The Washington Report covers challenge at LA City Council to Mayor's LAX consulting deal with Israeli security experts

On June 25th, 2008, a group of about 20 activists, predominantly Jewish, convened on the Los Angeles City Council to put their deep concerns and protests about multiple aspects of a trip to Israel that LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took in the spring of 2008, along with numerous city officials, onto the City's official record. Key among these concerns was a deal that put Israeli-intel connected security experts into a consulting role at LAX. Jack Weiss, the LA City Councilman who helped develop the relationship, has said that he believes the agreement is the first of its kind between a U.S. airport authority and foreign government agency. With the documented history of Israeli-intel driven black ops, and serious questions still lingering about the role of Israeli-owned, intel-connected company ICTS in 9-11-01 security "breakdowns" at multiple airports, it seems appropriate to pause and consider the wisdom in creating such a close working relationship with Israeli experts without inquiry into potential security threats.

Here is a video that includes my statement from that day in which I mention the "failure" in security of ICTS on 9/11, the 10/10/01 apparently interrupted "security-testing" false-flag attempt by 2 Israeli operatives at the Mexican Parliament, and the Mossad assets in New Jersey seen celebrating and documenting the 1st strike on the WTC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjYvRb0HbhM

By the way, I think that the story about Mossad assets documenting and celebrating the 1st strike, though suggestive but not necessarily conclusive about Israeli-operational involvement in the 9/11 attacks, is some of the most powerful evidence of high treason in key positions in the US military-intelligence command structure. These Mossad assets clearly knew where and when these attacks were coming, desired them, and knew that the 1st strike on the Towers was not "pilot error." You can even go find out that they actually had video of the 1st attack as it happened (one of only 3 on-the-record documentations of the 1st strike- here's a recent reference to that fact http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=9603 ) Meanwhile, almost every crucial player in the US Command structure allegedly learns about the 1st hit from CNN or another TV station and many, including the President, Vice President and the NSA Director thought it was "pilot error" of some sort. So, in terms of the evidence, they are are either guilty of treason in covering up Israeli involvement of some sort in the attacks (aka treason) or they are deeply complicit before-the-fact (aka high treason). This is why I asked CIA Director, then NSA Director, Michael Hayden this question (a little after 6:00 mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D1wThnJo3Y
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http://www.washington-report.org/archives/Sept_Oct_2008/0809048.html

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September-October 2008, pages 48-49

Southern California Chronicle

Activists Challenge L.A. City Council’s Expensive June Junket to Israel

By Pat and Samir Twair

Attorney Patricia Barry (l) and Peter Thottam (Staff photo S. Twair).

HISTORY WAS made June 25 in Los Angeles City Council chambers when 16 citizens protested the $225,000 purported public relations junket Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made to Israel in mid-June. In tow were three other council members, Dennis Zine, Jack Weiss and Wendy Greuel, as well as a gaggle of children, spouses and other city officials.

While it’s nothing new for Mayor Villaraigosa to travel, this time his trip was to launch agreements with the Israeli government on water conservation and security of Los Angeles’s port and international airport. This set a precedent for the nation’s second largest city to contemplate granting a foreign power control over its sensitive ports of entry.

The expensive junket also hit a sensitive public nerve. Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez criticized the trip as Villaraigosa pandering to win Jewish votes in the next election. Newspaper editorials voiced cynical objections, as did local radio talk show hosts.

The City Council was broadsided June 25 when polite dissidents stood up one at a time during the public comment session to protest the council’s negotiating with a foreign power before seeking bids from American security services.

As council members largely ignored the testimonies by talking on cell phones or drifting in and out of the chamber, Greta Berlin of Women In Black admonished the city officials:

“Please put down your phones and listen to what I have to say. I’ve witnessed what Israel does at its airport in the name of security. My 80-year-old Holocaust survivor friend was subjected to a cavity body search and I was detained and interrogated for eight hours because both of us advocate justice for the Palestinians. Now our mayor wants Israeli security to turn LAX into this apartheid system where Jews, dignitaries and the rich stand in one line and everyone else in the other line?”

Averred Lillian Laskin of Democratic Westside Progressives: “There are plenty of security consultants in the U.S. to secure our ports without seeking advice from Israel, which has a murky reputation on human rights and labor relations.”

Marcy Winograd, co-founder of L.A. Jews for Peace, wondered: “Why is it these security agreements you signed are making me increasingly insecure? Is it because these consulting agreements are really just a foot in the door to more extensive security agreements with a foreign power implicated in espionage scandals?”

Jeremy Rothe-Kushel questioned the efficacy of Israeli security firms, pointing out that Israeli firms were in charge of security at Logan Airport in Boston and the Newark airport on Sept. 11, 2001, when the terrorists were allowed to board the doomed passenger planes.

Human rights attorney Patricia Barry dropped a bombshell when she stated that federal regulations and the L.A. City Charter probably will pre-empt any agreements Villaraigosa and other council members signed.

“Section 370 of the City Charter stipulates the principle of competition,” she explained, “and that all contracts exceeding $1,000 must have bids from vendors. The mayor excluded this and arbitrarily gave the security contract for our port and LAX without asking for bids from local vendors.”

At the close of the proceedings, Councilman Zine insisted on addressing the dissenters before they left the chambers.

“I paid for some of my trip and it wasn’t a junket,” said the councilman, who described himself as an ex-cop of Lebanese Christian heritage. “We did go to Bethlehem and we did talk to some Arabs.”

However, although in June 2007 Zine led a city council delegation to Lebanon for a Sister City ceremony between Los Angeles and Beirut, he has yet to condemn Israel’s 2006 blanket bombing of southern Lebanon.

Peter Thottam, one of the June 25 speakers, plans to research just who Zine’s political backers are. Carol Smith of the National Lawyers Guild is researching documents to verify if there was a misuse of L.A. Department of Water and Power, international airport and port funds to finance the costly trip.