Orangutan.'s blog
Turkmen natural gas pipeline Tapi to cross Afghanistan
The agreement was concluded in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat
A deal has been struck on building a 1,700km (1,050m) pipeline to carry Turkmen natural gas across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
The Tapi project aims to feed energy-deprived South Asian markets and transit fees may benefit Afghanistan.
But details about security and funding were not addressed in the framework agreement reached by the four states.
The pipeline will have to cross Taliban-controlled regions and Pakistan's troubled border region.
Turkmenistan has previously costed the project at $3.3bn (£2.1bn, 2.5bn euros) although other estimates are as high as $10bn.
Tapi, a project which dates back to the mid-1990s, is backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The US has also encouraged the project as an alternative to a proposed Iranian pipeline to India and Pakistan.
Kevin Ryan and Shari Bernson of Colorado Public Television interviewed
Trevor Carey of Denver Late Night on KLZ 560 am in Denver Colorado welcome 9-11 Whistleblower Kevin Ryan and Shari Bernson, Membership Director/Executive Producer at Colorado Public Television to talk about the December 4th airing of Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup.
http://visibility911.com/media/?p=1342
George Flynn and Words of Freedom welcome 9-11 Whistleblower Kevin Ryan and Shari Bernson, Membership Director/Executive Producer at Colorado Public Television to talk about the December 4th airing of Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup.
http://visibility911.com/media/?p=1335
Pentagon Papers Whistleblowers Call for a New 9/11 Investigation
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/
The main players in releasing the Pentagon Papers were Daniel Ellsberg and Senator Mike Gravel.
Ellsberg is, of course, the former military analyst and famed whistleblower who smuggled the Pentagon Papers out of the Rand Corporation.
Senator Gravel is the person who read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record. This act made the papers public record, so that they could not be censored by the government.
Ellsberg and Gravel are receiving a lot of media attention right now for their support of Wikileaks.
But little attention has been paid to Ellsberg and Gravel's support for a new 9/11 investigation.
Ellsberg says that the case of a certain 9/11 whistleblower is "far more explosive than the Pentagon Papers". (Here's some of what that whistleblower says.)
Republicans Block U.S. Health Aid for 9/11 Workers
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
New York Times
Published: December 9, 2010
WASHINGTON — Republican senators blocked Democratic legislation on Thursday that sought to provide medical care to rescue workers and residents of New York City who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke from ground zero.
The 9/11 health bill, a version of which was approved by the House of Representatives in September, is among a handful of initiatives that Senate Democrats had been hoping to approve this year before the close of the 111th Congress. Supporters believe this is their last real opportunity to have the bill passed.
The Senate action created huge uncertainty over the future of the bill. Its proponents were working on Thursday to have the legislation inserted into a large tax-cut bill that Republicans and Democrats are trying to pass before Congress ends it current session later this month.
Gravel considering Obama primary challenge, calls for new 9/11 investigation
12/09/2010
Former Alaska Senator and 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel told The Daily Caller in an exclusive interview that he is mulling a primary challenge to President Barack Obama in 2012.
In an e-mail exchange arranged by his daughter, TheDC asked Gravel if he was considering a run for president in 2012 and if he is specifically considering a primary challenge to President Obama. He replied, “Both are possible.”
Progressives who view President Obama’s recent tax compromise with Republican leadership as a betrayal have suggested in recent days that a primary challenge to Obama in 2012 is not unimaginable. TheDC reported that some progressives have been floating names like Howard Dean, Russ Feingold, and even actor George Clooney as possible contenders.
Gravel, who served in the Senate from 1969 to 1980, also stated that he believes that members of the U.S. government “may certainly have participated with the obviously known perpetrators” of the September 11th attacks. “Obviously an act that has triggered three wars, Afghan, Iraqi and the continuing War on Terror, should be extensively investigated”, Gravel continued, “which was not done and which the government avoids addressing.”
AE911Truth Action Groups in Full Swing - Here’s the First Monthly Report
| Written by Richard Gage, AIA | |
| Sunday, 05 December 2010 22:54 | |
|
// AE911Truth has Action Groups sprouting up all around the country. We will be reporting to you each month what specific action that we have decided to perform each month – in unison.
