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Questioning the War on Terrorism (9/11)


Questioning the War on Terrorism

September 11- Unanswered Questions (good overview with links!)

Contents 
 

Demanding a Congressional Inquiry of 9-11
Questions with links to key articles


January 8th, 2002
People Gathered and Marched to Senator Feinstein's office


The Bad News- The cascading personal, family calamities continue. We've rented the same house for 18 years. Suddenly the owner wants to cherry it up (horror- will we have to move????). Workman coming to remove the dead water heater which has always lived in the garage forced us to move out a ton of stuff (including all the priceless banners and art onto the porch), we spent hours cleaning out a fraction of the garage, and it was extremely hard on our backs- particularly my husband's back- which is seriously traumatized (he can hardly walk and couldn't lay down because the pain was so bad last night he hardly got any sleep). In the turmoil which cost me my thumb last week, my son's notebook was lost plus the big assignment due today in his Honors English class.

Yesterday I joined Tian, Gerry and Dana to deliver signatures to the Voter Registrar's office in San Jose. As I was leaving the house- all the stuff on the porch (which I hadn't had time to put away) was getting wet and soiled by a guy cleaning the roof (argh- a thousand dollars worth of art wrecked- but I think they rescued it- I'm not sure yet- but I had to move it in the dark garage last night and I hope its ok.) I had to hurry...

What started out to be a joyous triumph turned into an ordeal when I was informed that the 35 signatures we had gathered "were on the wrong form and useless..."

Today I sent an email to-

    The Secretary of State- Debra Bowen

    Dear Debra,

    Having spoken at one of the hearings you organized regarding the integrity of our elections, I am confidant that you will be able to help me, and be understanding of the outrage I felt today when I submitted 37 signatures of Registered Green Party members to eliminate my filing fee in the June 6th Election, where I hope to be on the ballot for the Green Party nomination for US Representative District 14 in the November Election.

    In 2006, I also ran for Congress, and I enjoyed gathering signatures, and was able to do so in a timely fashion. In 2007, I was thinking about running for Congress, but I was also organizing film premieres, rallies, hosting a weekly radio show (one with Sherry Healy on Election Protection), and very active in the organization that I founded- The Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance. The day after our major rally/action in San Francisco, on December 17, 2007) while I was hosting my radio show, I became violently ill. I was unable to complete the broadcast, my husband called 911, and I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. I was diagnosed with kidney stones. When I was able to leave the hospital, I was very weak.

    Following the Green Party Presidential Debate, (January 13th, 2008) friends within the Party encouraged me to run again. I told them that if they could help me gather the necessary signatures to waive the filing fee that I would run again, although we really didn’t have much time, and I knew I would need help, especially since I hadn’t the physical strength that I was accustomed to. I did receive lots of help, and I also stopped taking the medication that was responsible for the weakness that I felt and regained my strength.

    On February 21, 2008- the last day of signature gathering, I turned in 158 signatures in Santa Clara County (I had already turned in 3 in San Mateo County). The next day I received a phone call telling me that 120 were “good” and that I could turn in up to 38 replacement signatures.

    On February 21st I also received a form and two copies of that form at the Registrar’s office and the distinct impression that these were the new forms for the replacement signatures, in case I needed them. They were dated February 21st and I thought that the other forms were only for signatures gathered before that date, not subsequent to that date.

    Today when I tried to turn in 35 signatures, gathered between February 21st and March 4th, I was informed that they were on the wrong form and would not qualify to replace the needed signatures because they said “Nomination” not “Petition in Lieu of Filing Fee.” (The additional two signatures which someone handed me that day, I didn't think would count because they were on the "old form," but to my surprise- they were accepted and the staff tried to reject the others and say that they would not count towards the 150 signatures needed.) I was outraged, and the staff said that there was a terrible misunderstanding between me and whoever gave me the forms, but that there was nothing they could do- the situation was out of their control, and rested in your hands. Rules are rules, there are lots of candidates, no one could make an exception, I should have read all the rules. Well there is common sense and justice, and I assume you are amply endowed with both from my personal observation of you, and your actions, so I appeal to your humane understanding to acknowledge and grant the signatures that I gathered in this brief time period (that are good and from Registered Green Party members) to count towards the reduction of the filing fee. I'd rather save my anger, energy, efforts for larger justice battles that I am currently engaged in. Thank-you for your time, attention, and hopefully assistance in this matter.

    Sincerely,

    Carol Liane Brouillet...

    PS I thought of ccing this to the press, but I’d rather just draw it to your attention and have it quickly rectified and suggest that the “current process and procedures” be improved, so that other candidates do not suffer from the situation I found myself in today. Thank-you.

    Sometimes one doesn't have time to shorten and edit a message. Here's the first draft (with more info) of my DRAFT press release:

      International Demands for a New 9/11 Investigation Challenge the “War on Terror”

    In Japan, in Europe, in the Congress of the United States, in New York City, in Australia, elected officials and citizens are questioning the events of 9/11, the obstacles that the Administration has placed before the official Commission, and other Congressional investigations into terrorists’ attacks. People are challenging the official narrative of 9/11, and other attacks that have taken place in the US, and abroad, and challenging policies which assist the US to carry out its “War on Terror” and threaten civil liberties.

    On January 10, 2008, Mr. Yukihisa Fujita, a member of Democratic Party of Japan, challenged Bush’s request for assistance from the Japanese to supply the US military effort in Afghanistan, by raising questions about 9/11 and the “War on Terrorism” in the Japanese Parliament.

    On February 26, 2008 Guilietto Chiesa, a member of the European Parliament, journalist, and author, invited his colleagues and the press to attend a screening of the Italian documentary named ‘ZERO, an investigation into the events of 9/11’ and a debate with Mr. Yukihisa Fujita, Dr. David Ray Griffin, theologian and author of seven important books on 9/11, Tim Sparke, the film distributor, as well as the director and producers of ‘Zero’- Paolo Jormi Bianchi, Thomas Torelli, Francesco Trento and Franco Fracassi.

    On the same day, the anniversary of the first World Trade Center bombings, Representative Rohrabacher spoke out on the floor of Congress.

      “The disdain and uncooperative nature that this administration has shown toward Congress, including Republican Members, is so egregious that I can no longer assume that it is simply bureaucratic incompetence or isolated mistakes. Rather, I have come to the sad conclusion that this administration has intentionally obstructed Congress' rightful and constitutional duties.”

    Rohrabacher detailed the lack of cooperation in many specific cases, including his request to the acting Attorney General last October-

      “In 2005, former Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger pled guilty to the mishandling and destruction of classified documents.

      “He admitted to entering the National Archives and unlawfully removing, then subsequently destroying, classified documents dealing with terrorist related issues. He removed the documents by stuffing them down his pants and in his suit jacket, presumably with the intention of getting rid of any damning evidence showing his involvement in the failure of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to prevent the Sept. 11th attacks prior to his testimony before the 911 Commission. These documents have never been recovered.

      “As part of a plea deal, Mr. Berger agreed to take a polygraph test to be administered by the Department of Justice. It has been two years since that agreement and Mr. Berger has yet to fulfill his obligation.

      “We are writing to officially request that as Attorney General you direct the Department of Justice without any further delay to administer a lie detector test to Mr. Berger and determine what documents were stolen and how our National Security was compromised.

      “The Congress, and the American people, deserve to know the facts of this crime and what Mr. Berger was covering up.”

    Rohrabacher also was denied access to the Federal prisoner Ramzi Yousef who-

      “may well have had something to do with the bombing of the World Trade Center and the bombing of the Oklahoma City building… This request is well within my committee's jurisdiction as ranking member of the Investigative Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This request has been supported by the chairman of the Investigative Subcommittee, the chairman of the full Foreign Affairs Committee, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and the chairman of the Intelligence Committee…

      “Nevertheless, the Department of Justice, consistent with its treatment of congressional inquiries during the tenure of this President, has dismissed this valid request. This request has been treated with what can only be described as contempt and condescension.

      “So, why would this administration obstruct congressional inquiries such as this? Remember, Ramzi Yousef was the mastermind behind several devastating terrorist attacks and plots against America. He led the first murderous attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, as I say.

      “After fleeing to the Philippines, he and two other terrorists plotted to kill thousands of Americans by blowing up 12 commercial airliners over the Pacific at the same time. It was known as the Bojinka plot. It was within 2 weeks of being executed when it was discovered and thwarted by Philippine police.

      “Interestingly, the terrorist operation, the Bojinka plot, was to take place about the same time as the Oklahoma City Federal building bombing, perhaps on the same day. We don't know. Perhaps we should know. Perhaps we should ask Ramzi Yousef about that.

      “Ramzi Yousef has been in Federal prison for over a decade. He is a prisoner with a unique understanding of the al Qaeda terrorist structure. He is the nephew of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

      “In 2006, when I was the chairman of the House Oversight Investigations Subcommittee on the Foreign Affairs Committee, I was investigating Yousef's movements and activities not only in the United States but in the Philippines. I even traveled to the Philippines to question authorities who had captured Yousef's roommate and coconspirator in the Bojinka plot.

      “In spite of that fact and in spite of the fact that I was looking into Yousef's terrorist activities and in spite of the fact that I had obtained new information about Yousef's phone calls right here in the United States and new information about his associates while he was in the United States, the Department of Justice still dismisses the effort and, more than that, they are obstructing a legitimate congressional investigation, refusing to permit this elected Member of Congress, a ranking member of a congressional investigating committee, to interview a Federal prisoner. They refused access to Yousef claiming that there is a ‘ongoing investigation.’

      “This prisoner has been in jail for over 10 years. It is more likely that what we have here is an ongoing coverup and not an ongoing investigation. In fact, I have been told recently by a former member of the Justice Department that they were told routinely simply to give answers that there is an ongoing investigation even if no ongoing investigation was underway, but simply using it as a phrase to dismiss a request from Congress.

      “Well, this is outrageous, but it's typical of this administration… Is it really the rules of engagement that we want for our government that Members of Congress and the legislative branch don't have a right to talk to Federal prisoners?

      “Well, that's apparently what the Bush administration is trying to establish as the executive authority, as executive authority, the right to deny congressional investigators access to Federal prisoners. The danger of this should be easy to understand, both on my side of the aisle, the Republican side, and the Democratic side of the aisle.”*

      In New York City, there is a citizen effort to place on the November 2008 General Election ballot an initiative which will allow the voters of New York City to mandate, through public referendum, directly and democratically, the formation of a new Citizen’s Commission to Re-Investigate 9/11.

      Sydney Truth Action of Australia, from March 14th to Sunday 16th March, 2008, will host an International Conference to critically examine the events of 9/11 and Australia’s participation in the War on Terror. Themed- "Did Australia go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan on a false pretext?" the conference will focus on what really occurred on September 11th and what has been done in the name of September 11th by the Australian government. The conference will examine how the US and Australian governments have actively sponsored, or been complicit in the cover-up, of terrorism.

      The 9/11 Truth Movement continues to grow, as evidenced by the websites devoted to the issue, the books, documentaries, films, music, art, international conferences, radio programs. A Green Party candidate for President, Cynthia McKinney, although vilified by the corporate press and the Democratic Party, raised the most challenging questions about 9/11 while she was in Congress. Public revelations that the official Report was based upon “tortured confessions” and that the Commissions’ work was directed by Philip Zelikow, author of the “Pre-Emptive War Doctrine” and integral to the National Security transition from the Clinton to Bush White House has fueled doubt in the Commission and demands for a real investigation and government accountability.

