idiots

Specter looks to revive 9/11 suits against Saudis

Posted on Thu, Dec. 24, 2009
Specter looks to revive 9/11 suits against Saudis

By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer

In a sign that the bitter litigation between victims of the 9/11 attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia is far from over, Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday introduced legislation that would overturn court rulings barring lawsuits that contend the desert kingdom helped cause the terrorism.

Specter (D., Pa.) said the legislation would clarify that lawsuits by U.S. citizens could go forward without a sign-off from the State Department.

A federal appeals court in Manhattan last year dismissed claims against the Saudi government, saying such litigation can proceed only if the State Department finds that the Saudis provided financial aid and other assistance to terrorist groups.

Besides clarifying the law, the bill would reinstate those lawsuits.

Remember Those Saudi Flights After 9/11?

Jon Gold
7/11/2009

A long time ago, I spent some time looking into the flights that took members of the Saudi Royals, as well as members of the Bin Laden family out of the country in the days, and weeks after 9/11. Here is what I found.

According to Richard Clarke during his testimony (yea, yea, call me lazy for linking to Michael Moore's site) at both the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the 9/11 Commission Hearings, he stated the following:

Supreme Court Rules With Saudi Arabia Over 9/11 Families

Source: news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has refused to allow victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to pursue lawsuits against Saudi Arabia and four of its princes over charitable donations that were allegedly funneled to al-Qaida.

The court, in an order Monday, is leaving in place the ruling of a federal appeals court that the country and the princes are protected by sovereign immunity, which generally means that foreign countries can't be sued in American courts.

The Obama administration had angered some victims and families by urging the justices to pass up the case.

In their appeal, the more than 6,000 plaintiffs said the government's court brief filed in early June was an "apparent effort to appease a sometime ally" just before President Barack Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia.

At issue were obstacles in American law to suing foreign governments and their officials as well as the extent to which people can be held financially responsible for acts of terrorism committed by others.

Obama Saudi Suit Stance Irks 9/11 Families

Source: washingtontimes.com

By Tom LoBianco | Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Family members of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks say they have been blindsided by the Obama administration's opposition to their lawsuit seeking damages from top members of the Saudi Arabian government over suspected financial links to the 9/11 attackers.

A series of closed-door meetings between the relatives' groups and Justice Department officials, arranged as an update on Mr. Obama's plan to close the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, turned instead into a sharp clash over the Saudi legal action, The Washington Times has learned.

"Physically, President Obama has done what previous presidents have done for a long time, which is bow down," said Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America.

The relatives of the victims have signed onto a lawsuit seeking damages from four Saudi princes, saying they have been financing al Qaeda and thus are responsible in large part for the attacks that killed their loved ones.

David Corn and Mother Jones jump on the Von Brunn 9/11 bandwagon

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/06/von-brunns-anti-semitic-conspiracies-911-google

Crime and Justice

Von Brunn's Anti-Semitic Conspiracies: from 9/11 to Google

By David Corn | Thu June 11, 2009 9:55 AM PST

James von Brunn, the white supremacist arrested for the murder of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum, held numerous extremist views, as has been widely reported.

He maintained that 9/11 was the product of a Jewish conspiracy. In one posting, he claimed that only one Jewish person was killed at the World Trade Center--even though the "WTC was the nexus for international Jew trade, located in the largest Jew city in the world." He added, "It is revealing that 3 Jews laughing with glee, pointing at the exploding WTC, were caught by a neighbor on video-tape."

Like many anti-Semitics, von Brunn believed Jews controlled the world financial system, and he used the traditional data points and rhetoric of such hate-mongers: "From this cess-pool of Jews and traitors came the FTAA which in 1994, with Congressional blessings, changed its name to WTO (World Trade Organization)."

Law Review: Critical Juncture For 9/11 Lawsuit Against Saudis

I refer you to Fact #35. - Jon

Source: www.philly.com

By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer

At the moment the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 10:28 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Sharon Premoli was scrambling up an escalator from the below-ground concourse toward the street with dozens of other office workers in a desperate bid to escape.

She looked behind her and saw two things that are burned forever in her memory: A human chain of evacuees riding the escalator and a boiling cloud of dust and debris racing toward them.

The force of that swirling storm picked her up and threw her into nearby storefront. After she awoke, she said, she soon realized she was lying on the lifeless body of a man and that she was covered with his blood.

Justice Dept Attempts to Block 9/11 Lawsuit Against Saudis; 9/11 Family Members Speak Out

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-29-2009/0005034963&EDATE=

Statement On Behalf of the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism In Response to the Solicitor General's Refusal to Support The 9/11 Families' Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court

(In Re: Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. v. Al Baraka Investment & Development Corp., et al., Case No. 03-CV-9849 (RCC)In Re: Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, MDL 1570)

WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement of 9/11 Family Members: Mike Low, Father of Sara Elizabeth Low, AA Flight 11; Bill Doyle, Father of Joseph M. Doyle, WTC North Tower; Tom & Beverly Burnett, Sr., Parents of Thomas E. Burnett, Jr., UA Flight 93; and Terry Strada, Wife of Thomas Strada, WTC North Tower on Behalf of the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism in Response to the Solicitor General's Refusal to Support The 9/11 Families' Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court:

Phila. firm appeals 9/11 suit to U.S. high court

Phila. firm appeals 9/11 suit to U.S. high court By Chris Mondics INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20081112_Phila__firm_appeals_9_11_suit_to_U_S__Supreme_Court.html

Thousands of victims of the 9/11 attacks appealed to the Supreme Court today, asking it to overturn a lower court decision barring lawsuits against Saudi Arabia for supporting acts of terrorism.