The AE911Truth Action Groups are small independent and autonomous groups of AE911Truth petition signers working together to plan and carry out local actions in support of the AE911Truth mission. The purpose is to raise the critical issues of AE911Truth, encourage people to sign the Petition (architects, engineers, and others), to conduct public events, to contact and educate government officials and the media, and generally raise awareness locally about the AE911Truth mission. Almost any existing 9/11 truth activist group can also be an AE911Truth Action group! There is generally no conflict and you can continue doing what you do best. I.e., we would like to have all of the WeAreChange groups around the country also be listed on AE911Truth.org as AE911Truth Action groups. This will be a win-win because 6,000 people a day visit our website and many are looking for local affiliation - which could also build your group. And we, with 1,380 architect and engineer petition signers, can bring additional credibility to your efforts as well. So please sign up your WAC or 9/11 Truth group today. We meet each month on a conference call to decide what actions the various groups will take. For this month, December, we decided that we would do “tabling” events in cities throughout the US on the same day - Saturday Dec 11 (on the 11th of course in commemoration of the loss of life on the 11th of Sept 2001). Most of the groups will be setting up information tables with AE911Truth literature at flea markets, or town squares, college campuses, or even in front of the their congressperson’s office. Here’s an example of serious tabling by accomplished AE911Truth activists. You don’t have to be that fancy if you want to join us in this nation-wide (and soon… world wide) effort. But another option, for the advanced supporters among you would be to set up a large TV monitor on the table and show the continuous video loops (found in the Resources Section of AE911Truth.org) of the explosive evidence in the destruction of the Twin Towers and Building 7. Be prepared to actively hand out literature to passers-by and answer their questions as best you can. The AE911Truth brochures, evidence cards, and, 911 Investigator newspapers are your best bets for initial leafleting. For those that seem particularly interested you can then hand them the enveloped DVD’s. (better actually to sell them for $2 because they will be more likely to actually watch it – and… you can replenish your supplies with the proceeds). Some may be interested in purchasing the $20 special DVD’s in the full presentation plastic cases – which you may at least want to have on hand for display. If you are not yet involved in the AE911Truth Action Groups be sure to join an existing one or start your own. There is no fee and you’ll enjoy becoming part of the action! |
Seattle, WA, Action Group sets up AE911Truth awareness booth at a public fair – one of dozens across the country Tension grows between Calif. Muslims, FBI after informant infiltrates mosque
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 5, 2010; 12:47 AM
IRVINE, CALIF. - Before the sun rose, the informant donned a white Islamic robe. A tiny camera was sewn into a button, and a microphone was buried in a device attached to his keys.
"This is Farouk al-Aziz, code name Oracle," he said into the keys as he sat in his parked car in this quiet community south of Los Angeles. "It's November 13th, 4:30 a.m. And we're hot."
The undercover FBI informant - a convicted forger named Craig Monteilh - then drove off for 5 a.m. prayers at the Islamic Center of Irvine, where he says he spied on dozens of worshipers in a quest for potential terrorists.
Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the FBI has used informants successfully as one of many tactics to prevent another strike in the United States. Agency officials say they are careful not to violate civil liberties and do not target Muslims.
But the FBI's approach has come under fire from some Muslims, criticism that surfaced again late last month after agents arrested an Oregon man they said tried to detonate a bomb at a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. FBI technicians had supplied the device.
In the Irvine case, Monteilh's mission as an informant backfired. Muslims were so alarmed by his talk of violent jihad that they obtained a restraining order against him.
9/11 Families Demand Apology from Media Matters
December 1, 2010
Source: 9/11 Truth News
Responding to a series of hit pieces by self-declared “media watchdog” website Media Matters, a public advocacy group representing 9/11 family members has demanded an apology.
NYCCAN, the group responsible for airing ads urging an investigation into the destruction of World Trade Center Building 7, has issued a statement applauding FOX News hosts Andrew Napolitano and Geraldo Rivera for their fair treatment of the subject and rebuking Media Matters and The Huffington Post for their biased coverage.
An excerpt from the statement:
On November 29, Media Matters published an article entitled, “9/11 Victim Families Criticize Judge Napolitano Comments,” in which four 9/11 family members were quoted as attacking Judge Napolitano, without a single mention of the more than one-hundred 9/11 family members from NYC CAN who share Napolitano’s skepticism. One family member quoted in the article went as far as to say, “Anybody who talks about that is obviously not a family member and just trying to stir the pot and cause controversy.”
CNN: Fox takes heat from left and right over analyst
Fox takes heat from left and right over analysts
By: CNN Political Unit
(CNN) – It's rare that two media watchdogs – one on the left and one on the right – ever agree when it comes to assessing coverage on the cable news outlets.
But both the conservative Newsbusters and liberal Media Matters are aiming fire at Fox News' Geraldo Rivera and Judge Andrew Napolitano for recently suggesting the third building to fall on September 11, 2001 – 7 World Trade Center- may have collapsed for reasons beside the widely held belief that fire from the two World Trade Center towers nearby was the ultimate cause.