      *www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/rohr022608.html

    I had intended to get the press release out on Monday (Friday being the worst day for press releases, but all the immediate demands have kept me from so many tasks. If I don't get to the bank today- my checks will bounce- I've also been needing to go to the Post Office to send out orders. I also need to send out the email on the month's events to the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance and remind folks about the meeting this Thursday in San Francisco. I can't do it all, and on top of that I finally, listened to my phone messages this morning. I have 9 kidney stones including one too large to pass, and the doctor recommends the wave treatment- argh- not today.

    March 1, 2008

    This past week has been a series of cascading personal disasters/challenges for me... which I don't have the heart or strength to describe, other than to say that I smashed my right thumb which is now immobilized by a splint, and makes it hard for me to do the most mundane things, impossible to do the more urgent, demanding stuff, and frustrated by my limitations. So that is why I missed Friday's Impeachment Rally, or all the other stuff that I should have done. At least, if I'm forced to take a "vacation" from my usual activities, the movements are strong enough to pick up the slack and carry on fine without me.

    February 27, 2008

    Today I receieved an email from Valentine in Belgium with this note:

    I posted the article on 911blogger.com with photos, perhaps prematurely, as I hadn't received permission, and my husband informed me that reprinting articles (without permission) is in violation of copyright laws... Ooops- not the first time either. However, some articles are so timely, that we do make efforts to get them to the activist community ASAP, and I felt this was a significant event.

    I also think that I should concentrate on this country and, in particular, the Congressional District which I reside in, and am running against an incumbent who co-sponsored the Intelligence Reorganization Act, thinks the 9/11 Report was bipartisan and thorough, does not believe in Impeachment, serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management, and on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as subcommittees on Energy and Commerce, Health, Telecommunications and the Internet...

    However, I am so glad that others are finding the time to travel abroad and speak out for 9/11 Truth- Dr. David Ray Griffin, William, Rodriguez, and the many others going to Australia in March. I greatly appreciate the wonderful Canadians who are organizing a March on Ottawa on September 11th of this year.

    The networking and solidarity that is happening internationally strengthens all the local and national efforts here in the US- which hopefully will benefit the whole world, if we can succeed.

    My closest ally in the early years was a Canadian, Blaine Machan, our 9/11 Truth artist, who has done the artwork and website for the Deception Dollar, but Blaine has led a different life from mine. He has had to work a real job, fell in love, and is planning on getting married (while my main job besides raising three kids has been my activism), staying in love, maintaining a happy marriage/family. So Blaine, at some point, stopped putting as much time into his website and the movement. I can't keep up with mine, but now I feel compelled to add (especially since Valentine asked us, too, when he ordered the 32,000 Deception Dollars to distribute in Europe- which arived just in time for him to pass them out at the EU Parliament event)...

    Links to the European 9/11 Truth websites:

    I am actually glad that I cannot keep up with all the 9/11 Truth websites, although it does make it harder for us to figure out which websites to include on the Deception Dollars. I keep hoping that we will breakthrough, and not need to reprint them...

    February 26, 2008

    Chuck and I managed to get to Lofgren's Office on Friday in time for the Impeachment rally- we had the sound system and the Impeachment and 9/11 songs really made it a lot more fun. A group had met with Lofgren earlier in the day and she needs a lot more pushing to sign on to hearings- so we need to increase the pressure.

    I heard from the Registrar of Voters, 120 of my signatures were good- so I have until March 7th to get an additional 30 good ones. Today Tian, Chuck and I went to White Plaza at Stanford with banners, a table, cookies, the sound system, passing out Deception Dollars and tried to register students to vote, and locate some Green students. We didn't get anyone registered or signatures on the petition, but we passed out the Dollars and it was great to blast the Impeachment/9-11 Truth songs on campus. We do need to find allies and better outreach opportunities, but it was finally a beautiful sunny day- and we all enjoyed a great hike afterwards.

    I am also hoping to figure out how to download sound from the computer and use my ipod- so in addition to music I could play some key speeches. Last night's show on Impeachment and Larry Pinkney's critique of Obama should be heard more widely. The students (mainly all registered Democrats) should have a better idea of Obama's track record. American Blackout is showing in Palo Alto in March. I'd love to make better connections on campus to show films there and bring in speakers- like William Pepper.

    Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance received $1150 in generous donations in the past few days. The 32,000 Deception Dollars I sent to Belgium were joyously received in time for the Zero film and Griffin and others presentation today to the European Parliament.

    I'm still behind on the bookkeeping, website, DVD orders, my mail, housework, but I am happy to be healthy, and finding balance in my life.

    February 22, 2008

    Thank-you to the 161 people who signed my petition to get on the ballot, and all those who helped with the phoning, walking, talking and signature gathering! I turned in the signatures yesterday, and I will be on the ballot in November, although I can't promise that I will do much active campaigning- I plan on continuing my "normal organizing" and trying to find balance in my life- staying healthy and happy, so that I can do the work that I am most compelled to do. I'm just so glad the pressure of gathering those signatures is behind me, so that I can get on to other stuff...

    Last night I went to the Oakland Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance meeting. Camille was there and passed around the artwork for the new logo for the group, as well as the new informational "Patriots Question 9/11 Card" that she has designed. We voted between 250 and 300 to print cards for local distribution (as well as to slip into DVD cases). We also voted 1200- 1500 to reprint another 1000 Behind Every Terrorist- There is a Bush- which we are almost out of, and to let Tom and others make copies and distribute them for free. We will probably upgrade the next printing- Ken and I will figure out what is best to include in the second half. We had about $4000 in our account and are due to receive 1300 from a large Deception Dollar order from Europe. We discussed international developments- Griffin and Zero at the European Parliament on Feb. 26th, the upcoming Australian 9/11 Truth Tour, a mobilization happening in Canada hoping to march on Ottawa on September 11th with thousands raising the issue of a real investigation, shattering the myth that the Canadian Government has been going along with. Richard Gage is going to LA for a big event on Saturday and passed out a new cd that he did with Bonnie on Guns and Butter. He and Ken are working on doing another presentation for DVD in studio on May 11th. Both Richard and Scott shared stories of their recent accomplishments- which were very impressive and are posted online.

    We also voted another $600 to support filmmakers and increase our stock of DVDs- with the sequel to 9/11 Press For Truth- The Family's Voices, The Reflecting Pool, Loose-Change Final Cut, Let's Get Empirical and 9/11 and Nationalist Faith. We also voted $150 for props for the March 15th Peace Rally in Palo Alto- using Jeremy's graphic idea with the key image using the peace sign and the shaft being 9/11 Truth. I'd like to see the other side of the key with a symbol for justice and the shaft saying impeachment- but how much artwork and construction we'll be able to do before March 15th, I don't know. We don't lack ideas... just time.

    There were plenty of new developments that we discussed and shared. Paul Rea gave a report on the new Shenon book and Bill gave an overview of the denial of rights to the suspected 9/11 masterminds who would be held indefinitely or killed whether they were innocent or guilty.

    Everyone ate all the cookies that I brought to the meeting, and understood why my family thought "feeding them" should be my main priority, and I should let go of the "political work..."

    This morning I had a wonderful chat with Larry Pinkney who will be on my radio show on Monday, talking about Movement Building. I've also extended invitations to others, but people are so busy, Larry is the only confirmed guest, so far. If I can get to the Post Office and the bank, soon- I might be able to join the others at Lofgren's for the Impeachment Rally this afternoon. I wish there were more hours in the day. (I do need to buy milk and groceries, too- or I'll get a lot of flak from the family...)

    February 17, 2008

    I can't keep up with this website and all the work that needs to be done. I feel the pressure of needing 150 signatures by Thursday. I think we've only gathered 100 so far and if people don't call me, help more, come over and sign- soon, well maybe I won't be on the ballot in November and have more time for other things. I was up til midnight last night finishing a review of The Reflecting Pool and trying to post it (better late than never). I was stunned to realize today that it made the headlines of LA Indymedia- so often my articles get censored or buried at those sites (with the exception of Portland- although sometimes I can't get my posts up there either). I hope it helps- the film deserves attention. I did watch the new version and it is better than the one we premiered last September- they dropped the flashes and highlighted the collapse of building #7 and include an excellent commentary with references to the sources in the bonus material. Tomorrow, we'll be going to San francisco for the Impeachment Rallies, and I have preparation work to do for that, plus David Ray Griffin cancelled on me for the February 25th show- so he could catch a plane to Europe where he will be speaking to the European Parliament- which is great, but I am struggling to find replacement guests. So much to do- and not enough time. I'm just really grateful from the help that I have received from Tian, Michael, Arshalos, Dana, Dick, Chuck, Galen, Arlen and Jean chasing down Green Party signatures and to the wonderful people who kindly called me and signed the petitions.

    It is always difficult to decide where to spend my time and energy- doing the website, writing and posting articles, talking to people, organizing, creating new materials, promoting the new films, books that have come my way and need to reach a wider audience. I ended up sending out another 100 Christmas letters (revised) in a less than timely fashion.

    February 11, 2008

    Ooops! In updating this website, I realized I forgot to post updates for tonight's Weather Warfare Show with Jerry Smith. I've just been in triage mode this past week, and still haven't caught up. Jerry was a very articulate, knowledgable guest, though- and I wish I had had time to read both of his books before tonight, but I was overwhelmed trying to get out my mailing, and with all the other stuff I had to do- including working on getting 150 signatures to be on the ballot in November. I had hesitated to tell my family, because I knew they would not approve of me running for Congress, again. I figured it was rather "iffy, too- unlikely that I would be able to gather enough signatures." If anyone can help- there really isn't much time- and I know that I won't be able to do it without help. Last week though, I finally stopped taking the medicine for the kidney stones and began to regain my strength. It was a pleasure to bicycle around the neighborhood and talk to people, while gathering signatures- a wonderful break from working at the computer, and sitting down to get out 300 Christmas letters... So I finally had to confess to the family that I had agreed to run- if we get the signatures. If I don't, that is ok, and I just will do my regular organizing. My top priority is still - balance- remaining healthy, maintaining healthy, happy relationships within my family situation, and "doing the work that I can't resist doing- when I can."

    I am heartened by the revelations hitting the NY Times, and NPR challenging Zelikow and the 9/11 Commission Report. I also went to an Impeachment Meeting and it looks like someone else will be running in the Democratic Primary against Pelosi to push her into moving forward with impeachment. (Carol Wolman's campaign has forced her Congress Critter to sign on to support Impeachment Hearings.) Conyers has told activists that he fears "backlash" if he moves to impeach, but I think we need courage, and to continue to put pressure on Congress. The more outrageous the Administration gets- the more we need to do to oppose them loudly and visibly at every level.

    Sander Hicks was here for his West Coast Tour, and it was great to reconnect with him and hear him speak. Chuck kept an eye on the table and let me catch some of Sander's talk at Stanford, after the Listening Project theoretically concluded at 1 pm. He even remembered to bring a camera... we usually never take photos of the regular weekly/now monthly actions.


