States of America. George Bush is diverting American tax dollars to the very people who attacked us on 9/11?

September 11, 2001

I was concerned about being late for work that morning. It was a crystal clear cloudless morning when I left my apartment and headed into work at 888 7th Avenue in Manhattan. My appointment was for 8:30 to meet with my department head in the corner office of one of this building’s uppermost floors.

I arrived approximately 15 minutes late and was approaching his office, laptop computer still slung over my shoulder, jacket still on, when the loud sound of an approaching plane began to fill the air. An employee with an office immediate adjacent to the corner office I was approaching could suddenly be heard yelling out “Oh My God!” as a very large commercial jet passed over our building. This was a very low flying plane, and given its size we all felt the effects of the illusion that it had almost hit our building. In all probability it was not as close as it felt, and the noise this plane made probably added to the effect of a perceived near miss. But it was indeed flying too low for Manhattan.

A few weeks back I blogged here that St Marks church had swastikas and photos of feces posted on its walls as part of a disruption campaign waged by activist/researcher Nico Haupt. The following is the video of these events - in unedited form.

Some key things to look out for:

1 - Haupt repeatedly curses and rages, hurling obscenities at participants of this event, some of whom are simply attempting to calm the situation down and restore order in the church. In one case he nearly comes to blows with an individual he is accusing of betraying America.

2 - At one point you will see complaints trickling in from the upstairs residents who were holding a theatrical event. Haupts screaming was disturbing other residents of the church.

3 - It has been announced that 911 events at St Marks are now suspended.

Here, in unedited form, is Mr. Rick Siegel's most recent editorial on 911 Truth. For those who do not know Mr. Siegel, he is the producer of 911 Eyewitness, as well as webmaster to numerous 911-themed websites that promote the work of James Fetzer, Judy Woods, Nico Haupt, Morgan Reynolds, 911Blimp, Webfairy, Killtown, among others.

Mon, 02/12/2007 - 17:16 — rick
Year End Report from the Battlefields

It has been a little over a year since my introduction into the world of “911Truth” and this is a report of it to my readers.

When Henrik Melvang, from http://www.terrorize.dk, first contacted me, then introducing me to Dave, the producer and researcher from Blue Star Media, I had no idea what my recording from that day had, nor what was in store for me. The tape, showing criminal culpabilities of the ruling class, is more the Monkey’s Claw than the key to happiness and freedom it was hoped to be.

The broadcast time of this interview is still to be announced.

"...Ashcroft has revived the FBI's totally discredited COINTELPRO program, which flourished from 1956 to 1971, during the anti-war and civil rights movements."

John Ashcroft On Trial
Turning Justice On Its Head
by Nat Hentoff
January 11, 2002

This week, Visibility 9-11 visits the topic of COINTELPRO in what hopes to be a new series on issues facing the 9-11 Truth Movement. "Left gatekeepers", dis-information specialists, agent provocateurs, and internet "trolls" all work to distract and/or discredit the fine work of literally thousands of good and caring Americans involved in 9-11 Truth. It is important to recognize the history of things our government has done which has violated every tenet of a free society.

John Albanese will be discussing his upcoming film "Disinformation in the Information Age" and the rash of disruptions that have taken place within the 911 Truth movement over the last several years.

Subjects to be discussed:

- Cointelpro today - this is not your father's Oldsmobile - is it legal under the constitution?
- Is all research created equal?

As you all know I have been in the process of assembling legal assistance in dealing with the onslaught of dangerous incitements occurring associated with the New York 911 Truth movement, as well as myriad documented cases of threats that have been occurring.

It has come to my attention that a website 911Researchers.com has run an opinion piece as follows:

Enemy Combatant Status: Render John Albanese to a Black Site?
Submitted by Fred on Tue, 2007-02-06 14:56.

"It is my personal opinion based solely on the email presented here that John Albanese might be a dangerous lunatic who poses a threat to the American way of life. If he poses a clear and present danger to the security of our homeland and to himself, I feel it would be for the best if he were placed in a secret black location where interrogators could use enhanced methods to achieve greater effectiveness in getting the truth out of him. I feel in my gut that he could be an Al Qaida operative, based on the language he uses in that email. As a general rule, it seems to me that any dangerous character making threats could be some kind of "enemy combatant" and should be treated as such."

