Source: motherjones.com

James Ridgeway
1/9/2006

Pelosi's proposals for increased secruity by implimenting the remaining 911 Commission proposals are beside the point. The Commission itself avoided asking any really hard questions, like, for instance, putting Bush under oath and getting him to tell what happened that day. It even contributed to the administration's overall obfuscation by hiding its own staff study of the inadequate FAA response to numerous pre-attack warnings, then finally releasing them -- after the presidential election. The Congress never has exercised any oversight to speak of over the FAA, and that includes under both Democratic and Republican leadership. For more than a decade the FAA ignored warnings by its own staff and the Congress could have cared less -- quite possibly because of close ties to the industry by former members such as George Mitchell. Tom Daschle's wife was an airline lobbyist when he was Majority leader of the Senate.

The Members of the Family Steering Committee for the 911 Independent Commission issued a set of ratings and questions after the commission shut down. They remain unanswered. Compiled by Jersey Girls Mindy Kleinberg and Lorie Van Auken, they include such things as how come after Bush was told by the White House situation room a commercial airliner had hit the World Trade Towers, he continued with his classroom visit to the Florida elementary school? And after Bush got warnings of an attack from 11 different nations, what did he do to defend this country? There are more than 20 pages of questions from the families. You can read them here [pdf].

Source: burlingtonfreepress.com

Published: Tuesday, January 9, 2007
By John Briggs
Free Press Staff Writer

Burlington voters on Town Meeting Day will be the first in the country to vote 'yes' or 'no' on reopening the investigation into what happened Sept. 11, 2001.

As of Jan. 4, a local group had gathered 1,240 of the approximately 1,350 signatures (5 percent of registered voters) required to put the question on the ballot, and a member of the group, Burlington attorney Frank Haddleton, expressed confidence Monday that they now have more than enough signatures.

The question would ask the Vermont congressional delegation to "demand a new, thorough, and truly independent forensic investigation" to answer "the many questions" the group says remain about what happened the day planes commandeered by terrorists smashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

In September, the council unanimously passed a resolution promising they would honor the Vermont tradition of allowing such questions if they garner enough signatures, "whether or not they like the questions or agree with the petitioners."

Source: washingtonairguard.com

"The Commander of the Washington Air National Guard, also lauded WADS’ accomplishments. Maj General Frank Scoggins stated: "In dozens of major exercises, the unit has been lauded with praise, congratulations, and compliments from major command commanders, inspectors general, civilian drug enforcement officials, and sister service senior leaders". General Scoggins further added: "The sector sets the standard for continuous volunteerism and its outstanding support for real-world air defense missions."

The sector is the Air National Guard organization responsible for the air sovereignty of the western 63% of the continental United States. More than 300 Washington Air National Guard members at WADS have operational control of fighters on continuous alert, keeping track of 1.9 million square miles of airspace, from Texas to the Pacific Coast, across to North Dakota. WADS works directly with three alert bases, where pilots wait for the call to identify unknown aircraft that could be a threat to the nation’s air sovereignty. In the award-judging period from May 15, 1996 to May 14, 1998, the sector "scrambled" jets 129 times to identify these "unknown riders". The WADS scrambled jets another 42 times against potential and actual drug smugglers to support the Domestic Air Interdiction Coordination Center and U.S. Drug Enforcement agencies.

Fact: They would not have been able to do this without 9/11. - Jon

Future Of Iraq: The SpOILs Of War
How the West will make a killing on Iraqi oil riches

Source: news.independent.co.uk

By Danny Fortson, Andrew Murray-Watson and Tim Webb
Published: 07 January 2007

Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days.

The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.

The huge potential prizes for Western firms will give ammunition to critics who say the Iraq war was fought for oil. They point to statements such as one from Vice-President Dick Cheney, who said in 1999, while he was still chief executive of the oil services company Halliburton, that the world would need an additional 50 million barrels of oil a day by 2010. "So where is the oil going to come from?... The Middle East, with two-thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies," he said.

Thanks to Willie Rodriquez for sending this to me. - Jon

Dear Mr. Rodriguez:

With the start of the 110th Congress, I joined Senators Schumer, Kennedy, Lautenberg and Menendez in re-introducing the 9/11 Heroes Health Improvement Act of 2007 that would provide over $1.9 billion in medical and mental health monitoring and treatment grants, available from 2008-2012, to firefighters, police officers, EMTs, paramedics, building and construction trades workers, volunteers, residents, and others whose health was directly impacted at Ground Zero and Fresh Kills as well as those who responded to the Pentagon attack. This funding would be administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and would expand access to health monitoring and health care to all of those who served, lived and worked in the se area s in the aftermath of 9/11. Similar legislation was introduced late last year.

Time is passing while brave, selfless people are getting sick and dying. This has to be one of the President's top priorities in his upcoming budget.I contacted the President's Director of the Office of Management and Budget to ask that some additional funds be included in the President's Budget for 2008 when it is sent up to Congress next month; but if the President will not act, then we will .

direct link

By Jon Gold
12/7/2006

This movement, more than anything else in existence, has supported the sick and the dying from the environmental disaster that was 9/11.

(Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania – 01/04/07) - Philip J. Berg, Esquire, [Berg is a former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania; former candidate for Governor and U.S. Senate; an attorney with offices in Montgomery County, PA and an active practice in Philadelphia, PA, who prior hereto has filed a RICO lawsuit against Bush and others for the events of 9/11 and plans to re-file shortly] announced today that he was issuing a call for world leaders to arrest and try Bush and Cheney for the global crimes of 9/11/01.

Philip J. Berg, Esquire stated in a letter to the nations throughout the world:

“It is time for the nations of the world to come forth and take the leadership because of the failure of the United States Government and the States where crimes were committed on 09/11/01, where no thorough investigation and indictments occurred, to investigate, arrest and prosecute the people responsible for the murders on 9/11/01, specifically including George W. Bush and Richard Cheney. “

Berg continued there is overwhelming evidence that:

“Bush and his cronies made 9/11 happen or let it happen. And, if they let it happen, then they made it happen. Either way, they are responsible; and more important, they have completely and unequivocally covered-it-up!”

I'm really just awestruck by this man. There are no words. - Jon

Worker injured at Ground Zero to give kidney to stranger

Source: newsday.com

BY STACEY ALTHERR
Newsday Staff Writer
January 4, 2007

John Feal knows a lot about suffering. Permanently disabled during rescue efforts at the World Trade Center, he dedicated his life to helping others. Now he is giving even more than money or time - he is donating a precious kidney to a former Queens man he met over the Internet.

"He went to my Web site, fealgoodfoundation.com, and told me what good work I was doing," said Feal of Paul Grossfeld, a former Sunnyside resident who now lives in Marlboro, N.J. After Grossfeld told him he needed a kidney, Feal didn't think twice. "I told him, I'll do it. "

Seven days after the terrorist attacks, Feal was working demolition at Ground Zero when an 8,000-pound steel beam fell onto his left foot. The man next to him fainted when he saw the blood spurting from the injury. Feal, an Army veteran from Nesconset, made a tourniquet out of his belt and yelled for help.

By Jon Gold
1/3/2007

Today, our beloved President decided to "write" an Op-Ed for the Wall Street Journal.

The one thing that stood out to me, aside from the "warning" to Congress saying, "If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements, they will have chosen stalemate. If a different approach is taken, the next two years can be fruitful ones for our nation.", was the following paragraph:

"Our priorities begin with defeating the terrorists who killed thousands of innocent Americans on September 11, 2001--and who are working hard to attack us again. These terrorists are part of a broader extremist movement that is now doing everything it can to defeat us in Iraq."

First of all, Iraq and the people fighting against Americans in Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Bush himself, admitted that the country of Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. As for the groups of people fighting our brave soldiers... If America was invaded by Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia, or China, like America invaded Iraq, would Americans that actively opposed said invasion be an "extremist movement" or would they be patriots defending their country? I guess that depends on whether or not you are the invader or the invadees.

As you read through these postings, I want you to keep this thought in the back of your mind. If you were President of the United States, or any member of Government, and 2,973+ people were brutally murdered on American soil, would you want to thoroughly investigate how and why this happened, and cooperate with said investigation to the best of your ability so as to make sure it never happens again?

Thanks to www.cooperativeresearch.org and simuvac.

December 21, 2001: Senators Introduce Bills to Create Independent 9/11 Commission
Two bipartisan pairs of senators introduce legislation to create independent 9/11 commissions. Senators Joe Lieberman (D) and John McCain (R) propose to create a 14-member, bipartisan commission with subpoena power. At the same time, Robert Torricelli (D) and Charles Grassley (R) propose to create a 12-member board of inquiry with subpoena power. White House spokeswoman Anne Womack is noncommittal about the proposals, saying, “We look forward to reviewing them. Right now, the president is focused on fighting the war on terrorism.” [New York Times, 12/21/2001]

January 24, 2002: Cheney and Bush Pressure Senator to Avoid 9/11 Inquiry
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D) later claims that on this day, Vice President Cheney calls him and urges that no 9/11 inquiry be made. President Bush repeats the request on January 28, and Daschle is repeatedly pressured thereafter. Newsweek summarizes one of these conversations: “Bush administration officials might say they’re too busy running the war on terrorism to show up. Press the issue ... and you risk being accused of interfering with the mission.” [Newsweek, 2/4/2002] Cheney later disagrees: “Tom’s wrong. He has, in this case, let’s say a misinterpretation.” [Reuters, 5/27/2002]

May 23, 2002: Bush Opposes Special Inquiry into Terrorism Warnings
President Bush says he is opposed to establishing a special, independent commission to probe how the government dealt with terrorism warnings before 9/11. [CBS News, 5/23/2002] He later changes his stance in the face of overwhelming support for the idea (see September 20, 2002 ), and then sabotages an agreement that Congress had reached to establish the commission.

Click Here (10MB MOV)

Does everyone remember those individuals wearing FDNY and NYPD hats in honor of the fallen heroes of 9/11? Where are those people now? The other heroes of 9/11 are now sick and dying, and need their support more than ever. That's the premise of this little film. The music is "Where do we go from here" from a live performance of Chicago back in 1972 at Carnegie Hall.

DISSIDENT WTC KIN: WE'LL BARE UGLY 'TRUTH' FOR '08

Source: nypost.com

By MAGGIE HABERMAN
12/28/2006

December 28, 2006 -- A group of 9/11 victims' families who have criticized Rudy Giuliani's record vowed yesterday to reveal the "truth" of his performance during the terror attacks.

The angry words came after The Post reported that supporters of Giuliani have started discussions with 9/11 family members about backing him in a 2008 White House race.

His moves may be an attempt to head off criticism from relatives like Sally Regenhard, the mother of a late firefighter who vowed months ago to make "Swiftboat"-type criticisms of the ex-mayor.

"I can't see why any 9/11 family member who knows the truth about the failures of the Giuliani administration . . . would not be outraged about the failures," said Regenhard.

She co-founded a group called the Skyscraper Safety Campaign and heckled Giuliani when he testified at 9/11 commission hearings in 2004. She has long blamed Giuliani for communications failures, including faulty radios, at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

RUDY'S ANGELS OF 9/11
EYES SUPPORT FOR '08

Source: nypost.com

By MAGGIE HABERMAN

December 27, 2006 -- Supporters of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani have started discussions with relatives of 9/11 victims about backing him if he runs for president in 2008, some family members told The Post.

The conversations have taken place in recent weeks, according to some victims' families, who described the talks as "casual."

Marian Fontana, who lost her firefighter husband on 9/11, said she got an invitation to go to a Giuliani exploratory committee dinner last week from a former firefighter working with Giuliani's committee. She described the invite as "last-minute."

Fontana said she was appreciative of what Giuliani did after 9/11, but would want to know a lot more about any candidate's stand on a variety of issues.

"I feel like I'm not ready to endorse," said Fontana, who added, "I could see why [Giuliani supporters] would want to reach out to family members."

Lee Ielpi, a former firefighter who lost his son in the attacks, said he discussed backing the former mayor with Larry Levy.

Listen to Paul Thompson tell us why "Path To 9/11" was "misleading." - Jon

Source: upi.com

NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- ABC received a "Falsie" award for its Sept. 11 miniseries that the Center for Media and Democracy chided as the most misleading U.S. show of the year.

The organization -- described by as a "left-leaning watchdog group" by Daily Variety -- chided ABC's "Path to 9/11" as "an opportunity to rewrite history" launched by conservative filmmakers that directly contradicted the Sept. 11 commission report it was supposedly drawn from.

The Falsies are presented to shows deemed to be subliminal PR spin distorting the facts.

The runner-up for the dubious honor last week was the National Association of Broadcast Communicators, the organization that distributed pre-packaged "video news releases" that appeared to be legitimate TV news reports.

A military analysts' chart did not identify hijackers beforehand, senators report.

Source: latmes.com

By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer
December 25, 2006

WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has rejected as untrue one of the most disturbing claims about the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes — a congressman's contention that a team of military analysts identified Mohamed Atta or other hijackers before the attacks — according to a summary of the panel's investigation obtained by The Times.

The conclusion contradicts assertions by Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) and a few military officers that U.S. national security officials ignored startling intelligence available in early 2001 that might have helped to prevent the attacks.

In particular, Weldon and other officials have repeatedly claimed that the military analysts' effort, known as Able Danger, produced a chart that included a picture of Atta and identified him as being tied to an Al Qaeda cell in Brooklyn, N.Y. Weldon has also said that the chart was shared with White House officials, including Stephen J. Hadley, then deputy national security advisor.