Geopolitics: For those interested in the bigger picture, after an apparent deal with the Russians involving two billion dollars worth of ‘aid’, the government of a Central Asia republic has insisted that a vital US airbase is to close, possibly placing the ability of the US and her allies to continue effective military operations in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, in serious doubt - JW

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Inside US air base in Manas

By Daniel Fisher
BBC News, Manas air base
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7875769.stm

On Friday, BBC journalists were the first to get inside Manas - the last remaining US air base in Central Asia, after Kyrgyzstan announced earlier this week it was closing the base.

Manas is vital to US operations: it is both the gateway to Afghanistan for troops in the US and coalition forces, and where all the in-flight re-fuelling aircraft are based for supporting fighters in the air.

Thousands of troops including the British pass through the base every day to and from the war zone.

Hello Truthseekers & Truthtellers,
I received this e-mail today with this announcement:

A new organization called "Religious Leaders for 9 /11 Truth" has been formed. A small group of charter members has posted a statement of concern and a petition for a new investigation of 9/11 at rl911truth.org. (David Ray Griffin has been serving as an advisor to this organization.)

These religious leaders---who include lay as well as professional religious leaders---have recognized the significant moral challenge posed by the discrepancy between the official account of 9/11 and extensive evidence, based on independent research, that has shown this official account to be false.

It's important to remember who forgot them because it wasn't us. - Jon

Source: nydailynews.com

Saturday, February 7th 2009, 4:00 AM

A new study by researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center confirms the terrible truth about the long-term damage suffered by many rescue and recovery workers who responded to the World Trade Center.

The serious ill effects caused by breathing the toxic cloud that draped The Pile are, to this day, persistent and chronic among thousands of brave men and women who pitched in heroically after the terror attack.

Tests on more than 3,160 cops, construction workers and others found that more than 24% showed abnormal lung function between 2004 and 2007, down only slightly from the 28% who exhibited reduced lung function in similar examinations from 2002 to 2004.

The findings reinforce a second truth: Congress must find the will and the wherewithal to provide health care, monitoring and compensation to all those who remain sickened by exposure to WTC dust.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090207/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_guantanamo_41

Obama meets families of USS Cole, Sept. 11 victims

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer Darlene Superville, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama held an emotional meeting Friday with relatives of victims of the bombing of the USS Cole and the Sept. 11 attacks who are still waiting for justice to be served years after the deadly acts of terrorism.

Obama promised the roughly 40 family members who attended that the meeting would be the first of many.

Some of the victims' relatives said they welcomed Obama's gesture. Still, they aren't entirely convinced that his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facility, where terrorism suspects are being detained, and halt legal action on their cases is the right thing to do.

Obama has expressed concerns about the fact that detainees have been held for years without trial. He has signed an executive order to close the facility within a year while the administration reviews other options for seeing that the detainees get their day in court.