It is with sadness that I must report that it has been communicated to me by several of the most prominent members of the New York 911 Truth movement that prolific 9/11 blogger and "researcher" Nico Haupt has been positively identified as having taped inflammatory photos - including photos of swastikas and excrement - to the walls of St Marks Church in New York City.

A frequent gathering place of various non-denomination grassroots activist groups, as well as events featuring dance, poetry and film showings, St. Marks Church is also unofficial home to www.NY911Truth.org.

According to Les Jamieson, leader of the NY group:

"On Sunday Jan. 21st Nico Haupt came to our Sunday event at St. Marks Church. He interrupted it and caused a huge disturbance. When people tried to oppose him he just cursed them out. Then he taped a printout of the email below (archive) on the wall. I'm sorry for any shock or disgust you'll experience, but I think it's important that this be seen."

The email went on to include photos depicting prominent 9/11 activists and Websites - including 911Blogger - depicted as associated with nazi imagery, swastikas, concentration camps and excrement.

According to Nico Haupt himself:

"We're" doing this boldly because the purpose *IS* actually to indeed destabilize the top of this structure or to confuse and weaken the self-appointed leadership of this 9/11 "truth" movement.
It is done to minimize their "limited hangout" manipulations, their abusive power and to make sure that the leadership will not be replaced by similar elements.
I consider the 9/11 Truth Movement as a CULT.
We're all currently 'victims' of this cult concept, among them honest and once respected 9/11 Researchers plus former members of the 9/11 Science and Justice Alliance (2002-2006). "

I would like to commend the leadership of 911Blogger in the restraint they have shown in last several months, as the work of Nico Haupt and other activists in the movement have engaged in similar type attacks.

Unfortunately, the behavior of Mr Haupt has now transcended into the realm of legally actionable behavior. This no longer is an issue of competing theories and schools of 9/11 research - as Mr Haupt would have us believe. Mr. Haupt has now crossed a very dangerous legal red line that assaults the sensibilities and safety of the community. It is my opinion that placing swastikas on the wall of a church - dedicated towards serving the needs of the community - is a hate crime, and must be reported and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

It is therefore with sadness that I must report this to our community.

911 Truth Legal Defense Fund

I am proud to announce the formation of the 911 Truth Legal Defense Fund. As many of you know there has been a new surge of attacks against members of this movement by individuals engaging in intimidation tactics, thinly veiled threats, blackmail and online smear campaigns.

As the producer of a soon to be released film on this very subject I have found myself at the focal point of much of this internal conflict, with various members of the movement contacting me from all over this nation expressing their personal fears and anxiety over the veracity of some of these attacks. It is funny to note that these attacks are succeeding in uniting a long-splintered movement, with members whom I have not spoken to in years contacting me to report incidences of intimidation tactics.

I have chosen a release date of February 19, 2007 - Presidents Day - to release my new film "Disinformation in the Information Age."

When I originally started working on this project i viewed it as a somewhat humorous aside to my more important project, which is the 3 hour revision of "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime."

Disinformation - misinformation - crazy theories - wacky websites - etc, etc, have always been a part of the 9/11 Truth movement, and I simply thought it would be fun to explore this topic - show some humor - and demonstrate our ability to laugh at ourselves.

But, like my experience in 2002 when i first started unraveling some of the strange anomalies associated with 9/11 itself, i discovered that i was peeling an onion and uncovering layer upon layer of hidden anomalies and facts that each it turn demanded further digging. I started to lose my sense of humor when I realized the depth of disrespect some of these purveyors of disinformation were showing towards - not only their fellow researchers - but towards the victims and their families themselves.

We are hearing the reports now of a leader beset on all sides by failure, and the inequity of dissention. A president increasingly entrenched in a self-imposed cocoon of desperation, surrounded by second-string neo-conservative ideologues who continue to peddle him false hope, against all hope, of pulling victory from the mouth of defeat. Like a child playing chess George Bush simply will not accept defeat, futilely moving his last few pawns into position around a lone king, with neither the common sense or decency to resign.

These are, after all, human lives he is playing with.

I have always disliked the phrase "liberal gatekeepers." I always felt that the phrase itself smacked of sour grapes, and seeks to blame otherwise sincere members of the media who we have failed to reach with reasoned and well-formed arguments on 9/11.

I now feel forced to rethink this position.

Many of us are growing frustrated by the ongoing attacks by the liberal gatekeepers against the 9/11 Truth movement. They do indeed appear to be mounting. Most notably Alexander Cockburn, The Nation and Noam Chomsky have weighed in on this issue.