In a segment that aired on his program more than two weeks ago, Rivera reported on those who claim the building's collapse was more consistent with that which would occur from explosive devices.
"I'm certainly much more open-minded about it than I was," Rivera said of the alternate possibility for the building's fall.
Days later Napolitano – a legal analyst for Fox – said of the theory:
"It's hard for me to believe that [7 World Trade Center] came down by itself. I was gratified to see Geraldo Rivera investigating it. I'm gratified to see the people across the border interested.
The Shock Doctrine ~ 2009 Film based on Naomi Klein's book
Homeland Security shuts down dozens of Web sites without court order
By Daniel Tencer
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/homeland-security-shuts-dozens-sites/
Friday, November 26th, 2010
The Homeland Security Department's customs enforcement division has gone on a Web site shutdown spree, closing down at least 76 domains this week, according to online reports.
While many of the web domains were sites that trafficked in counterfeit brand name goods, and some others linked to copyright-infringing file-sharing materials, at least one site was a Google-like search engine, causing alarm among web freedom advocates who worry the move steps over the line into censorship.
All the shut sites are now displaying a Homeland Security warning that copyright infringers can face up to five years in prison.
According to a report at TorrentFreak, the search engine that was shut down -- Torrent-Finder.com -- neither hosted copyrighted material nor directly linked to places where it could be found. Instead, the site opened new windows to sites that did link to file-sharing materials.
Interchange - The Truth About 9/11: Graeme MacQueen and Laurie Manwell
* http://www.wfhb.org/news/interchange-truth-about-911-graeme-macqueen-and-laurie-manwell
* Artist: WFHB
* Title: The Truth About 9/11: Graeme MacQueen and Laurie Manwell
* Album: Interchange
* Comment: copyright (c) 2010 Bloomington
* Genre: News/Public Affairs
* Length: 54:28 minutes (31.17 MB)
* Format: Mono 44kHz 80Kbps (CBR)
Graeme MacQueen and Laurie Manwell are prominent researchers in the national 9/11 Truth movement, seeking to educate the public regarding the facts of September 11, 2001 and calling for a new and independent investigation. Graeme MacQueen is founder of the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University and now a retired professor from that university. Laurie Manwell is a professor at Guelph University in Neuroscience and Applied Cognitive Sciences. MacQueen and Manwell were in Bloomington for a public presentation called "Peace Through Truth: 9/11 and State Crimes Against Democracy". During their visit they sat down with local 9/11 Truth advocate Byron Bangert for an exploration of fact vs. fiction and how fear colors our perceptions.
Think tank: 92% of Afghans never heard of 9/11
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Fewer than one in 10 Afghans are aware of the 9/11 attacks and their precipitation of the war in Afghanistan, says a study from an international think tank.
A report (PDF) from the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) shows that 92 percent of those surveyed had never heard of the coordinated multiple attacks on US soil on September 11, 2001. It also shows that four in 10 Afghans believe the US is on their soil in order to "destroy Islam or occupy Afghanistan."
To be sure, the survey can't claim to be definitive: It only canvassed men, and relied primarily on respondents from Helmand and Kandahar, the two most war-torn provinces in the country. But the results nonetheless show that Western forces fighting insurgents in Afghanistan have largely failed to connect with the local population.
“We need to explain to the Afghan people why we are here, and both show and convince them that their future is better with us than with the Taliban,” ICOS lead field researcher Norine MacDonald said in a statement.
Ground Zero workers settle: Over $625 million will be paid to 10,000+ workers exposed to toxic air.
NEW YORK — More than 10,000 workers exposed to the tons of toxic dust that blanketed ground zero after the World Trade Center fell have ended their bruising legal fight with New York City and joined a settlement worth at least $625 million, officials said Friday.
The deal will resolve an overwhelming majority of the lawsuits over the city's failure to provide protective equipment to the army of construction workers, police officers and firefighters who spent months clearing and sifting rubble after Sept. 11.
Among the thousands who sued, claiming that soot at the site got into their lungs and made them sick, more than 95 percent eligible for the settlement agreed to take the offer. Only 520 said no or failed to respond.
City officials and lawyers for the workers said they welcomed a resolution to a case that had pitted New York and a long list of demolition companies against the very men and women who helped lower Manhattan recover.
"This settlement is a fair and just resolution of these claims, protecting those who came to the aid of this City when we needed it most," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.
"Resistance to Tyranny is Obedience to God"
"Resistance to Tyranny is Obedience to God"
I've previously written that real men stand up to fascists: