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ACLU Sues for Records of Assassination of US Citizens

ACLU Sues for Records on Assassination of US Citizens
Repeated Public Comments Negate 'Secrecy' Claims
by Jason Ditz, February 01, 2012
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit today in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, complaining that the Obama Administration failed to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests relating to the assassinations of three US citizens in Yemen.

The ACLU condemned “the government’s self-serving attitude toward transparency,” arguing that the administration publicly and loudly releases bits of information related to the assassinations but declines to provide the full story, claiming the killings were “secret.”

The requests centered around the September 30 assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born Muslim cleric that the administration regularly claimed was a “terrorist,” as well as his teenage son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki and US citizen Samir Khan. The ACLU sought information on the process through which the Obama Administration decides who lives and who dies, as well as on the legal rationale for “kill lists.”

AntiWar.com Investigated By FBI Over "High Fivers" Coverage

Am I a Threat to National Security?
by Justin Raimondo • September 30th, 2011 • Related • Filed Under

When I first saw the memo from the FBI’s counterterrorism center in Newark, declaring that I’m “a threat to National Security,” not to mention an “agent of a foreign power,” I was incredulous. These can’t be real FBI documents, I thought to myself. Someone is pulling my leg.

Sadly, no. As I discovered upon further investigation, the memo is all too real. The provenance of the documents, which indicate that the feds launched a “preliminary investigation” of Antiwar.com, myself, and our webmaster, Eric Garris, is as follows: An obscure blogger made an FOIA request for information about the FBI’s investigation of the “High Fivers”—the five Israelis who were arrested on September 11 and held for six months on suspicion that they had some foreknowledge of the events on that dark day. I wrote about this subject in the August 2003 issue of Chronicles—and, what do you know, that piece is included in the FBI file! Isn’t it encouraging to learn that our state-subsidized sneaks are reading this magazine?

FOIA shows Bush admin. spied on Antiwar.com

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/22/foia-shows-bush-admin-targeted-antiwar-com/

By Stephen C. Webster
Monday, August 22nd, 2011

During the Bush-era, a great many Americans were swept up in the spying dragnet laid after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 by federal officials hoping to prevent another major terrorist attack -- people like pacifist Christians, liberal activists, families with members overseas and even street-level falafel sellers.

Now Americans can add another group to the list of those who were viewed as a potential threat: the staff of Antiwar.com.

So-Called Alternative Media Are a Bunch of Wannabe MSM Cowards

I could not download the story with all of the videos and all, so go to the link for best reading and viewing. This story is sort of going viral. Hope it gets the attention of the people in the alternative media censoring the news about Kevin Bracken and 9/11 truth in general. They need to be exposed and criticized, POLITELY, or something like that!

http://theintelhub.com/2010/11/03/so-called-alternative-media-are-a-bunch-of-wannabe-msm-cowards/

So-Called Alternative Media Are a Bunch of Wannabe MSM Cowards
November 3, 2010 by Shepard
Filed under Constitution and Politics, Intel Hub Featured Articles, Propaganda
11 Comments
Eric Blair
Activist Post

September 11th is indisputably the greatest crime in modern history. Everyone agrees that it has been the catalyst to excuse everything that has taken place in America since: wars, illegal surveillance, and torture, most notably.

It is the story of the century and it is still not to be questioned by the leading so-called alternative news websites that have reached mainstream levels of viewership. 9/11 is the stinky fart in the newsroom, where everyone with half-a-brain knows who cut the cheese, but because the boss is the culprit they’re afraid to be ridiculed or fired for speaking out. It’s authentic cowardice in the first degree.

A recent article on Disquiet Reservations called out specific “alternative” news sites for their cowardly unwillingness to mention 9/11 at all costs. The story they refused to cover happened last week in Australia, where the country’s top Union official, Kevin Bracken, caused international uproar when he was attacked for claiming on a national radio show that “the official story of 9/11 does not stand up to scientific scrutiny.” Of course, on the surface this doesn’t seem like a big story, but what is a huge story is that when the Herald Sun posted an online poll about it, an astounding majority (76.79%) agreed with Bracken, as reported by Excavator:

The Herald Su

The Kevin Bracken Story: These Alternative Websites and media outlets have not covered the story AT ALL.

