hello world

I'll post some commentary soon, once I'm all comfy here. Meantime I need to kick things off by asking some questions which some of you can probably answer more easily than I can find the answers on my own.

1. Is there a convenient way to see all replies to my posts here? I'm currently just refreshing the "news" page and looking for new comments, and then hunting those down one page and one comment at a time. That's not very efficient. I see in the help section that I'm supposed to be able to do this by "clicking 'recent posts' in the 'Site Sections' panel at the top panel of the left sidebar." Problem is, there is no "Site Sections" item anywhere on my screen. There is a "site features" page but that's a dead end.

2. Is there anything like a user's guide for this site, or is the stuff behind the "About * F.A.Q. * Site Features * Contact Us * Rules * Help" bar it?

3. Who appointed Philip Zelikow to the commission? Bush? Cheney? Other? Who assigned the duties to the various commission members and staffers?

4. Should I submit some poll ideas? I notice it hasn't been changed since I got here a week or 2 ago....
bruce1337 says yes

Correct answers will be rewarded with your name and answer added in bold above. Incorrect answers will be met with scorn and derision. Well, not so much derision, mostly just scorn. (Oh, stop whining; you don't live near me so you won't even hear it anyway.)

Hello ProspectorSam

1. Yes, try here
4. I don't see any reason not to :-)

thx

Thanks. I now recall that I saw these instructions at some point, but I was still getting settled here and didn't pick up on the fact that I was going to want them later on... oops. :-/

Want to figure out 9/11? Ponder the 9/11 "Mineta Stone"

Two tries...

1) Apparently not. You are not the only one who finds this frustrating, though I expect given the current architecture it would require a not unsubstantial bit of coding and testing to get it right.

3) Commission appointments were doled out to the White House and Congressional leadership on a 5:5 basis. I know Cleland was Daschle's choice, because he then got to pick Cleland's replacement (Kerrey).

But Zelikow was staff -- a behind-the-scenes consensus but presumably with the choice handed down from the WH. He was coming directly from the PFIAB (Presidents Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board), to which he was appointed after 9/11.

Do you know more?

I wonder what he was doing on the day itself... anyone know?

---
"Truth is not measured in mass appeal."
summeroftruth.org

Zelikow

No, I don't know more, other than the various positions he's had over the last 15 years or so (which I have read a couple times but haven't totally memorized).

Your language is anything but certain. Is there nothing definite about this? This guy basically scripted the "public myth" of the 9/11 commission report; surely we know who put him in that position!? That can't be a secret.

Want to figure out 9/11? Ponder the 9/11 "Mineta Stone"

Oh, I think there's no doubt...

Kean was a White House appointment. All appointments required consensus after discussion with the WH and high security clearances. Zelikow was hired by Kean & Hamilton after consultation with the other players. I have no doubt he was put forward by the WH, where he was after all working as a "volunteer" on the PFIAB.

---
"Truth is not measured in mass appeal."
summeroftruth.org

ah, ok

Now I'm curious if there were any other names or if it was a no-bid deal.

Kean and Hamilton choosing him really tells the story, doesn't it?

Did the FSC complain before or after he was "signed up"?

Want to figure out 9/11? Ponder the 9/11 "Mineta Stone"

FSC called for his resignation Mar 20, 2004

After their discovery of his role in the Bush 2000 transition team and PFIAB.

http://www.911independentcommission.org/mar202004.html

Something we all could have noticed earlier!

The FSC's work was contradictory, blasting the Commission as a cover-up on many occasions, which 9/11 skeptics rightly emphasize, at the same time endorsing the "War on Terror" program and supporting the 9/11 CR's policy recommendations.

This reflects internal divisions, the difficulty of their position as the true progenitors of the 9/11 Commission, the weight of their grief and lightning-rod status, the feeling of responsibility, the fear of being discredited as "conspiracy theorists," and a variety of sociological dynamics.

An archive of their official statements here:
http://www.911independentcommission.org/news.html

I think Kleinberg and van Auken clearly reject the official story but don't want to join up with the 9/11 truth movement or especially be associated with the speculative and fringe elements that often drive it. They went as far as rating the Commission's failure to answer the questions on behalf of the "Justice for 9/11" petition and a one-hour presentation at the Cynthia McKinney hearings of 2005. The Jersey Girls endorsed Kerry, but also lent considerable help to "9/11 Press for Truth."

And there it stands for now.

---
"Truth is not measured in mass appeal."
summeroftruth.org

they are in a unique position

I've always been grateful that the JG have been conservative in their approach. There is a limited supply of victim relatives, whereas there are many millions of us "grunts". We have the luxury of being able to "try on" a hypothesis, where doing so would significantly endanger their effectiveness should the hypothesis be disproven.

That the FSC learned so late about Zelikow is disappointing, but as the saying goes, everybody's gotta learn sometime. It might be interesting to ask them about that learning process. Evidently, they weren't the only ones asleep at the wheel re: PZ, as they presumably weren't tipped off by anyone else prior to that time. Ultimately, of course, it is to the commission's shame, not the FSC's, that they ignored the FSC when this concern was made known.

Want to figure out 9/11? Ponder the 9/11 "Mineta Stone"

Consult the FAQ

As for your question #1, look here,at the site FAQ. I asked the same question there, and ended up answering it myself in a later edit. Currently mine is the final question (and answer), at the bottom of the FAQ page.

And, yes, there is a way to look up all your own comments or anyone else's. I'm not sure I would call it convenient, but it is do-able. I bookmaked the 'tracker' page -- again, see my FAQ post for details.

thanks

I think I've got it figured out now.

Want to figure out 9/11? Ponder the 9/11 "Mineta Stone"