    February 11, 2008

    February 5, 2008

    Ironically, the guest I had hoped to have on my "Psychological Warfare Show" went into panic mode and decided not to "go public" until he gets his book published, which could take a year. At the last minute, I persuaded an old friend of mine, an excellent investigative journalist, Karl Grossman, to be my guest on last night's show. His cover story just came out:


    Money Is the Real Green Power:
    The hoax of eco-friendly nuclear energy

    He also teaches Investigative Journalism and I couldn't resist asking him about whether he taught his students to challenge the big corporate lies- such as "9/11," but he steered clear of 9/11 and focused on his main issue which has been the nuclear issue for over twenty years. He does know his subject and it is unbelievable to me that the nuclear industry believes that they can get away with expanding under the guise of being "clean and green" now... Karl was not optimistic about the public's gullibility.

    I was disheartened to see fanatic Hillary Clinton supporters waving their signs at a major intersection as I made my way to the Post Office yesterday. How anyone can fall for the rhetoric of Clinton, Obama, or the Republicans (with the exception of Ron Paul- who at least is anti-war, and anti-imperialism, and is kept out of the corporate press), I don't know. To me the only choices are McKinney or Nader and I would prefer to vote for both of them- they both have proven themselves by word and deed, in my opinion. I might not agree 100% on their strategic decisions, but at least I am confidant that I know which direction they are headed in.

    I have been frantically working on lining up guests for the radio show, getting out my Christmas letter, feeding my hungry family, shipping Deception Dollars, going through the 4 foot stacks of unanswered mail that have piled up, housekeeping...

    I have also continued to read and research group psychology/Psychological Operations/the history of Public Relations. It is sad to realize how many people have been hoodwinked and that the psyops continue in a much more sophisticated form. But I refuse to be disheartened by the "dumbing down efforts" that seek to control "the masses," I can't believe that people are so incredibly stupid that they cannot discern truth/reality from blatant lies. I believe that truth will triumph, that people are wisening up, that those who seek to kill, control, profit from war and other criminal activities will eventually be held accountable. So, I will continue with my humble efforts at educating myself and the public.

    Allan Rees interviewed me for his special Election Night Coverage on-

    NoLiesRadio.org

    February 2, 2008

    Last night I went to San Francisco for the Reception for Robert Shetterly's exhibition of Americans Who Tell the Truth. Robert and many truth-tellers were there and there was also a great exhibition of art by Youth for Truth, who presented their poems in the adjacent theater space. The event was very well attended and I later went to a dinner party for Robert, his family and some of the organizers and friends. Robert is not only a gifted artist, but a very wonderful person, and a wonderful story-teller. He has continually added to his collection of paintings. I wanted to suggest that he do a portrait of Cynthia McKinney, but he was ahead of me and has already done one!


    These paintings are very powerful- See them if you can!

    I came home very late last night and decided to change the theme of next week's radio show, because I hadn't heard from the guest who has been working on exposing the Psychological Warfare Operations against the American people. I hope he is ok and that we could reschedule it. Fortunately, an old friend of mine is available on Monday night and has been doing work on exposing the latest hoax financed by the nuclear industry to sell nuclear energy.

    January 30, 2008

    I am swamped with info, meetings, and posting updates/events, and getting to dentist/doctor appointments, and trying to get my Christmas letter off. I am heartened by the organizing taking place in New York, Los Angeles, and locally (without much help from me). I did a radio interview on the Stanford Radio station on Monday, and hopefully Sander Hicks will do an interview next week, and the time/place of his talk there will be confirmed soon. I'm frustrated by my guest on the next radio show who hasn't sent me a bio and photo, so I have held off updating the site and links. I saw the doctor about my kidney stones today (first time since I left the hospital in December) and was reminded that I have to take care of myself, before I can begin to catch up on all the other things that I wish I could do.

    January 27, 2008

    Preparing for the radio show, research, and two sick kids kept me busy last week, as well as baking LOTS of cookies for the Independent Media Strategy Summit which I just returned from.

    I need to type in my notes from the last group I was with, before I had to take Sarah Van Gelder to the airport. Unfortunately that particular group was a working group to achieve one of the major goals of the conference- an Independent Media Network with truthful, reliable, public serving news... Sarah mentioned that if we had started that meeting this morning we probably could have hammered something out, but we could only begin the task in a very short 45 minutes/hour, but we had some awesome people in the group and if we could collaborate to any degree, better than we have before that would be something.

    Checking the website, again, I am amazed and impressed by the interactivisty aspects of it, maybe we could just evolve that into whatever we have money, time, talent, technology for, in an organic manner.

    I must admit that I probably knew at least 50-100 people who attended the Summit which was a blessing and a curse, as catching up with friends also reduced the amount of time to meet other people, but I could not resist the rare opportunity either of seeing people that I love whom I almost only see at events such as these. The time passed all too quickly, however, and we will see what the ripple effect will be as the new relationships develop. I do have great respect for all those who came drawn broadly by shared goals, despite a real difference in viewpoint and strategical assessment of the current political situation, and the most urgent demands at this time. In the brief report back time that I was there (missing the finale because of the flight's timing) someone presented a two minute synopsis of "Personal Development"- the abc's of enlightenment- a gentle, delightful, reminder of honoring and accepting the moment. Like me, if the conference can achieve 2% of the stated goals, it should rest content- it will have made a significant contribution towards our collective enlightenment, survival and evolution.

    January 18, 2008

    I overdid it on Tuesday and was feeling too ill to work (cook, read...). I was better yesterday and able to attend the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance meeting, and get to the Grand Lake Theater to get a couple copies of the film they were premiering- Uncounted and give them a case of Election Deception Dollars.

    I have a lot of work to do this morning and a dentist appointment, so don't have time to detail the entire meeting, but we did vote to support Sander Hicks visit/an event/party, give $250 to Cam to design a logo, give $100 to Jeremy Begin to print cards promoting a book signing February 22, 7 pm at Book Zoo, 6395 Telegraph Ave. for his great book- Fighting for G.O.D. (Gold, Oil and Drugs).

    About eight of us will be attending the Media Strategy Summit in Santa Cruz at the end of the month. We voted to ask Brian not to attend meetings or be on committees- which was the most emotional, painful part of the meeting for most of us. I can't handle the emotional abuse.

    A welcome new face at the meeting was Max from truthmove.org who is relocating to the Bay Area. Richard Gage also shared his great news of lots of speaking engagements and passed out some dramatic new bumper stickers for ae911truth.org that Cam designed.

    Tian took some great photos at the-

    Impeachment Rally at Pelosi's office last Monday, January 14th

    (click on photo to see more images)

    January 14, 2008

    Although I am not fully recovered, and don't have my usual strength, I have been so busy these past 4 days. On Friday, I loaded the car, set up in Downtown Palo Alto with the Listening Project/9-11 Visibility Action (with the help of my dear friend- Chuck Millar), on Saturday Chuck and I went to the Strategy Meeting for Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance, on Sunday we (Chuck, Gerry Gras, Dana St. George and I) helped with the Green Party 'Presidential Debate That Matters' at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, today we (Chuck, Gerry Gras, Dana St. George, Tian Harter and I) delivered over 8,000 letters and 3000 signatures to Pelosi's office demanding impeachment, with Cindy Sheehan, Cynthia McKinney and other activists (Including John Wright, Gordon Wright, Jody Paulson, Brad Newsham, Nancy Papermaster...). I just interviewed Sander Hicks and posted some details of the upcoming radio show with Steve Alten, author of The Shell Game.

    I've had such amazing conversations with a wide variety of people in the last several days, and feel more hopeful than ever, despite the looming threats of disaster- manmade and otherwise.

    Driving back and forth to San Francisco (for three days in a row), the conversations were very wide ranging and Gerry Gras (longtime activist) mused "what makes a person become an activist?" The Green Party candidates for President, each had their own amazing personal history and a deeper grasp of history than the average "Joe." Gerry thought maybe it was genetic... their parents were community leaders, engaged in the larger social justice struggle, they fought the new battles... I suggested "spirit," that innate energy we possess which can be nurtured, crushed, broken, but also connects us to every living thing, each of us a unique moment in time and space, but also open and touched by all the larger forces surrounding us, and called upon to do whatever we can do, wherever we are, depending on the needs of the moment and our awareness or connection with the larger whole. Our awareness of Death makes life all the more precious and helps us to appreciate the moment, even more. I think my greatest frustration will always be my human limitations, but it is very consoling and energizing to know how many wonderful amazing "kindred spirits"there are who share the reverence for Life, and will overcome anything that Fear throws our way. I just wish my organizing and communication skills were better. I still can't find phone numbers and addresses, and wonder if I'll be able to get the Christmas letter out with so many other responsibilities, work demands upon me.

    January 10, 2008

    I'm still catching up on "the work- website, banking, organizing..." and haven't had a chance to really process and convey all the info that has been thrown at me. There are multiple major strategy conferences taking place this month in the Bay Area, and I can't possibly go to all of them, which is a good sign- there is probably more activism happening now than in any other time in history. People are beginning to wake up. A shift is happening, and navigating the rapids of change is one of the challenges that we all must face.

    Ten years ago, I was organizing the first Gathering to Transform the Global Economy in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That conference seeded some powerful ideas, connections, collaborations, and in 2000, I redirected my energies towards getting North Americans to the first World Social Forum (in January 2001), which has now evolved into a decentralized global organizing opportunity. Our -

    SC truthemergency.us link

    is very much in alignment with the World Social Forum's purpose and processes. I called to volunteer to help with logistical stuff, since I'm not actually on the organizing committee and know how much work is involved in trying to pull off conferences. Media and communications are such a key part of the systemic transformations that we need. I can't help but be involved, and wish I had more time to do more.

    Over the Christmas holidays, I read Lew Paz's book Pushing Ultimates- Fundamentals of Authentic Self Knowledge, an excellent look at one man's 40 + year journey into self-understanding and the perennial wisdom, philosophers, scientific discoveries, recent New Age/Spiritual movements of our time. I also began a trilogy of books, The Manipulated Mind, Battle for the Mind, and New World, New Mind that I got from John Leonard. I have always seen parallels between the individual, the family, the political system, but I hadn't read the detailed studies on how to "brainwash, condition" minds, nor realized how "contagious" beliefs were from one individual to a larger group of people. All the books force one to question the assumptions that have been laid down upon us by family and culture and reexamine them. The recent books- The Shock Doctrine and The End of America which I haven't read, but have heard a great deal about do show how the methods of brainwashing can be applied on a larger scale to a whole society to change their thinking patterns and belief systems. Almost every person, except possibly the insane or the ultra-enlightened, can be psychologically broken down when subjected to multiple shocks, stresses, including being deprived of food and sleep. Resiliency to endure psychological assaults isn't obtained through intellectual understanding, but is forged over a lifetime.

    Peggy Holman's observation that the most personal experience is the most universal... strikes me as incredibly true, especially reading about the responses of people to torture, and captivity during war. Pavlov also wrote extensively about the "paradoxical transformation" that occurred in animals (the dogs he studied) when exposed to life threatening trauma. It made me think of my own "uncharacteristic behavior" last December, a few days before I went into the hospital, when I woke up feeling horribly ill, with an awful headache. I couldn't figure out what was wrong and I just desperately wanted to stop the pain. I thought maybe since emotions affect the body, perhaps the pain was because I was holding onto so much anger and that that was what was making me sick, and I ended up calling the person who I was most furious at. When Pavlov's dogs almost drowned due to flooding, he mentioned how their whole personalities switched and how they suddenly attacked those they used to like and favored those whom they used to dislike. In the books it shows that people can be their own worst enemy in their longing for approval, affection, desire to please, meet expectations, conform to a group, obey authority, abdicate personal responsibility.