I have just done a search on several of the most popular alternative websites for any information they have posted about Kevin Bracken. This story, about an important person in Australia, and the popular support he has gotten after his stand about 9/11 truth, should be everywhere, at least on the alternative media.
And yet, not a word.
I went to each of these sites, put a search for whatever they had published about Kevin Bracken. None of the searches came up with any stories.
I feel this is a good indication of a real purposeful censorship. It is hard to miss this huge story. I am not surprised at the msm avoiding the story. But we rely on the alternative media to tell us about issues that the msm and their corporate sponsors are not keen on us seeing.

Let's follow these sites about other big 9/11 stories and see how they avoid the topics.
Something is obviously going on. It is not just ignorance of the facts. They do not want to publish this information. I call that very irresponsible, if not criminal.

These are the media outlets that have not covered the Kevin Bracken story:

Alternet
antiwar.com
CommonDreams
Counterpunch
DemocracyNow
HuffingtonPost
Nationmag
Truthout

If you have seen some stories about Kevin Bracken in these outlets, let me know. I am only going by what I have seen, not seen, and searched.

Counterpunch and 9/11 and Alexander Cockburn: From exposing the truth to complete 9/11 censorship and insults...in just 2 years

The alternative media has been hijacked, conquered, by forces that will not allow the truth of 911 to even be discussed. What in the world has happened? Here is one example.

In 2002, Counterpunch runs an article deeply questioning the official story, one that could be found on 911 blogger, with information that shows clearly that something is wrong with the official 911 story.

In 2004, Counterpunch runs a story that insults the 911 movement, calling us "conspiracy nuts", and never again runs any story at all that has any of the mounting and well documented evidence that shows the official story to be at least conflicted.

What happened during the years from 2002 to 2004? Alexander Cockburn was the editor throughout it all. Was he threatened, or convinced of something, or did he receive some kind of support from foundations that would ultimately not want the real truth to come out?

The exact same thing happened with Justin Raimondo at antiwar.com. In fact, Raimondo even sold a book about the Israeli connection to 911. And then he went mum, except to also insult 9/11 truthers.

Something is going on, and I wish someone would come forward with what it could possibly be.

in 2002...

http://www.counterpunch.org/loughery1001.html

and 4 years later . . .

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn09092006.html

Alternative Media and Ahamadinejad's Speech. Total Silence! Total Censorship.

I have just perused some of the most popular "alternative" media sites this Saturday morning to see what is being written about Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN this week.
Seems like complete avoidance.
Censorship is a better word.
While the msm at least covered the story, the alternative media has avoided the story, hoping it would go away. They are, it seems, under strict guidelines to not mention 9/11 truth or any of the evidence that conflicts with the official story of 9/11.

I looked at Alternet, CommonDreams, Truthout, DemocracyNow, Counterpunch, antiwar.com.
I did see a small mention of the speech on DemocracyNow, as part of their news rundown. No details.
I didn't see anything on antiwar.com's listing of headlines around the world that normally would have had information about the speech.

The Weird Factor: 9/11 and the Panty Bomber

Justin Raimondo draws some parallels with 9/11 and Flight 253 in his article entitled: “The Weird Factor: The panty bomber mystery deepens” http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/01/10/the-weird-factor/

EXCERPTS below

What I call the Weird Factor, for lack of a better name, seems to have become a permanent feature of our post-9/11 world, a dark and sinister leitmotif that plays in the background. On 9/11, of course, the Factor was on full display as a whole string of unusual events and unexplained phenomena were visited on us. The 9/11 Commission did little to clear these matters up, for the most part because they didn’t address them. Just a few for the record…

FBI Whistleblower Names Names - Transcript, Oct 23 Horton Interview of Edmonds and Cole

This post is to preserve the transcript of Scott Horton's Oct 23 interview of Sibel Edmonds and John Cole- mp3 previously posted at 911blogger here http://www.911blogger.com/node/21726. Please support Horton and antiwar.com by visiting the original:

http://original.antiwar.com/scott/2009/11/01/fbi-whistleblower-names-names/

FBI Whistleblower Names Names
Scott Horton interviews Sibel Edmonds and John M. Cole, November 02, 2009

Interview recorded Oct. 23, 2009. Listen to the interview.