The petition contended that U.S. intelligence agencies had unearthed ample evidence of the Saudi Arabia government's providing tens of millions of dollars to Islamist charities that in turn funded Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization.

U.S. government officials had repeatedly warned Saudi officials in the 1990s that government-backed charities were providing money and logistical support to bin Laden, but they failed to do anything about it, the petition said.

Saudi Tracking of 9/11 Hijackers - Additions to the 9/11 Timeline as of November 9, 2008

All the new entries this week are about tracking of terrorists, in particular the 9/11 hijackers, as they moved between countries. Until the early 1990s, the CIA produced a Redbook that instructed immigration inspectors on how to spot terrorists by examining their passports. However, publication ceased just before the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which was unfortunate because some of the 9/11 hijackers had the same indicators of terrorist affiliation in their passports as three of the WTC bombers. When a top al-Qaeda support site in Europe was raided in Italy in 1995, two copies of the Redbook were found there.

A blast from the past with Rahmbo, the mega-competent 'new' Chief of Staff for the President-elect's Change (TM) Administration

This is from last year on Bill Maher's show, during an "Overtime" segment. I amended Bill Maher's question about Saudi involvement in terrorism and the Iraq insurgency after he mentioned that most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. The word "patsies" seemed to clarify the matter quickly. Listen to Emanuel's response to the word "patsies." Sounds like an uncomfortable laugh. It happens a little after the 3 minute mark. Why did one word, "patsies," make Rahmbo jumpy enough to mistakenly call the House of Saud a "Shiite government"?

This is from the previous blog entry Bill Maher Interrupted in Real Time Overtime while Pushing Big Lie

Phila. law firm’s 9/11 suit dealt setback (Cozen O'Connor)

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, ruling in Manhattan, said Saudi Arabia and members of its royal family were protected from being sued because the State Department had not officially designated the desert kingdom as a supporter of terrorism."

"In their lawsuits, the victims alleged that over a period of a decade or more, officials of the government of Saudi Arabia had financed Islamic charities that, in turn, had become the sources of funding for Islamic terrorists, first in Afghanistan and then later in Bosnia Herzegovina and, ultimately, in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The victims offered as evidence testimony by senior U.S. Treasury and State Department officials and other U.S. government findings that the charities had become conduits for terrorist financing, beginning in the mid-1990s. U.S. officials have said that although the Saudis have taken some steps to crack down on the charities, they remained concerned that some charities continue to be sources of funding for al-Qaeda."

Ron Paul: Doesn't Accept 9/11 Investigation

"From Glenn Beck (replacement propagandist) on 6/19/08."

Glenn Beck asks Ron Paul why he has so many supporters in the 9/11 truth movement.
YouTube Video:

Foes, Not Friends (or The OCT is a Lie; 3 Examples Involving Saudi Arabia)

The Bush story about 9/11 takes a hit from their ally the Washington Times- exposure of Saudi involvement in 9/11 is exposure of Bush family/administration involvement in 9/11.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/foes-not-friends/

Foes, Not Friends
By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
The Washington Times | Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The United States is in mortal period from a false friend: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The peril emanates from the totalitarian legal-religious-military-political code the Saudis call Shariah and their assiduous efforts to impose it worldwide. The danger is enormously exacerbated by the almost-complete failure of American officials at every level of government to acknowledge, let alone act to prevent, the Saudis' true agenda.

Three examples are instructive:

Saudi Arabia Will Pay! Dozens of Insurance Companies on Board (along with the Right-wing)

It's nice to see some right-wing media supporting public disclosure and truth regarding 9/11; the Cozen O'Connor Saudi lawsuit is getting attention. I find it hard to believe, with 7 years of research and millions invested by this lawfirm, that they didn't also uncover links to US, Pakistani and Israeli principals, if not direct evidence of responsibility, foreknowledge, negligence, complicity, etc., if they think they have enough evidence to prove to a jury that the govt of Saudi Arabia "intended" the 9/11 attacks to happen. Of course, he's got his career and fortunes riding on this, so he'll just target the Saudis; the right-wing will also target the Saudis; and the 9/11 truth movement will use whatever facts are brought to light by this case about Saudi Arabia's involvement to continue making the case to America and the World that the official 9/11 story isn't true and that full investigations with the power of the law and public oversight behind them are called for before another decision is made based on the belief that 9/11 was exclusively an Al Qaeda operation, before 9/11 is used to justify any policy or to rouse fear or patriotic fervor.

How Cozen Took On A Kingdom For 9/11 Liability

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer
6/2/2008

Second of two parts.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Stephen Cozen huddled with expert witnesses in a seventh-floor conference room of his Center City law firm preparing for what promised to be a bare-knuckle trial over a string of soured movie deals.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake in a dispute over proceeds from Hollywood films including The Truman Show, Runaway Bride, and The General's Daughter. But Cozen's attention was soon diverted by a call from his wife, Sandy.

The World Trade Center had been attacked. Cozen and his associates switched on a TV and with astonishment watched the towers burning and then collapsing.

Like Americans everywhere, Cozen, 67, a hyperactive trial lawyer and onetime college basketball player, was torn between anger at the perpetrators and compassion for the victims.

But there was little time for reflection.

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