    I remember being confronted by a distraught woman, after I made a short announcement (alluding to the truth about 9/11) at a big event on "Non-Violence" at Stanford University. She basically charged me with shattering her worldview, disrupting her peace of mind, with my few spoken sentences. I felt a huge wave of emotion from her hit me, and I remembered how I felt after seeing Oliver Stone's film, JFK, and the six month soul searching, political research, personal transformation process that I went through during that time. Shattering the comforting myths laid down since childhood, will cause people sleepless nights, anxiety, stress... People can torture themselves far more effectively than sadistic jailers.

    While I believe that Truth and perceiving reality, as best we can, is our best hope individually and collectively, I can also have compassion and understand that the process will be difficult and challenging for many, and that it will take time.

    January 7, 2008

    I can't believe how quickly the days go by! I've been working on tonight's radio show, and haven't had time to update the calendar, do the vital bookkeepping, get to the bank/Post Office or catch up on my phone calls/mail since we returned from Canada. I did write my annual Christmas Letter to Family and Friends, but I don't know if I'll be able to get it printed, and get it into the mail with so many events coming up this month, and I'm feeling the pressure to "clean the house" and might actually have to go shopping (horror of horrors- I hate shopping), but my jeans and our curtains are so full of holes- it's too embarrassing now to ignore.

    Sibel Edmonds revelations are coming out in the UK if not in the US. I've been processing lots of books and films and need to write some reviews when the exigencies of the day are less demanding. I did read Steve Alten's The Shell Game and posted a quick review on Amazon and will have Steve on my radio show on January 21st- Martin Luther King's birthday. While it seems I have been speaking out for years, the urgency for for all of us to speak out and force a change in direction of this nation and the world's political direction has never been greater.

    December 23, 2007

    I am unable to process and disseminate all the stuff coming my way and am going to take some time off to be with the family and hopefully get well. I updated the calendar and will resume my radio show in January with folks working on Impeachment. I hope everyone supports Wexler's efforts to get hearings going. He's got over 100,000 signed up so far- hopefully over a million will force the media to take notice.

    We must organize resistance faster than they can organize repression and they are moving awfully fast. The ACLU has been trying to expose the-

    Fusion Centers

    It is an ominous development- pure fascism.

    From the ACLU website:

      "A new institution is emerging in American life: Fusion Centers. These state, local and regional institutions were originally created to improve the sharing of anti-terrorism intelligence among different state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. Though they developed independently and remain quite different from one another, for many the scope of their mission has quickly expanded­with the support and encouragement of the federal government­to cover "all crimes and all hazards." The types of information they seek for analysis has also broadened over time to include not just criminal intelligence, but public and private sector data, and participation in these centers has grown to include not just law enforcement, but other government entities, the military and even select members of the private sector."

    This is reminiscent of the part of the film The Corporation where the players in the NSA, alphabet soup agencies, are the big multinational companies who the government is working for.

    December 20, 2007

    There is no way that I'll be up to getting to tonight's Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance meeting, but I did try to add links and photos to the


    San Francisco Tea Party for 9/11 Truth webpage

    I included links to both slideshows, the video posted by the SF Chronicle, links to various articles, and video/photos from Boston, LA, Cincinatti, Milwaukee, and Minnesota. I wish I could do more, but I don't have that much strength, and I still have to do dishes, laundry, take care of a sick child, cook, and get well.

    December 19, 2007

    On Monday night, just before my radio show, I began feeling violently ill. I tried to do the show anyway, but felt worse and worse. I threw up all of my dinner and was in extreme pain. I felt badly for my guest, Vanessa German, but I finally had to give up, and let the station go ahead with a rerun. To make a long story short, my husband took care of me, finally called 911 and the paramedics came and took me by ambulance to the Emergency Room of Stanford Hospital where I was diagnosed with a kidney stone. They held me until I could keep down water and food and had the pain under control. I was released this morning, but I am still weak and doubt if I'll be able to catch up with my e-mail, let alone phone calls, regular mail, for awhile. I will probably miss the regular northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance meeting tomorrow, too. The doctors hope that I will be able to pass the stone, without medical intervention (besides all the medicines that they have proscribed for me). My husband thinks it is obvious that I need a real vacation, and I feel so weak now, that I am inclined to agree with him. I think I've done what I could do, and its time to pass the baton onto others. (at least for the next month).

    December 16, 2007, the 234th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party

    Part of me is sure that I was absolutely insane to agree to organize the Oakland Premiere of Loose Change, and then add on the San Francisco Premiere, as well. There just wasn't enough time to do the outreach, organizing, publicity. I counted on the Loose Change guys to help somewhat with promotion- add the premieres to their website, send an email to their list, but they didn't send out an email until 2:30 pm on the afternoon of the second premiere, and I don't think the website ever mentioned that Dylan and Jason with Remo would be at the San Francisco Premiere. That said, I'm still glad we did it. About 150 people came to the Victoria Theatre last night. This time Remo Conscious and his band performed onstage with the video of the San Francisco and Boston Tea Parties as a backdrop to the music. The stunning replicas earmarked for the Bay- The Patriot Act, The Military Commissions Act, HR 1955- the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, Presidential Directive #51, and the July 17, 2007 Executive Order flanked the stage. Dylan and Jason each had a chance to speak before and after the film. Everyone thought the film was great and people stayed late to ask questions and socialize. I didn't get home until past one am and had to get up at 7:30 am to reload my car for the Tea Party.

    I was overjoyed to see Scott waiting for me to help me unload the awning, tables, cookies, handouts, sound system... We set up and prayed others would arrive in time for us to make it to Pier 39 by noon. John, Ken and Jason stopped by and picked up Scott and the sound system, leaving Ken to mind homebase. I tried to catch up with everyone on foot, passing out Deception Dollars and the beautiful Impeachment Cards, with an abbreviated text of our proclamation:

    I came across a huge group of folks with the giant replica of the 9/11 Report with the big holes in it well before Pier 39, apparently the police had blocked off Pier 39 and were threatening to arrest anyone on the sidewalk or the parks or anywhere near the pier. I can't believe that even the sidewalks are not "public" and that we have no right to "free speech" on them. I guess in San Francisco, the use of public space is severely restricted and all musicians and artists must get permits for their little space of sidewalk and to hawk their talents. Rather than infringe upon the musician who was doing his thing in front of the replica, I took the sound system across the street- where there wasn't a crowd, to, at least, read the proclamation. A small crowd gathered as I read, and three quarters of the way through the proclamation the Pier 39 Security tried to shut me up and call the SFPD to arrest me. He made enough noise that I went back across the street to where the replica was and finished reading the proclamation and passed on the microphone. By that time we had quite a few videographers, photographers, supporters, press, and the strength of numbers. Bill Veale, Dylan Avery, Jeremy Begin, Cam, Jason Bermas spoke on the various pieces of legislation that we wished to reject and toss into the Bay. At one pm we began our march westward, pausing to read the proclamation again for the tourists, and local folk, and allow the giant replica to catch up with us. I didn't do a nose count. Some folks were in costume, and many weren't, we had pirates in purple and pink, fabulous banners, signs, the many replicas atop tall poles. If the press or anyone was looking for us, we would have been hard to miss. Amazingly the only time the police didn't bother us was when we were forced to take to the streets with the giant replica- to avoid smashing awnings over the sidewalks.

    When we reached Hyde Street Pier we were intercepted by the Federal Park Security who granted us a temporary permit and then promptly revoked it. At one of our meetings someone had volunteered to apply for a permit, but he never actually followed through. The Park Security basically said we could go out on the Municipal Pier, as long as we had no signs and could only throw one object (not the many that we intended to throw into the Bay) off the pier. Since our last Tea Party, they had also constructed a large gate which they threatened to lock to keep us off the pier.

    Although I gave the Feds my contact info (like last year- same info), I tried to step back at that point and let Jeremy and John make the decisions on how to proceed. There was a committee working on the Tea Party, but I knew that I didn't want the leadership role, and they had agreed to take it on.

    We all followed the giant replica up the hill and they parked it at the park with the cable car turnaround and a fabulous view of the Bay, the three masted Balcutha, Alcatraz, and a somewhat captive audience, as it is a long wait for the cable car. Jodie read the proclamation. We had more speeches. Ken Jenkins was very articulate and brief in a damning condemnation of the 9/11 Report. More press, videographers, photographers and another crowd gathered. There was a slight ruckus with the performing artists who felt we were encroaching on their livelihood, but they graciously quieted when we gave them a few twenty dollar bills.

    We had such a mixed reaction from the tourists. Some obviously disapproved of us and were absolutely closed to the information, others were very curious and delighted to accept our handouts, and some were hungry for more information.

    We were fortunate with the weather- it wasn't as windy or as cold as last year. The sky was cloudy, but dramatic and beautiful. We had enough people to carry the signs, props, banners, push and pull the giant replica, until the right wheel gave way one hundred feet short of the Municipal Pier. The decision was made to toss in the smaller replica, again. Many of the props and banners were left behind and about fifty of us trekked out to the end of the pier for a final reading of the proclamation, the ceremonious tossing of the 9/11 Commission Report replica into the Bay. Although we didn't have the television coverage like we did last year, we did have the Examiner, the SF Chronicle, and a few other print reporters there.

    There was an "After Tea Party Party" at the local tavern, down the road, which I missed, as I had to pack up all the stuff, load my car, and get home in time to feed my family. I was very grateful to all the people who came and participated, and spoke, and brought signs, and helped, and tabled (THANK-YOU Diane!!!!), and helped me pack up and load my car. There was so much work that went into the event, the art, the proclamation, the publicity- it just wouldn't have happened without so many people putting forward their time, creativity, energy. Scott gave me the wonderful Impeachment banner that Sandy designed for our next Impeachment actions, although since I'm closer to Zoe Lofgren's Office- I think it should be used more in San Francisco to target Pelosi. It is heartening to know that there are efforts to move forward with Impeachment Hearings in the Judiciary Committee now. Wexler has received over 67,000 emails in support of hearings- add your voice to the demands for impeachment at- wexlerwantshearings.com. I hope the Boston, L.A., Cincinnati, Milwaukee Tea Parties went well, and hope that our efforts find support amongst more Americans and encourage them to add their voices to ours.

    December 13, 2007

    Yesterday I tried not to panic or get too stressed; it's always a challenge when organizing an event. The premiere was especially difficult because we simply did not have enough lead time to do the normal stuff- psa's, calendar listings, and not enough time to get the film to reviewers for reviews in the local papers, although I had hoped that there would be something in the East Bay Express- and there was absolutely nothing. I was surprized that Cheryl Eddy at the San Francisco Bay Guardian did find time to review it and include it in Rep Picks

      "Loose Change Final Cut All but the most completely gullible can agree there was more to Sept. 11 than meets the officially-sanctioned-version-of-events eye. The third and purportedly final version of Dylan Avery, Jason Bermas, and Korey Rowe's doc — a carefully edited array of news footage and government hearings, plus some original interviews — scrolls through the tragedy event by event, raising questions about what may or may not have happened. Some are obvious and valid: why didn't any fighter jets intercept the hijacked planes before they crashed? Some are a little harder to get behind — despite plenty of eyewitness testimony, Loose Change suggests the Pentagon explosion wasn't caused by a plane crash. But even if you don't agree that everything presented here is hard evidence, the film provides plenty of food for thought — and not merely crazy-eyed conspiracy-theory thought either. Proceeds from screenings benefit the Northern California 9-11 Truth Alliance and the FealGood Foundation. (2:00) Grand Lake, Victoria. (Eddy)"

    Our large ad also came out in the SFBG, and they published Sandy's great Impeachment art and a hit piece on the San Francisco Tea Party entitled Pollution for truth? Egads!.