Scott Horton: For Antiwar.com and KAOS Radio 95.9 in Austin, Texas, I’m Scott Horton, and this is Antiwar Radio.

I’m happy to welcome to the show Sibel Edmonds and John M. Cole. Of course, I’ve talked with Sibel, the former FBI translator-turned whistleblower, numerous times on this show and various other shows of mine over the years, and this will be the first time we have John Cole joining her.

Justin Raimondo Wants 9/11 Truth, Yet He Insults 9/11 Truthers

Justin Raimondo of AntiWar.com has written an editorial about the evidence (all old news to 911Blogger readers) regarding Israel's possible role in the attacks. He begins by condemning the government and the media for smearing and/or destroying the careers of anyone who questions the official 9/11 conspiracy theory. Then, without even taking a breath, he turns right around and smears everyone who -- after studying the vast amount of scientific and common-sense evidence -- believes the buildings were destroyed by controlled demolition (as part of an inside job) and that no plane hit the Pentagon.

The majority of the reader comments at the end of the editorial (some excellently written) take strong issue with Raimondo's blanket insult of the the 9/11 Truth Movement.

-----

9/11: Our Truth, and Theirs: The "official" 9/11 narrative doesn't make sense
by Justin Raimondo, September 11, 2009

Antiwar's Raimondo on Edmonds' Story

Nukes, Spooks, and the Specter of 9/11
We're in big trouble if even half of what Sibel Edmonds says is true…

By Justin Raimondo, January 7, 2008

...Edmonds has named at least one of the officials: he is Marc Grossman, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, assistant secretary of state for European affairs under the Clinton administration and undersecretary of state for political affairs from 2001-2005. Grossman is now vice chairman of The Cohen Group, a consulting firm founded by Bill Clinton's defense secretary, William S. Cohen.

Edmonds contends that an international nuclear smuggling ring, associated with the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, Turkey, and Israel, has been permitted to operate in the U.S. with impunity. Our government, she claims, knew all about it yet, in order to placate the foreign governments involved, allowed a vast criminal enterprise to carry out its activities, including money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and espionage involving efforts to steal U.S. nuclear technology...

...Edmonds draws a picture of a three-sided alliance consisting of Turkish, Pakistani, and Israeli agents who coordinated efforts to milk U.S. nuclear secrets and technology, funneling the intelligence stream to the black market nuclear network set up by the Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan. The multi-millionaire Pakistani nuclear scientist then turned around and sold his nuclear assets to North Korea, Libya, and Iran.

This was no "rogue" operation, but a covert action executed by Gen. Mahmoud Ahmad, the chief of Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, at the time. The Turks were used as intermediaries because direct ISI intervention would have roused immediate suspicion. Large amounts of cash were dropped off at the offices of Turkish-American lobbying groups, such as the American Turkish Council in Washington, which was reportedly picked up by at least one top U.S. official.

This Pakistani-Turkish-Israeli Axis of Espionage, operating through their respective embassies, systematically combed Washington officialdom for potential moles, compiling lists that, according to Edmonds and the Times, "contained all their 'hooking points,' which could be financial or sexual pressure points, their exact job in the Pentagon and what stuff they had access to." Nice work, there...

Continued...
http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12166

Why Didn’t the US Warn Us about the 9/11 Terrorists?

I have tried for years to get Antiwar.com to cover 9/11 Truth - to no avail.

In fact, one of their regular contributors - Paul Craig Roberts - is regularly censored on the topic. It appears they will only publish his editorials if they are non-9/11 related.

But, with the recent revelations from Bob Woodward's new book, it appears that Antiwar. com is beginning to nibble at the edges of LIHOP (Let It Happen On Purpose).

This blog (reproduced on Antiwar.com's front page) is somewhat promising.

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2006/10/22/sensitive-intelligence/

We should all take the time to drop a few emails to Antiwar.com encouraging them to continue to cover this topic. But, please, try to keep your emails polite and non-accusatory. Simply thank them - and ask them if they could kindly explore this topic further.

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