http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/news.jsp?oid=140393703-233

History Commons Project, Update for the week of May 20-May 26
Lend a Helping Hand!

We've done a lot of work over the last several months. Several hundred new events have been added to the History Commons database. But we need your help! Our goal is for the History Commons to become civil society's intelligence database, a place where the public can document scandals, injustices, and history in general. There are many types of forces that contribute to historical change. But arguably, one of the most powerful is technological changes that alter the relationship between producers and consumers. A decade ago, the common consumer of information did not have the means to produce and distribute information, or contribute directly to the published historical record. With the Internet, all this has changed. The History Commons seeks to exploit this technology to the fullest extent possible in a way that maximizes the influence that civil society has over information production, thus enabling people at the grassroots level to keep a close eye on the activities of powerful individuals and organizations.

How can you help us? We need to get more people involved and we need to broaden the scope of the History Commons' content. We are looking for people to help write timeline entries. Can you help? If so, please go to the site, register, make yourself a member of a project, and then have at it. This week, we could especially use help with the US confrontation with Iran timeline and the Decision to Invade Iraq timeline. If you want guidance, post a request on the forum or send us an email and we can give you specific assignments to get you started. If you are a blogger, or a prolific forum poster, you can assist us in this effort by republishing this appeal, along with links to a few of our timelines.
This week's investigative themes
US Confrontation with Iran

New entries have been added to the commons summarizing recent reports that Bush recently signed a presidential finding authorizing a black covert operation against Iran aimed at destabilizing its government. There are also new entries dealing with US support for a Pakistani Sunni militant group that has been staging attacks in Iran.
View the new entries
9/11 Project

Paul Thompson is scanning George Tenet's book At the Center of the Storm for new information. While the book is very self-serving, it does contain a good deal of new information, including yet more ignored warnings of the 9/11 attacks. For instance...
Read complete summary with links
Iraq Occupation Project

This week, new entries about the Iraq oil law have been added to the timeline, along with other entries on topics such as a recent Saudi statement linking the US invasion of Iraq to the increased influence and power of Islamic militants. This week, the project will publish entries documenting the 2003-2004 shipments of palleted cash to the Coalition Provisional Authority--some $12 billion dollars that still cannot be accounted for. Perhaps there's a link between the lost cash and what one Pentagon consultant told Seymour Hersh a couple months ago. "There are many, many pots of black money, scattered in many places and used all over the world on a variety of [covert] missions," Hersh's source said.
View the new entries
Global Warming Project

A number of new events have been added to the Global Warming project since the last update, including entries on how the Bush administration blocked the publication and distribution of brochures on two occasions, postponed press releases and a news conference on air pollution until after the 2004 election, instructed public affairs officers to undercut statements by agency scientists linking global warming to human activity, censored press releases, rejected interview requests with scientists who believe in anthropogenic causes, and much more.
View the new entries

Best,
The Cooperative Research Team