    We had no idea what our turnout would be like and I was somewhat horrified when I arrived at the Grand Lake Theater to not even see Loose Change up on the marquee. We did manage to get it up on the marquee within an hour with the help of the theater staff and our volunteers- even Dylan helped hold the ladder. There was a lot of equipment to set up for Remo Conscious and his band. Fortunately, Remo was there and had things under control technically. Dylan was early, as well, but informed me that Jason missed a plane and would be there late. There was a slight flurry of panic, as we tried to figure out how to get a copy of the DVD for the showing. We actually ended up using a copy that someone had brought to be autographed, less than ten minutes before the program began. Luckily we got a DVD of the Boston Tea Party Tuesday, which gave Ken Jenkins time to edit a 15 minute segment of the Boston and San Francisco Tea Parties, which we ran, while Remo sang.

    I don't think the Loose Change guys ever emailed their list about the premieres, and on their website, as of today, there is still no mention that they will be at the premiere in San Francisco.

    We had about 150 people in the audience, including Richard Gage, Mickey Huff, Paul Rae, Scott Page, the hard core members of the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance. Everyone liked the film and Dylan fielded Q & A afterwards and was heaped with praises. Jason Bermas arrived during the screening and basically stayed in the lobby to table DVDs, T shirts, hats, and talk to people. The poor guy had a long day- over 12 hours catching planes and waiting in airports.

    I wore my costume to the event and pitched the Tea Party before I introduced Dylan and when we stalled a bit to allow 40 people in line to get into the theater. The audience was very friendly and receptive and lingered until 11pm to socialize. I brought cookies and they were a hit.

    I just hope that we have a better turnout on Saturday in San Francisco, so that we "break even." Although if we don't break even, then I'll have a better excuse to slow down, say no, and not try to pull off another event on incredibly short notice. I must have been temporarily insane when I agreed to do this, but it did seem like a good idea at the time, and regardless of how it turns out financially, I think we should support the film and film makers who have done so much to build the truth movement. Dylan put forward the idea of converging on Washington DC on September 11th 2008- and that was well received.

    December 10, 2007

    I've had my hands full with organizing the Loose Change Premieres and the Tea Party. Scott's sister, Sandy, together with Scott, came up with some fantastic art for our Tea Party action:


    San Francisco Tea Party for 9/11 Truth
    Sunday, December 16, 2007, on the 234th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party

    Camille and Sandy have also been working on a big ad for the SFBG and club cards to pass out at the Tea Party. Richard filled the house in Santa Rosa for his recent talk. So much info is coming out right now.

    Bill, John, Bernie and I tabled and leafletted at the KPFA Holiday Crafts Fair Saturday and Sunday and got a good response from the people there. We still have lots of cards and posters to get out. Dylan is arriving today and he'll be on my radio show tonight. Tomorrow, the 11th, I'll be doing my Listening Project in Palo Alto, but in addition to Market and Powell, the guys are planning on targeting the Moscone Center during the lunch break of the American Geophysical Union conference.

    I wish we had more time, but it slips by so fast, and so many tasks left undone. I just hope people will respond to the Tea Party idea and, like last year, come up with costumes, musical instruments, props, signs, and join us. I'm still worried about logistics- like fishing the props out of the drink...

    December 4, 2007

    I've been in triage mode working on the premieres for Loose Change - Final Cut, and I was gone for 4 days to a continuation of the Storyfield Conference. I can't keep up with the website, the radio show, the work, the phone calls, the e-mails... and had to book airline tickets and am in the process of figuring out how to include Remo, the very talented musician, who did the soundtrack for Loose Change, in the shows. He's actually local- but the tricky part is getting the sound equipment set up and moved- in a timely fashion, and he needs to see if the rest of the band is available Saturday night, too. Plus Jason is coming instead of Korey and not all the correct info went out on the press advisories, posters, cards, mailing... I think we are trying to do the impossible- too much, in too little time. the only way that we're going to pull this off- is with a lot of help! But I think people are with us, support what we are doing, and that we should pull in the support we need. I hope so!

    November 25, 2007

    Organizing the Loose Change Premiere and the San Francisco Tea Party has been agonizingly slow, but I've updated the website, art for the card is ready to go as soon as we get word on whether or not other premieres will happen during the little window of opportunity. The press needs review copies of the DVD ASAP- if we're going to get any reviews or press.

    A lengthy article, worth reading appeared on the Dissident Voice website:

    Averting World War III,
    Ending Dollar Hegemony
    and US Imperialism

    by Rohini Hensman / November 16th, 2007

    Despite some good articles, the website is horrific on the issue of 9/11 Truth.

    I was also informed of a new "non-corporate, non-government news site" which holds great promise called The Real News Network. I don't know if they are going to touch 9/11 Truth or not, but it would be good to try to win them over.

    I am totally drowning in work, but I'm glad I took some time off the last few days to be with my family, friends, and sneak in a couple of hikes to maintain my health and sanity. I don't think I'll ever be able to catch up with the work.

    November 22, 2007

    I received a request from Ohio for some Election Deception Dollars for a press conference they held yesterday. They didn't get them on time, but improvised fabulously.

    My thanks to all my family, my friends, my fellow activists, all the people who love and cherish life and make the efforts to bring joy, love, health, justice, peace to the world.

    I'll be doing a radio show on Election fraud and how to change the system on December 3rd.

    November 20, 2007

    Janette hosted a wonderful party on Saturday night. I tried to "not turn it into a meeting," but it was great to be able to have vital conversations to move forward our plans for December and also to learn a bit more about one another. I won't mention names, but someone admitted that they were probably the only person in the room to have experienced "waterboarding" and torture, at the hands of the government, as part of his military training- I would never have guessed that! Don Spark, whom we awarded a "2007 Heroic Citizen for Impeachment Award" joined us and mentioned he was leaving his activist mode to get a job in the more normal world and I said that I wished we could get him to work for us. He's a very skilled, talented organizer, and has many basic skills that I totally lack. I think he appreciates what we do and is in alignment with our mission and could be tempted, if we could actually figure out how to hire him. I hope we can, since we have so much work to do, and I know I can't do it all. Part of the challenge is simply coordinating and making use of the volunteers who do want to help and contribute, but don't know how to plug in, and of course the hardest part is communications- within the group, with the press and the public, which is so dependent on our various abilities- with computers, writing, artwork, film-making, musical, theatrical talents...

    We don't have much time to organize a premiere of Loose Change, and the Tea Party, and John Parulis suggested that we hold an event where Sibel Edmonds could speak out with Daniel Ellsberg and Dennis Kucinich. I can see us doing something like that, if they were in favor, and trusted our ability to reach the public, bypassing the corporate controlled mainstream press, but time is a limiting factor. The Impeachment activists also are urging me to help organize a big Impeachment Forum in San Jose. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I don't see how we can pull off all the events that we would like to make happen- without a tremendous amount of concentrated effort on the part of the activist community.

    It is heartening to get emails announcing great new websites and entities like Musicians for 9/11 Truth and a campaign for Black Friday- A Shopping Boycott From November 23rd- Christmas against the villainous corporations "to Impeach the Bush Administration, End the War in the Middle East, Eliminate Poverty, Crime, Hunger and Environmental Destruction Through Economic Resistance." Give money and time to the Resistance- don't buy corporate junk.

    Sadly Brian is putting all his energy into counterproductive attacks, and I am doing my best to ignore him, and not let bother me, and I try to channel my anger into something productive like the work at hand.

    The Loose Change Film-Makers are enthusiastic about coming to the Bay Area for premieres of their film and to participate in the San Francisco Tea Party for Truth, we would like to coordinate showings from Santa Cruz, to Oakland, San Franciso, and Marin, if possible- to get maximum publicity of their film, our issues, the Tea Party, while they are out here. To coordinate with us- contact Loose Change directly or me, if you can find a Theater/Venue between the 11th and the 17th of December.

    Yesterday, we had a demo in front of Zoe Lofgren's San Jose office, and hope to push her into supporting Impeachment, but she was one of the co-sponsors of the horrific- H.R.1955 - Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. This piece of legislation was written about in this Baltimore Sun article entitled :

    Here come the thought police
      By Ralph E. Shaffer and R. William Robinson
      November 19, 2007

    With overwhelming bipartisan support, Rep. Jane Harman's "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act" passed the House 404-6 late last month and now rests in Sen. Joe Lieberman's Homeland Security Committee. Swift Senate passage appears certain.

    Not since the "Patriot Act" of 2001 has any bill so threatened our constitutionally guaranteed rights.

    The historian Henry Steele Commager, denouncing President John Adams' suppression of free speech in the 1790s, argued that the Bill of Rights was not written to protect government from dissenters but to provide a legal means for citizens to oppose a government they didn't trust. Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence not only proclaimed the right to dissent but declared it a people's duty, under certain conditions, to alter or abolish their government.

    In that vein, diverse groups vigorously oppose Ms. Harman's effort to stifle dissent. Unfortunately, the mainstream press and leading presidential candidates remain silent.

    Ms. Harman, a California Democrat, thinks it likely that the United States will face a native brand of terrorism in the immediate future and offers a plan to deal with ideologically based violence.

    But her plan is a greater danger to us than the threats she fears. Her bill tramples constitutional rights by creating a commission with sweeping investigative power and a mandate to propose laws prohibiting whatever the commission labels "homegrown terrorism."

    The proposed commission is a menace through its power to hold hearings, take testimony and administer oaths, an authority granted to even individual members of the commission - little Joe McCarthys - who will tour the country to hold their own private hearings. An aura of authority will automatically accompany this congressionally authorized mandate to expose native terrorism.

    Ms. Harman's proposal includes an absurd attack on the Internet, criticizing it for providing Americans with "access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda," and legalizes an insidious infiltration of targeted organizations. The misnamed "Center of Excellence," which would function after the commission is disbanded in 18 months, gives the semblance of intellectual research to what is otherwise the suppression of dissent.

    While its purpose is to prevent terrorism, the bill doesn't criminalize any specific conduct or contain penalties. But the commission's findings will be cited by those who see a terrorist under every bed and who will demand enactment of criminal penalties that further restrict free speech and other civil liberties. Action contrary to the commission's findings will be interpreted as a sign of treason at worst or a lack of patriotism at the least.

    While Ms. Harman denies that her proposal creates "thought police," it defines "homegrown terrorism" as "planned" or "threatened" use of force to coerce the government or the people in the promotion of "political or social objectives." That means that no force need actually have occurred as long as the government charges that the individual or group thought about doing it.

    Any social or economic reform is fair game. Have a march of 100 or 100,000 people to demand a reform - amnesty for illegal immigrants or overturning Roe v. Wade - and someone can perceive that to be a use of force to intimidate the people, courts or government.

    The bill defines "violent radicalization" as promoting an "extremist belief system." But American governments, state and national, have a long history of interpreting radical "belief systems" as inevitably leading to violence to facilitate change.

    Examples of the resulting crackdowns on such protests include the conviction and execution of anarchists tied to Chicago's 1886 Haymarket Riot. Hearings conducted by the House Un-American Activities Committee for several decades during the Cold War and the solo hearings by a member of that committee's Senate counterpart, Joseph McCarthy, demonstrate the dangers inherent in Ms. Harman's legislation.

