For Immediate Release
February 10, 2009
 
The Military Commissions System at Guantanamo Bay was an attempt by the Bush Administration to create an “extralegal zone”, wherein the rule of law was ignored.  Many Guantanamo detainees were subject to detention without charges, rendition and illegal torture.  The Military Commissions System, which allowed evidence obtained through torture and coercive interrogation tactics, has been a dismal failure both legally and practically.  The Supreme Court has rejected the policies of this system each time it has reviewed them.  Because of the Bush Administration’s mistaken belief in its ability to craft a new legal system, which clearly created avoidable moral and legal challenges, justice may never be served.
 
President Obama has paused all proceedings at Guantanamo Bay for 120 days in order for his legal team to attempt to design a system in which the verdicts will withstand the scrutiny of the inevitable appeals process.  He is rightfully attempting to fix the quagmire that was created by the previous administration.
 

It's important to remember who forgot them because it wasn't us. - Jon

Source: nydailynews.com

Saturday, February 7th 2009, 4:00 AM

A new study by researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center confirms the terrible truth about the long-term damage suffered by many rescue and recovery workers who responded to the World Trade Center.

The serious ill effects caused by breathing the toxic cloud that draped The Pile are, to this day, persistent and chronic among thousands of brave men and women who pitched in heroically after the terror attack.

Tests on more than 3,160 cops, construction workers and others found that more than 24% showed abnormal lung function between 2004 and 2007, down only slightly from the 28% who exhibited reduced lung function in similar examinations from 2002 to 2004.

The findings reinforce a second truth: Congress must find the will and the wherewithal to provide health care, monitoring and compensation to all those who remain sickened by exposure to WTC dust.

Jon Gold
2/6/2009

Yesterday, President Obama met with several 9/11 Family Members. Those that are familiar to us would be Sally Regenhard, Lorie Van Auken, Mindy Kleinberg, Patty Casazza, and Kristen Breitweiser.

Washington Post reports:

Lorie Van Auken, a leader of September 11th Advocates, a group headed by four New Jersey women who lost their husbands in the attacks, called the meeting "impressive," saying Obama gave detailed answers to their questions and allayed many of their concerns. She said the president did not rule out some form of military commissions in the future and acknowledged shortcomings in dealing with terrorism suspects in regular criminal courts.

Well, it's begun. As I pointed out in Fact #25, "several celebrities have spoken out for 9/11 Truth. Each time one has done so, almost in unison, the Mainstream Media has attacked them." Slowly but surely, because Daniel Sunjata, and the makers of "Rescue Me" have decided to tackle the truth about 9/11, the media and different websites are starting their attack.

As of right now, these are the two attacks that I know of:

Fox News
American Thinker

When the blog from American Thinker appeared, I sent a letter to the email address provided. Here is that letter.

Source: washingtonpost.com

Michael D. Shear, Peter Finn and Dan Eggen
The Washington Post
Thursday, February 5, 2009; 6:23 PM

President Obama will gather tomorrow with victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and U.S.S. Cole bombing for a face-to-face meeting as his administration struggles to decide how to handle detainees at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, several of those invited said.

9/11 kin sees face of terror; condemns plan to shut Gitmo
After seeing suspects brag about attacks, she's stunned when trial is suspended

Source: silive.com

By STEPHANIE SLEPIAN
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
Sunday, February 01, 2009

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It was little more than 24 hours between the time Lorraine Arias-Beliveau boarded a plane and the moment she came face-to-face with the five men accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The former New Springville resident sat in a courtroom at Guantanamo Bay on Jan. 19 with several other family members who lost loved ones in the Twin Towers. They were selected in a lottery to observe pre-trial hearings.

She was stunned by what she heard: The suspects, switching back and forth between Arabic and English, shrugged off potential death sentences and proclaimed they were proud of their role in the attacks.

Their words forced her to step outside of the courtoom for a few minutes.

In my facts article, I state, "a different kind of praise for the 9/11 Report has come in the form of requests for "9/11-Type Commissions" for other horrible events in America's history such as Katrina and the recent "financial crisis." For Nicholas to recommend a Commission based on the 9/11 Commission to get "a better understanding of our shortcomings" was no surprise. To hear him recommend Philip Zelikow to write the "conclusions" of that Commission nearly made me lose my breakfast. - Jon

Putting Torture Behind Us

Source: nytimes.com

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: January 28, 2009

President Obama is resisting calls for an investigation into torture and other abuses during the Bush years, so the chance to learn from our mistakes is slipping away.

For immediate release
January 23, 2009

The Guantanamo Bay Detention Center continues to be an enormous stain on America’s reputation. Newly elected President Obama has taken the first step in removing this stain by keeping his campaign promise to the American people.