I think it is important to put some perspective on this issue. I am therefore reprinting this excellent article from 1994, which illustrates a mode of operation that can only be described as baffling - and (shudder) "Left Gatekeeping."

http://www.webcom.com/~lpease/media/cockburn.htm

Alexander Cockburn and Noam Chomsky vs. JFK: A Study in Misinformation

INTRODUCTION
In early 1992, after the release of Oliver Stone's film JFK a media thundercloud erupted.

After early attacks in mainstream media like the Chicago Tribune and Washington Post, many other alternative media of both the left and right began to run articles on the film including outlets like "The Village Voice", for which Alexander Cockburn used to write. To the surprise of many, when some of these supposed leftist media organs did chime in, they savaged the film as wildly as the mainstream press did. These outlets were, specifically, The Progressive, Z magazine, and The Nation. The writers were, respectively, the late Erwin Knoll, Noam Chomsky, and Alexander Cockburn. Chomsky then wrote a book, Rethinking Camelot to specifically attack one of the main theses of JFK, namely that Kennedy had intended to withdraw from Vietnam by 1965.

Congress demands anthrax probe answers
FBI had refused, citing concerns about possible investigation leaks
By Joel Seidman and Ken Strickland
Producers
NBC News
Updated: 3:20 p.m. ET Dec 12, 2006
WASHINGTON - In a strongly worded letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales demanding an FBI briefing for members of congress on the ongoing investigation into the anthrax attacks five years ago, thirty-three lawmakers, from both sides of the aisle, joined Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., in demanding investigators tell them what they have learned in the unsolved case.

The FBI has, so-far, refused, citing concerns about possible leaks. But the lawmakers say in their letter that the FBI's response - a blanket prohibition against any further anthrax briefings - is out of line. The letter states that FBI agents themselves may have been leaking sensitive information about the case to the news media when a former scientist who once worked at the Army's infectious disease laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md., became the focus of the investigation.

"Given recent revelations that FBI agents were the anonymous sources for New York Times stories casting suspicion on "person of interest" Stephen Hatfill, it appears that the FBI may itself be responsible for the inappropriate disclosures of sensitive case information," according to the letter sent today to the Justice Department.

Patrick Leahy – 9.11 Truth’s Best Chance for Justice?

Is there any hope that Congress will reopen 9.11 for investigation? Many of us have been wondering this since the historic election results of early November handing Democrats a majority in both houses of Congress.

Many of us are rightfully jaded. The democrats in many respects have been complicit in the cover-up of many of the most important facts and questions associated with that day.

But, we should not entirely give up hope. The political tides are changing, and there is perhaps one glimmer of hope that we should all consider actionable.

In October of 2001 Senator Patrick Leahy was one of two democrats targeted in the Anthrax attacks (which was later verified to have originated in US military bio-weapons labs). These attacks helped to usher in the Patriot Act which Leahy had opposed.

According to Paul Thompson’s timeline:

"On October 4, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman and future anthrax target Patrick Leahy (D) accuses the Bush administration of reneging on an agreement on the anti-terrorist bill. Leahy is in a key position to block or slow the bill."

And then in late September 2006 Senator Patrick Leahy posed the following questions:

This story is just breaking on MSNBC and CNN - so there are no details yet - but it will be interesting to see exactly who this American is and what he was planning.

He will, of course, be portrayed as another John Walker or Jose Padilla - but - we should look carefully to see if there are any telltales signs that he has any 'connections.'

For example - Nick Berg - the American beheaded in Iraq - it was confirmed shared an email account with Zacarias Moussaoui. The FBI contends to this day that this was simply a bizarre coincidence and Berg had given the password to Moussaoui in a bus terminal where they had met and struck up a friendship.

Sure.

Bizarre coincidences like this deserve to be treated with a certain level of incredulity from the public, and if this "American" arrested in Egypt has even the appearance of being "connected" to any "bizarre coincidence" we need to be prepared to confront it.

If 9/11 was designed to herald in a broader agenda of American hegemony, it stands to reason that Iran remains on a very short list of targets.