    Ms. Harman denies that her bill is a threat to the First Amendment. It clearly states that no measure to prevent homegrown terrorism should violate "constitutional rights, civil rights or civil liberties."

    But the present administration has demonstrated, in its response to criticism regarding torture, that it can't be trusted to honor those rights.

    Ralph E. Shaffer, professor emeritus of history at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and R. William Robinson, an elected director of a Southern California water district, wrote this article for the History News Service.

    Copyright © 2007, The Baltimore Sun

I'm certainly glad this article made it into print, but I don't think we have a chance of stopping this from passing. Only impeachment and a reversal of this Administration's policies could change the current trajectory. Hillary Clinton is the darling of the War Mongerers and has no intention of changing the direction that this country is going, if elected, and I am afraid that is the case with all of Congress unless they give in to enormous public pressure which we must drum up through our actions, our own media, until we so saturate the consciousness of the public that the mainstream press is forced to abandon its most egregious lies and begin acknowledging the criminal truth about those wielding government power. However they might not ever do that, and so then it will be up to us, to make them irrelevant, and strengthen the public voice and power.

I really enjoyed my conversation/interview with Frank Morales last night on the radio show and am inspired to know that he is an integral part of the New York 9/11 Truth Movement.

The conference that I'm going to at the end of the month is a continuation of the Storyfield Conference, and is about empowering people to get their positive visions for themselves and humanity out. My friend Tom Atlee sent this link-www.movementvisionlab.org- to a great little video called "A Tale of Power and Vision" which attempts to do just that. It's a wonderful metaphor- looking at how we can get from where we are- to where we want to be in the future.

November 16, 2007

I was so busy yesterday, making plane reservations, taking Jeremy to the orthodontist, feeding him, before he had to leave for the play he's working on at school, and I couldn't get a straight answer from Brian as to whether or not he was going to the meeting, so I could figure out carpooling with Chuck and whether I needed to write a letter or not to the group. Fortunately, Chuck called Brian, received assurance that he wouldn't go to the meeting- so I went.

We were late, (I had to feed Daniel, Jean-Luc, Chuck and I, too). Kai facilitated, lots of people were there, including some new faces, and we got a lot done, and it felt like we did some group healing, too.

Becky from Code Pink shared a 9/11 Truth Impeachment Carol that she had written which bouyed all of our spirits. It's great when the Raging Grannies and Code Pink are carrying our messages out into the world. John Wright stepped forward to shoulder the Tea Party, along with Jeremy and Scott, and I'm going to help, although I need some help with web graphics to get up the webpage and a 2007 banner.

Ken also mentioned that Loose Change- Final Cut was something we could all support and the group voted $1000 towards the Tea Party and $2000 towards a premiere of Loose Change at the Grand Lake Theater. Allen said we could have the theater on December 12th, but I still need to connect with the Loose Change guys and work out the details.

There was a lot of discussion, news, revelations from witnesses interviewed by Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth. Janette also invited everyone to her fundraising party, to make up for the money she put into the Arizona Conference that was not reimbursed by Kent. The group voted $3000 to help make up for the bulk of the loss. They also gave me $300 to cover the PR guy I hired to help me out for the Rodriguez event, and $200 for Cosmos for TruthAction.org stickers and $100 for Camille to come up with art for a new card for TruthAction.org. So now we don't have much money left, and lots of work to do.

Today, Camille and I made it to San Jose for the action against Jeppeson, the travel agency that facilitates rendition (torture) flights for the CIA. There were over a hundred people from the Peace, Justice, Impeachment community. I saw lots of old friends. I hurriedly made a sign that said:

WHY TORTURE?
To frighten civilians into
silence and submission
TORTURERS
ARE
TERRORISTS

Suddenly, I am overwhelmed again- with committments for rallies, actions, events, and another small conference at the end of the month, and not enough time to even post all the events on this website. So much for my break..

November 13, 2007

My family is very happy that I have switched from doing the Listening Project on a weekly basis to every month. The conflict which is keeping me away from doing 9/11 street actions and probably the next meeting, is also giving me time and energy to do other things in life- like spending more time with my kids, husband, and friends, and attending Impeachment meetings and the Veterans for Peace meeting.

Here are some key points that I gathered from the Impeachment meeting-

    General Info-

    Best Impeachment News Sources- www.afterdowningstreet.org, rawstory.com (also impeachforpeace.org )

    Great Impeachment Resource Site Phil Burk's site- www.impeachbush.tv
    Includes section on How to and Why

    87 towns have voted for impeachment
    11 state have introduced legislation at the state level to push for impeachment, Vermont succeeded at passing legislation at the state level.

    Procedures-
    What are impeachable offenses? Broad range- but hard to get public support for violation of international law, even though violation of treaties falls under "a violation of the US Constitution." (Politically so many are against the UN that the argument doesn't fly.)
    High Crimes- undermining rights and specific statutes. Now they are trying to retroactively change laws that they have blatantly violated. Undermining FISA law.
    Lying to Congress to go to war is FRAUD. Lying to Congreess should be a major reason for Impeachment, and very provable. Many examples of half truths that Bush and Cheney have told to sell the war/make the case for the war on Iraq, for example.

    Impeachment Movement- was in a lull. The Movement turned a corner when Kucinich introduced it and Hoyer tried to table it.

    Congressman Wexler is the new hero, who wants impeachment hearings in the Judiciary Committee. Earlier he wanted to push for impeachment of both Cheney and Bush, but came up with censure instead. He's from West Palm Beach, Florida. He can speak to progressives and conservatives- needs help and support. Kucinich's bill (House Resolution 333) was languishing in committee. It now has a new number - House Resolution 799- and new life.

    Key people for us to pressure- Zoe Lofgren (on the Judiciary Committee) and Nancy Pelosi (most powerful person in Congress- and in our own backyard).

    How? Multiple possibilities- maybe can do all of them, and encourage others to be creative and come up with even better ones....

    John Conyers is the key person actually scheduling hearings, needs visible support, pressure to do the right thing.

    Suggestion- send him flowers, books, letters, messages.

    Grasssroots- letter writing campaign (worked with Lynn Woolsey). Handwritten letters are many, many, many times more effective than just petitions, emails, phone calls. They should all come from the people in the district of the politician however- the constituents. [For SF- places to get letters from public using ironing board/volunteers- 6th & Irving, Haight, Farmers' Markets, Universities, busy street corners.]

    However all of the Judiciary committee needs to be urged to move forward with impeachment. There are 40 members- 17 are Republicans. Of those that we need to win over, are the ones who voted to table impeachment these include-

        Howard Berman (CA 28)- "forget it - won't change position"
        Artur Davis AL 07- "a mystery"
        William Delahunt MA 10- "will come around"
        Zoe Lofgren- CA 16- "KEY"
        Jerrold Nadler NY 08- "KEY- at the national level and also dead set against impeachment"
        Linda Sanchez- CA 39- "could be moved"
        Debbie Wasserman Schultz FL 20- "very obstinant"

        These folks voted Against Tabling-

        Tammy Baldwin WI 02
        Stev Cohen TN 09
        John Conyers MI 14
        Keith Ellison MN 05
        Luis Gutierrez IL 04
        Sheila Jackson-Lee TX 18
        Hank Johnson GA 04
        Bobby Scott VA 03
        Brad Sherman CA 27
        Betty Sutton OH 13
        Maxine Waters CA 35
        Melvin Watt NC 12
        Anthony Weiner NY 09
        Robert Wexler FL 19

I've been missing the Silicon Valley Impeachment meetings, but they are very active and planning an Impeachment Teach-In for Zoe Lofgren. They have also put ads in the local paper.

There are actually plenty of things that we can do to increase the visibility of the issue and get the ball rolling, the public support is there, but mobilizing them means bypassing the media, or pushing the media into covering the issue/facts- which they have been so reluctant to do for so long. Maybe shaming them, so that if they don't cover it, than they will be discounted as government propaganda props.

I still think Impeachment is the best hope for the country.

This article appeared on Chossudovsky's globalresearch.ca site and has received a lot of interest:

Crisis in the U.S.: “Plan B”?
by Richard C. Cook

    Strange events are taking place in the U.S.

    By August 2007, a lot of very smart people were reading the tea leaves, convinced that the upper echelons of the U.S. government had their own hidden reasons for forecasting an event even more heinous than the attacks of September 11, 2001.

    President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff had been hinting that another 9/11 could be coming.

    Figures from the U.S. military had also projected a 9/11-type event. On April 23, 2006, for instance, the Washington Post published a statement by an unnamed Pentagon source that, “Another attack could create both a justification and an opportunity that is lacking today to retaliate against some known targets.”

    9/11 was a turning point in history, and not just because it provided a pretext for the Bush administration to use off-the-shelf plans to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. The 9/11 Commission criticized the government for failing to do enough to act on danger signs that attacks may have been afoot. But a movement has formed which argues that the reality was worse—that 9/11 was an inside job staged to further the geopolitical ambitions of an elite seeking to use U.S. military power to advance its own imperialistic agenda.

    What is indisputable is that from the 2000 presidential election through the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath, what New York Times columnist Paul Krugman termed a “revolutionary power” took control of the U.S. government.

    Krugman’s statement, contained in the introduction to his 2005 book The Great Unraveling, has not been taken seriously enough. George W. Bush had lost the popular vote to Al Gore but was named to office by a Supreme Court that rubber-stamped what Greg Palast and others have proven was an extended process of electoral fraud in Florida. The subsequent actions and policies of the Bush/Cheney administration have been in accord with its dubious beginnings.

    From the emergence of the Neocons as an ideological power base dominant over U.S. foreign policy, to destruction wreaked on the Bill of Rights by illegal surveillance of citizens, to the senseless creation of the bureaucratically monstrous Department of Homeland Security and passage of the Patriot Acts, to the initiation of “wars of choice” leading to the devastation of two nations and the killing or displacement of perhaps a million Middle Eastern non-combatants, to violation of international treaties and conventions against wars of aggression and torture of prisoners, to presiding over an economy ruined by the continued export of manufacturing jobs and the creation and deflation of the housing bubble, to the wrecking of the federal budget by over a trillion dollars of wartime expenditure, to the abandonment of the city of New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina, to tax cuts for the most wealthy while the income of the middle class has drastically eroded, and to threats to start another war, this time against Iran, based on deceptions similar to those which preceded the Iraq invasion, the Bush/Cheney administration has brought the U.S. to the brink of catastrophe.

    What is now being asked is whether there was a plan that was to take place in September-October 2007 whereby the rest of the job would have been done. Speculation was that a nuclear device was to have been detonated in a U.S. city, perhaps one of the six attached to cruise missiles that were “inadvertently” carried by the Air Force B-52 bomber that flew from South Dakota to Louisiana just before Labor Day.

    Check this link from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette for the official explanation of the incident: http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2007/oct/19/air-force-punishes-70-accidental-nuclear-weapons-f/.

    According to the Air Force’s report, the missiles were being mothballed due to “a treaty,” but ground personnel at Minot Air Force Base “grabbed the wrong ones” and loaded missiles with nuclear warheads by mistake.

    Some have argued that these nukes were secretly bound for Iran to prepare for a nuclear attack on that country. But would such a Keystone Cops routine have been necessary to prepare for military action as a contingency to implement a possible decision coming from the highest political levels?