The temporary halting of proceedings at Gitmo gives us the “audacity to hope” that President Obama will be able to restore America's good name, which has been repeatedly tarnished during the past eight years.

We appreciate the tough decisions that President Obama has been forced to make and admire him for taking these difficult tasks on. We look forward to hearing his plan for closing Guantanamo Bay forever, finding a just way to try the detainees and putting an end to this horrific chapter in America's history.

# # #

Patty Casazza
Monica Gabrielle
Mindy Kleinberg
Lorie Van Auken

Additonally, please see earlier statement below, which further explains our position.

September 11th Advocates Statement
April 3, 2008

Part I

Part II

Questions & Answers

Isn't change refreshing? Aaaaah... You can just feel the difference. Not. The fact of the matter is, the "number one threat" to the United States is the corporate two party system that does not serve the people. - Jon

Source: rawstory.com

1/15/2009

President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden remain the "number one threat" to US security, after a new voice recording emerged from the terror group's leader.

"Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda are our number one threat when it comes to American security," Obama told reporters, after the recording warned the president-elect of new fronts in bin Laden's self-styled holy war against Western interests.

"We're going to do everything in our power to make sure that they cannot create safe havens that can attack Americans. That's the bottom line," Obama added.

The 22-minute audio recording, which the US-based Site Intelligence Group said it believes is authentic, was the first commentary from the Al-Qaeda leader in eight months.

Source: express.co.uk

By Stuart Winter
Sunday January 11,2009

FORENSIC investigators have recovered the charred remains of most of the 9/11 hijackers - to honour a pledge that they would never be buried with the victims.

The £30million CSI-style probe has taken seven years.

Flesh or bone from 13 of the 19 Al Qaeda terrorists who flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington have now been identified.

In the most intense crime scene investigation in history, scientists sifted through a mountain of concrete dust, buckled iron and shattered glass to find what was left of the terrorists.

The final tally was 24lb of burnt flesh and shattered bone.

A combination of dedicated FBI detective work and the brilliant skills of forensic scientists eventually put names to the fragments by matching them with DNA traces discovered at the terrorists’ hideouts.

The high temperatures generated as the jet fuel exploded meant many of the 2,974 victims and some of their killers were all but atomised in the attacks.

35%? - Jon

Source: archives.gov

WHAT: The National Archives will open more than 150 cubic feet of records of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, known as the 9/11 Commission, an independent, bipartisan commission created by Congress. The Commission’s mandate was to provide a “full and complete accounting” of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and recommend how to prevent such attacks in the future.

On January 14th at 9 AM EST, Memoranda for the Record (summaries of 709 interviews conducted by the Commission), series descriptions, and folder title lists will be available online (www.archives.gov). These records include information on the terrorists, past terrorist events, al Qaeda in general, and related subjects. The records also include information concerning the emergency responses to the attacks in New York City and Washington, DC.

WHO: Steven Tilley, Director of the National Archives Textual Archives Services Division, will brief the media about the review process and content of the records.

A new President is coming to town. If you think I don't realize what he represents (the other side of the same coin), you would be sorely mistaken. However, he ran his campaign on the idea of "change," and it is very easy to hold his feet to the fire using his own words against him.

One of the things I've been thinking of doing, something I would hope the ENTIRE movement would take part in, is a phone call and fax campaign to the White House for 6 straight months. Clog up their phone lines. It couldn't be a half-assed effort. It would have to be an everyday/multiple times a day thing.

To my knowledge, such a concerted effort by this movement, as a whole, has never happened before. What would happen if we did it? All you have to do is dial a phone number, or send a fax. Everyday. A few times a day. And because he ran his slogan on the idea of "change," there are a multitude of things we could say.

"Telling us the truth about 9/11 would be a welcome change."

"Holding those responsible for the 9/11 attacks accountable would be a change I can believe in."

Dear 9/11 Truth Advocates,

As 2009 arrives, 911Truth.org wishes you all the best, and extends our gratitude to each of you for your persistent courage and dedication to the truth!

For nearly five years, 911Truth.org has served as your portal to reliable information about 9/11, its precedents and consequences, as an umbrella for hundreds of local truth activism groups, as a catalyst for national campaigns and new 9/11 truth special interest groups, and so much more. We are at a very critical juncture right now, as monthly donation pledges total about $500. We need to raise $15,000 for this first quarter of 2009 if we are to continue to provide these valuable services.

Please take a moment right now to help.

As we enter a new year, with a new administration coming into office, we are excited to continue this important work with some new opportunities--though admittedly, significant challenges remaining--in front of us!

The REALLY REALLY REALLY nice people at www.rawstory.com have posted my "The Facts Speak For Themselves" article on their front page.

Please go say thank you.