I early bloggered here: http://911blogger.com/node/4214 that Debka was reporting a buildup of carrier groups in the region. There was some debate as to whether Debka is a reliable source (which I agree - it is speculative at best) – but there is some circumstantial evidence indicating that the build-up is indeed occurring – including a story I found that ran in the Navy Times – as well as this recent and startling story that Iran took photos of one such carrier group utilizing spy planes:

http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_18867.shtml

And now Debka is reporting this:

USS Boxer Strike Group, entered the Persian Gulf Thursday, Nov. 9, the largest US landing force to reach this water in a decade

The Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (BOXESG) now in the US Fifth Fleet area headquartered in Bahrain, consists of Boxer (picture), Amphibious Squadron 5, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Seals), the Coast Guard cutter Midgett and
Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa, as well as the USS Dubuque, USS Comstock, the largest landing craft in the US Navy, USS Bunker Hill and the guided missile destroyers USS Benfold and USS Howard.

Hope For the Best – And Prepare For the Worst

My wife and I watched the HBO documentary last night on DieBold electronic voting machines with clenched teeth and tears in our eyes. These machines are as crooked as a dog’s hind leg – and no one appears to care.

The documentary ended on a particularly poignant note. After gaining the cooperation of a Florida polling official to test his machines, a simple memory card which is used to hold tabulated votes, (infected with malicious software) corrupted and skewed the results of a test election, leaving no telltale signs of tampering. And with no paper trail, the crime was complete.

The cooperating poll worker, (a man who appeared to be in his late 50s) who had insisted that this sort of ‘hack’ was “impossible,” was reduced to tears, as the implications of what he had just witnessed, and what this meant for our democracy, sunk into his mind. Seeing this man crying for our democracy was an especially poignant moment that most Americans appear to fail to grasp.

What does this have to do with 9/11?

We all know the stakes. Our nation has spent billions to insert heavily, and apparently intentionally, compromised voting machines into our system. Could they get away with stealing another election?

US aircraft carriers USS Eisenhower and USS Enterprise in the Red Sea off the Saudi Arabian coast

November 1, 2006, 2:20 PM (GMT+02:00)

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, and its accompanying carrier strike group, passed through the Suez Canal on Monday, Oct. 30, and arrived in the Red Sea on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the USS Eisenhower is at sea off the Saudi Arabian coast, together with another aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. The presence of the two US aircraft carriers, and their accompanying strike groups, in a body of water as small as the Red Sea is an extraordinary development.

So far there have been no indications that the USS Eisenhower arrived to replace the USS Enterprise.

US Intelligence director John Negroponte also is in the region. He was in Saudi Arabia over the weekend and in Cairo on Tuesday, and is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

With the arrival of the USS Eisenhower in the region, there are now three US aircraft carriers in the Persion Gulf and surrounding waters, including the USS Iwo Jima. Accompanying the USS Eisenhower are the guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio, the guided-missile destroyers USS Ramage and USS Mason and the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Newport.

With all the attention that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is receiving - many of us have missed the companion legislation that George Bush signed into law along with it.

Public Law 109-364, the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" was signed by the George Bush on October 17th, 2006.

This law, which was signed in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."

According to Senator Patrick Leahy, this law will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law.

http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200609/091906a.html

President Bush signed this law on the same day that he signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The two laws complement one another. One allows for seizing, detaining and torturing U.S. citizens, while the other allows military onto the streets of America.

Taken together - these laws are the very essence of dictatorship - and the term is "martial law."

This law states:

"the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States..."

Matt Taibbi - Abusing the Truth
Crisis in America
by - John Albanese

It is a singularly disturbing attribute of any journalist, whether a creature of the right wing media – or left, to inject themselves so thoroughly into a story that they themselves BECOME the story. This is the stuff of narcissism and yellow journalism.

Matt Taibbi is not alone. We have all seen the Geraldo Rivera video clips involving prurient subject matter, designed to incite his guests, resulting in flying chairs and bloody noses. This does not pass for journalism. It is the job of journalists to report on accidents – not incite them.

At its best it is purely the stuff of entertainment - and Jerry Springer. At its worst it is intentional disinformation put out by major news networks like FoxNews who regularly incite their guests with an agenda of insults and spin, designed to make their ideological opponents look bad.

All of this may be entertaining to watch, but it is surely not the stuff of legitimate objective journalism.

And while it may be impossible for any reporter to truly remain a fly on the wall, truly objective and emotionally uninvolved in their story, (since journalism is in fact a product of the human experience) we do expect that journalists will at the very least attempt to limit their involvement in any given story to the bare necessities of reporting the facts to the public, with at least a basic foundation of personal integrity and fairness, even when editorializing.