    Suppose, on the other hand, that one of the nukes was targeted for a false-flag domestic attack, perhaps a city like Portland, Oregon, where military exercises simulating a major terrorist incident had been scheduled and where residents actually were warning each other to leave town.

    Was the attack to trigger an economic collapse, leading as a side-effect to a payoff of billions of dollars for the placers of the “bin Laden bets” that were reportedly made in the financial markets anticipating a fifty percent decline in stock prices? Of course such an attack would be blamed on foreign terrorists. The trail of the explosion would be found to lead to Iran, resulting in war against that nation. Would the Constitution then have been suspended and martial law declared? Would citizens have been rounded up and herded into prison camps?

    Such a scenario seems unfathomable, horrendous, even incredible. But it still may have been in character for a regime whose actions have led the world to view the U.S. as the greatest existing threat to peace. Rumors about such possible events have been churning on the internet for months.

    But the rumors have not been confined to “conspiracy theorists.” Regarding President Bush’s commitment to the sanctity of constitutional processes, Congressman John Olver expressed the prevailing view in government circles when he told twenty of his constituents at a private meeting in Massachusetts on July 5, 2007, that he could not support a movement to impeach Bush. According to an attendee, the reason the Congressman gave was that, “The President would declare a national emergency, institute martial law, and suspend the 2008 elections.”

    Therefore we might ask if it is true, as some sources have alleged, that the reason these events have not taken place was that there was a revolt by the U.S. military, which refused to carry out the false-flag attack that may have been intended?

    What then has happened differently which indicates that events may have altered or postponed such a sinister denouement to the nightmare of the last seven years?

    What has happened appears to be that the U.S. establishment has decided to move to “Plan B.” This may be defined as a decision that the sway of the Bush/Cheney regime must end and that some semblance of normality should be restored, at least in appearance, by making Hillary Clinton the next President...

    I think, if we can mess up the already messed up schemes of these madmen that we are doing the right thing. I just hope we can mess them up more. I remember feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders years ago, when there wasn't much opposition to the Neo-Cons and their wars. Now I feel that the weight has been lifted and that there is a critical mass of opposition- that these guys are stoppable, if not "doomed," although the replacements for the evil Rumsfeld, Gonzales, do not bode well for the future. I have "zero" faith in the Democrats, particularly the Clintons. The only ones looking worse in the polls than Bush and Cheney are their enablers- Congress- which should definitely be ousted unless they get their act together, do their job- impeach (at least) these guys and reverse their policies. I'll continue to work for that.

    At the Impeachment meeting, I met a wonderful woman who has been working on Election Reform for the past six years or so. I will have her on my radio show- what she knows does not bode well for "democracy" or the illusion of "democracy" in this country. Without citizens getting involved to challenge the tyrants and corruption within the US government, we and the world don't really have a chance.

    Yesterday, I also made some phone calls, as I was catching up on the bookkeeping. One guy has sent us a couple of checks, and I was concerned that he might have made a mistake and forgotten that he had already sent one generous donation. He told me that he was old, happy to give away his money for a good cause (He'd given $50,000 to the 9/11 Truth movement) and he asked me for the names and addresses of activists doing the work fulltime who needed support. His generosity rekindled my hope. I think many people, when they realize what dire shape we are in, will shift their time, money, energy to following the heroic path and helping humanity to get off this war path.

    I don't think there has ever been as much organizing going on, as there is now, even if it isn't making headlines- it is widespread and addressing the huge range of inter-related issues. No one could possibly focus on all of the problems nor all the solutions. I need to add all the great, inspiring conferences coming up to my events page...

    November 10, 2007

    Yesterday, I received a link to an article on the changing media landscape, quite relevant to the upcoming radio show on the "Media Renaissance." Here's an excerpt from

    Ron Paul Vs. the Gatekeepers:

      For over four centuries, the structure of Establishment rule has rested on one assumption above all others: the high cost of delivering images to large numbers of people. This assumption has become increasingly ludicrous ever since 1996.

      THE ESTABLISHMENTS

      A series of seemingly competitive Establishments are interlocked domestically and also internationally, despite competition at the margins among them. There is basic agreement on competitive rules and strategies. The Bilderberger organization conducts closed meetings where representatives of these Establishments get together to discuss in private the range of outcomes acceptable for the various international Punch and Judy shows.

      These Establishments are an institutional mixture of long-term senior advisors to this year’s crop of presidents and prime ministers, multinational bankers, foreign policy specialists, oil industry decision-makers, university educators, mainstream media representatives and their well-paid and completely housebroken salaried intellectuals, plus hundreds of low-level candidates who dream of entry into the inner ring. (Read C. S. Lewis’ wonderful essay, "The Inner Ring." It is on the Web.) Entry into any of these Establishments is screened by senior members. The system is self-policed.

      The key to this policing is control over the barriers to entry.

      Officially and legally, these various organizations are private and voluntary. Their carefully crafted barriers to entry are not mentioned in the United States Constitution. These barriers are not mentioned in the foundational judicial documents of any nation. This means that, legally speaking, non-Establishment interlopers can breach these barriers and take over the society. The ideology of democracy guarantees this. Democracy is the reigning religion of our era.

      But, as Forest Gump’s mother would say, "Democracy is as democracy does." In every democratic nation, non-democratic barriers to entry into the various controlling Establishments have kept democracy on a very tight leash.

      Here, I am speaking of politics. But society is far more than politics. Politics is only one aspect of society. The Establishments’ system of controls is not limited to politics. Nevertheless, they maintain their control primarily through politics. This is their supreme institutional weakness. They are holed up inside a castle that has been built in terms of political control over the social order.

      The social question is: How can the public get off the existing leash?

      As economists would put it, at what price can the public get off the leash?

      If the cost of maintaining the leash increases, the public is more likely to get off the leash.

      The cost of maintaining the leash is now rising exponentially. Why? Because the cost of individuals’ operating off the leash is collapsing.

      THE CRUCIAL BARRIER TO ENTRY

      Today’s Establishments are an unofficial confederation of multiple interlocking directorates. These are self-policed directorates. The designers of this almost 500-year-old piecemeal system have based their control on a single highly specific barrier to entry: the cost of delivering pieces of paper. This barrier is now collapsing.

      The last major communications-based revolution in the West began on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 proposed debate topics onto the door of the church in Wittenberg. He thought he was launching a serious academic debate in Latin. He was in fact launching a social revolution: a change in law, attitudes, and religion.

      Luther could not have launched the Protestant Reformation had Gutenberg not invented movable type two generations earlier. The nameless printers who translated Luther’s 95 theses into German and then mass marketed them were the key to this revolution. By never paying Luther royalties for his writings and pocketing all the profits, they made him the most important person of the sixteenth century. Most historians would put him in the top five or ten men over the last 500 years. But Gutenberg is higher on the list: no Gutenberg = no Luther.

      It was impossible for the existing Establishment to stop Luther and his followers at a price they were willing to pay: the systematic destruction of all unregulated printing. Subsequent political rulers recognized the threat and tried to control printers, but, political revolution by revolution, they failed. The cost-effectiveness of printing was too great. The lure of profit for printers was too great. Printers cheated. They broke the law.

      The European Establishments in 1517 had been built on the older, pre-Gutenberg image-communications system. By 1517, the cost of delivering pieces of paper had fallen too far for the Establishments to adjust to the new pricing conditions. They had not recognized the enormous threat to their power for two generations. Luther spotted his opportunity by the end of 1517. The printers had made it visible to him within a matter of weeks. He took advantage of it. He became the greatest master of the pamphlet in the history of the world. He retains the title.

      Peter Drucker years ago wrote that when a new technology reduces costs by 90%, it cannot be stopped. It will take over any market that has been maintained by an existing technology. The Internet has reduced communications costs – not counting our time – by far more than 90%. It cannot be stopped.

      Any Establishment that fails to adjust to this new pricing structure for communications will not survive. This means that the single most important foundation of the present reigning Establishments is in its final stages unless the Establishments adjust. So far, they haven’t.

      The information gatekeepers in every field except one are losing market share: newspapers, FCC-regulated television networks, K-12 public education, and movies. Radio long ago fell to the right-wing talk shows. All that the Establishment has left in radio are the news shows on National Public Radio: narcoleptic radio. ("The surgeon general has warned: Do not drive while listening to NPR.")

      In only one area do they still maintain almost complete control: higher education. This control is maintained by means of a system of state-enforced accreditation. But there is a monster inside the gates of the halls of ivy: the for-profit University of Phoenix. It has at least 250,000 students enrolled today. It is mainly Web-based. It takes in over $2 billion in tuition each year. It is the harbinger of the future.

      Drucker’s rule is about to manifest itself in higher education. He saw it coming. Distance learning cuts costs by 90%. "Universities won’t survive. The future is outside the traditional campus, outside the traditional classroom. Distance learning is coming on fast."

      http://www.mises.org/story/2013

      I have shown how a student can earn a distance learning B.A. degree from an accredited university for about $15,000 in three years – maybe two.

      http://www.LowestCostColleges.com

      The Establishments are losing control. They hold the leash, but it is wearing thin. Ron Paul’s $4 million day is indicative of how voters have begun to slip the Establishment’s leash.

      The time cost of reading is an inescapable cost. Time is our only truly irreplaceable resource. Here, the Establishments have no insurmountable cost advantage over anyone else. If anything, they are on the defensive. They are not digital media savvy. This is why they are losing ground.

      Through the dual technologies of Web addresses and graphics-based browsers, the Internet in just one decade, 1996 to 2006, stripped the cost of communicating ideas to the bedrock limit: the time cost of reading. I am sure there will be many more innovations, but the main one is now behind us: delivery costs. This outcome was not foreseen by anyone in the U.S. military who designed the original Internet back in 1969. The outcome just happened.

      Assuming that the Internet stays up, the revolution was.

      The fallout has begun.

      ADAPTING

      Decentralization is now the wave of the future. No single plan of social transformation will dominate the Internet. There are too many players. The cost of entry is too low. Google will be a big part of successful plans. That is about all I feel confident in saying.

      This will be a trial-and-error procedure, which is weighted in favor of error. Most plans fail. This is good for liberty and bad for tyranny. Tyranny is limited to one plan per power unit: whatever the central planners agree to. Liberty is based on open entry: "Come one, come all!" The fact that most plans fail is the Achilles heel of central planning. Consumers determine who succeeds or fails – mostly fails – in the free market. Never has there been a market with entry costs lower than the Internet’s. The number of ways for private decision-makers to succeed is enormous and growing, due to low entry costs. The number of ways for central planners to fail is growing just as fast.

      Innovation is a characteristic feature of decentralization. Stagnation is a characteristic feature of civil government. This is because of rival systems of funding, as Ludwig von Mises showed in his 1944 book, Bureaucracy. Funding for voluntary, decentralized agencies is dependent on creative promoters in the agencies or supportive of the agencies. Success is based on whatever pleases consumers or donors.

      In contrast, funding for civil government is based on taxes, unamortized debt, and monetary inflation. All three produce losses for most consumers and therefore growing resistance.

      Thus, my motto:

      "Nothing is sure except death and taxes and people’s attempt to cheat both."

      The inability of large, tax-funded, centralized government agencies to respond rapidly to innovative pathways around government controls is universal. The lower the costs of entry, the more overwhelmed the state and its licensed institutions become. Every Establishment therefore relies on the state to create barriers to entry. These barriers are being undermined daily by the Internet. This has happened so rapidly, under the radar of bureaucrats, that all of the various Establishments have been caught flat-footed.

      If there was a single event that illustrates this tipping point, it was Matt Drudge’s 1998 story on President Clinton and the unnamed intern. Within hours, the attempted weekend suppression of the story by Newsweek ended in howls of derisive laughter. To Newsweek, the world said: "Close, but no cigar." The breach in the gatekeepers’ wall became visible to tens of millions of people within days.

      This breach has gotten wider ever since.

      The gatekeepers are frantic. The mainstream news media immediately branded Drudge an amateur. He was not credentialed in any way. He was just a high school graduate operating out of a room in an apartment. This attack had no effect. Today, his site is ranked in the top 1,300 by Alexa. It has a higher ranking than the Los Angeles Times or CBS. As for MSNBC, it’s about 16,000 – lower than LewRockwell.com, the Ron Paul information site.

      WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

      The stakes are enormous. The stakes are these: control over the flow of information, money, and power – in that order in importance. This issue can be encapsulated by one question:

      "Will semi-public monopolistic agencies that are licensed by the central governments of the world be able to control the flow of information to individual decision-makers who have both money and brains?

      If you want it in percentages, it is this:

      "Will the 1% on top be able to protect today’s semi-monopolistic positions of the 4% who shape the thinking of the 20% who decide on behalf of the 80% who officially have the votes, but who rarely show up on election day?"

      There are three primary trends that suggest that the answer is "no." First is the Internet. Second is the inability of most civil governments to protect the broad mass of the population from rising crime. Third are the promises by politicians regarding long-term retirement income – promises not funded by the accumulation of income-generating assets.

      Consider the Internet. The denizens of the World Wide Web have more money than the typical voter. They have more formal education. They also have skills in navigating the Web. They have Google. They have e-mail. They are international.

      These people are on the cutting edge of social change. In the way that literate people were on the cutting edge in 1517, so are people who use the Internet as their primary source of information.

      In effect, the world’s Establishments have based their control on their ability to control the flow of information to illiterates – digital illiterates. They are in the condition that the Catholic Church was in back in 1517. The Church controlled the preachers, more or less, through a system of compulsory accreditation and licensing. The state backed up the Church. Most people in Western Europe got their information from preachers in 1517. Then one of the preachers, Drudge-like, got his hands on a lot of printing presses – not directly, but indirectly. The printers built his audience for him. They kept the money; he kept the audience.

      Power after 1517 spread to local units of civil government in what we today call Germany. Protestant princes challenged the Catholic Emperor. The Church relied on the Emperor to enforce its system of accreditation and licensing. It rested on a weak reed. The process of decentralization, informed by low-cost pieces of paper, could not be reversed.

      Today, the same process has accelerated. Digits have replaced pieces of paper. Electrons have replaced atoms.

      It is very expensive for governments to control digits, which recognize no borders or jurisdictions. Yet without such control, the Establishments’ jointly held leash gets frayed.

      Digits can cross borders. This means that two things are now beyond low-cost control by any national government: information and money. Information and money are conveyed in digital form.

      The gatekeepers have always used control over information and money as their primary means of control. In our era, for the first time in recorded history, the self-screened gatekeepers have lost control over both the flow of information and the flow of money. They can try to influence both, but influence is not control.

      Ron Paul’s campaign indicates that Establishment influence is waning where it counts most in the long run: the flow of information. The evidence for this is the flow of money: $4 million in one day. That got the attention of the gatekeepers. Money talks. In their world, it talks louder than anything except votes.

      WHEN DIGITAL MONEY FAILS

      Karl Marx called this the cash nexus. It’s the digital nexus today. Central banks control the creation of digital money. They cannot control the response of speculators to monetary policy. At most, they can influence speculators at the margin.

      The key political fact in every Western nation is this: the supply of political promises has exceeded the supply of capital to fulfill these promises. The system of political promises is unamortized.

      This will produce a crisis of faith. Today, there is society-wide faith in democracy and faith in civil government. Both faiths are waning. The evidence of this decline in faith is seen in rising prices and rising crime rates. This process seems to be irreversible throughout the West. This is the conclusion of Jacques Barzun in the final section of From Dawn to Decadence (2000). It is also the conclusion of Martin van Creveld in the final section of The Rise and Decline of the State (1999).

      The politicians dare not openly repudiate their promises of retirement safety nets. To do so would be political suicide. Yet these nets cannot be funded for even one more generation. Their repudiation will therefore be papered over, not with paper money but with digital money.

      When the flow of digital money from the world’s capital cities ceases to maintain the flow of economic goods and services to those with bank accounts filled with digits, the world will change dramatically, just as it changed in the generation after Luther nailed his debate topics on the church door.

      What matters most now is the flow of information, not the flow of funds. The flow of funds is pretty much set. Neither the government nor the public has much discretionary income. The budget next month will look pretty much like the budget this month and last month.

      What is changing is the budget for time. People are re-allocating their precious time in terms of the new cost conditions. Here, price competition has created a new world order.

      Most denizens of the Web already have their favorite sites and e-letters. To get them to change is costly. Their attention cannot be bought with money alone, any more than the attention of pamphlet readers in Northern Europe could be bought with money alone after 1517.

      Today’s political Establishment cannot respond effectively on the Web. It can respond in the traditional media, but these are shrinking in influence.

      The handwriting is on the screen: "Thou hast been weighed in the balance and found wanting."

    This morning I also received an email with this look at The Bilderbergers-

    I’ll have the Bilderberger, well done!
     By Jerry Mazza
    Online Journal Associate Editor

      I read Daniel Estulin’s The True Story of the Bilderberg Group over a long weekend trip to South Dakota to visit in-laws. The amazing history of the Bilderberg Group, its kindred Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Trilateral Commission (TR), filled my mind with its awful vision of One World Government, one government uber alles, that is, over all sovereign nations, from America to Zambia.

      Interestingly, the Wednesday that began our trip was Halloween. And lord knows the Bilderbergers had been spooking the world since 1954, though their ghost-like founders had been in operation since the days of Woodrow Wilson and well before.

      The well-done Bilderberger called for in the headline is the one behind the fixed smile, pointy nose mask. He is one of the most aggressive Bilderberg leaders of our time, David Rockefeller, scion of the Rockefeller clan. He has also been the spook behind hundreds of think tanks, the giver of grants for studies to implement mind-control techniques, government-toppling scenarios, and other nasty business. Rockefeller is a leading man in this real-life horror movie, gathering some 200 government and corporate honchos, European Royalty, international CEO’s, bureaucrats of the highest order, to pull the strings of various governments; this along with prodding the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, European Central banks; in short to tie us all in neocon knots.

      And speaking of neocon knots, I thought of passing through LaGuardia airport en route to South Dakota. After presenting passports and/or drivers licenses, we were obliged to spill shoes, change, wallets, belts, jackets, watches and disgust into plastic boxes. As I passed through security without a beep, the surly guard was doing his best to be unpleasant and make us feel like a threat to the country we loved. Once past security, we entered the electronic Matrix, each robotized traveler with cellphone in hand, earpiece, earphones, blackberry, I-pod, Palmcorders, et al, in digital touch with Big Brother and his holding companies somewhere, everywhere.

      This too was part of the Bilderberg-manufactured (Bush implemented) terror state guaranteed to cripple Americans and citizens of the world with angst, fear and apathy, color codes to match. But why wasn’t David Rockefeller, his gang and forbearers being grilled for their sins of treason and dissimulation, literally the ongoing attempt to destroy the Constitution and overthrow our democratic government? Why weren’t their feet (Kissinger’s, Brzezinski’s, Schulz’s, et al,) put to the fire for their treason? What gate of a thousand eyes should they pass through to reveal their offenses? Daniel Estulin’s, of course, that’s whose, and anyone else who felt the need, the importance to reveal these cretins’ crimes.

      Somehow for 15 years Estulin managed to find the location of yearly Bilderberg meetings as they were announced, always just a week before they happened, always in some small town outside a major city, cloak and daggered with armed and vicious security guards. The meetings, first held in the Bilderberg Hotel in the small Dutch town of Oosterbeek in 1954, during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, did not allow press coverage of any kind. Today that remains true, even though major news and media figures may attend, that is, to plan to alter public opinion on some issue.

      In fact, here is Estulin’s latest report on Bilderberg 2007: Welcome to the Lunatic Fringe. Read it, please. It includes a list of this year’s objectives and a complete list of attendees. Estulin’s razor-sharp observations will boggle your mind.

      Bilderberg privacy reigns, too, to make attendees feel “free enough” to utter their innermost thoughts (a truly scary thought). Uninvited, Estulin arrives days in advance of meetings, bonds with hotel staff, even security once he gives them the past history of this group. And then there are those who know the history and come to him, eager to reveal the ugly “innermost thoughts” of someone who’d like to see a government toppled, a revolution financed, a leader disappeared (as in Aldo Moro of Italy), a president made or toppled (as in the case of Richard Nixon when he bucked Bilderbergers on his price control plan that was working). In short, the agenda is to weaken all world leadership but they’re own. Bilderberger needs, mandates, and laws, in their eyes, precede even those of the US government.

      Yet planning and attending these meetings is in essence a crime. Estulin points out, “A US law, called the Logan Act, states explicitly that it is against the law for federal officials to attend secret meetings with private citizens to develop public policies. Although Bilderberg 2005 was missing one of its luminaries, US State Department official John Bolton who was testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the American government was well represented in Rottach-Egern by Alan Hubbard, assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council; William Luti, deputy under secretary of defense; James Wolfensohn, outgoing president of the World Bank and Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of state, an ideologue of the Iraq war and incoming president of the World Bank. By attending Bilderberg 2005 meeting, these people are breaking federal laws of the United States.”

      But then sovereign governments and their nation-states are in Bilderberger minds outmoded. We see this in the operation of the North American Treaty Agreement (NAFTA). The multinational participating corporations’ needs and mandates supersede the laws and mandates of the nations and peoples involved, whether they be the United States, Mexico or Canada. Curiously, the tarantula of NAFTA was gifted to us by none other than former President Bill Clinton, after his stints with the CFR and Trilateral Commission. Though President Bush is not formally a member of this triple threat, his father was, and Junior delivered CAFTA to us, the Central American Trade Agreement, extending the tentacles of participation further south.

      And now we see George W. Bush attempting to wrap the US, Canada and Mexico into a North American Union. What they are doing is building a global free market for the multinationals and their profiteers, in order to loot the rest of the world’s people. National identities, cultures, aspirations, ideals be damned. This is the real meaning of their One World Government, one which maximizes their wealth and everyone else’s poverty and enslavement. Not a pretty picture. But then they’re not pretty people. They are predators.

      Estulin points out that their founding precursors, JP Morgan among them, poured millions of dollars into the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia to topple the Czar who was trying to bring Russia into modernity, but unfortunately asked for 12-hour working days and every ounce of strength of the working people. This opened the door to the Bolsheviks to protest. It also opened opportunities for Morgan and his brand of capitalism to weaken the Russian people. In its second try at a coup, the Bolsheviks, with Morgan’s and other large financial and material assistance, succeeded in toppling the Czar and making Russia a satellite of their interests, not a super-power. This action provided a paradigm for future actions, right up to today.

      Here is the first of Bilderberg 2007 activities that Estulin reports in his linked article: "Aside from the Iraq quagmire, energy problems continue to dominate Bilderberger discussions. Oil and natural gas are finite,