Orangutan.'s blog
NYC CAN: A heartfelt thank you - We couldn't have done it without you.
August 1, 2014
Dear friends,
Yesterday was a special day for all of us who have supported the High-Rise Safety Initiative in any way. After three months of pounding the NYC pavement, we finished our petition drive.
We started petitioning on May 1st after three months of working to build support and collect donations. Thanks to the generosity and faith of so many supporters, we were able to raise enough in those early months to get the petition drive started on time. Still needing more funds to make it to our eventual goal of 100,000 signatures, your generosity continued to pave the way until this past week when we reached our final fundraising goal and then finished the job we set out to do.
All told, we gathered over 100,000 signatures from NYC voters between May 1st and July 31st, 67,000 of which were submitted on July 3rd, and 33,000 of which will be submitted on September 4th. We could not have accomplished this feat without you and your incredible commitment to this vital cause. For that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Now the voters have spoken and it is incumbent upon the City of New York to honor their request for a measure to be placed on the ballot requiring the City to investigate the collapse of WTC 7 and any future high-rise collapses. We will learn next week whether the City will try to stand in the way of the voters. If it does, we are prepared to do battle in court, and we are confident of defeating what would be a baseless challenge to the petition.
In the meantime, let us celebrate and feel grateful for what we have accomplished. Thank you.
Yours truly,
Ted Walter
CIA Director George Tenet Facilitated 9/11
After becoming Director of the CIA (DCI) in 1997, George Tenet did what Louis Freeh had done after his appointment as FBI Director. He began to cultivate close personal relationships with the rulers of Saudi Arabia. Like Freeh, Tenet grew especially close to Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Bandar and Tenet often met at Bandar’s home near Washington yet Tenet did not share information from those meetings with his own officers who were handling Saudi issues at the Agency. The CIA’s Saudi specialists only learned about Tenet’s dealings with the Saudi authorities inadvertently, through their Saudi contacts. It seems that Tenet was operating within a network that surpassed the interests of the American public. Therefore the unsolved crimes of 9/11, attributed largely to young men from Saudi Arabia, should be considered in light of Tenet’s actions.
As Deputy Director for the CIA, in 1996, Tenet had worked to install one of his closest friends and confidants, John Brennan, as CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia. Brennan is now the DCI but, in his previous role, Brennan often communicated directly with Tenet, avoiding the usual chain of command. At the time, as an apparent favor to the Saudis, CIA analysts were discouraged from questioning Saudi relationship to Arab extremists.
The unusual relationship that both George Tenet and Louis Freeh had with Saudi intelligence (and George H.W. Bush) recalls the private network that was created in the mid-1970s to accomplish covert actions though means of proxies. This private network included disgruntled CIA officers who had been fired by President Carter, as well as the group known as The Safari Club, and the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
What a Difference a Dozen Volunteers Makes! Chicago AIA Convention Activists Net Over 120 More A/E Petition Signers
Written by James McDowell - July 20th, 2014
CHICAGO AIA CONVENTION ACTIVISTS NET OVER 120 MORE A/E PETITION SIGNERS
BUILDING PROFESSIONALS CAUGHT OFF GUARD ON WTC 7
Experience has proven that, when presented with indisputable evidence, the people who design and construct buildings for a living quickly grasp the cause of the third worst structural failure in history.
Of course we're speaking of the 6.5-second demise of the 47-story, steel-framed skyscraper in the World Trade Center known as WTC 7.
But what if, in fact, most building professionals have never even heard about the collapse of this high-rise on 9/11?
This incredible reality — that the majority of our nation's architects and engineers are oblivious to WTC 7—is one of the primary reasons that AE911Truth headed to the Windy City last month for the 2014 National Convention of the American Institute of Architects. It was the fifth time since 2008 that our non-profit organization has attended this annual event, which this year was held at Chicago's McCormick Place on South Lake Shore Drive, the largest convention center in North America. The nearly 800 exhibitors and more than 15,000 architects in attendance had an opportunity to hear AE911Truth sound a wake-up call about the impossible claims of the official story of collapse by fire of the three skyscrapers on 9/11/01.
The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
https://archive.org/details/TheInternetsOwnBoyTheStoryOfAaronSwartz
The Internet's Own Boy depicts the life of American computer programmer, writer, political organizer and Internet activist Aaron Swartz. It features interviews with his family and friends as well as the internet luminaries who worked with him. The film tells his story up to his eventual suicide after a legal battle, and explores the questions of access to information and civil liberties that drove his work.
9/11 Truth: Good for America! Make this Independence Day a Celebration of 9/11 Truth
All over the country this Independence Day, 9/11 Truth activists will be handing out a new brochure: "9/11 Truth: Good for America!" at Independence Day parades, picnics, and fireworks displays! We've got a patriotic message to share with our fellow Americans, and we are not shying away from our task this year. Join us in this nationwide public education effort!
The beautifully patriotic brochure comes complete with all positive benefits of the 9/11 Truth message — along with an insert highlighting the key evidence at the World Trade Center.
Activists can download the artwork at no cost and print it locally — either in color or in black-and-white, and either with the insert or without. Local groups can also customize the back section with information on your own 9/11 Truth group!
A Review of Douglas Valentine's 'The Phoenix Program'
Douglas Valentine’sThe Phoenix Program is vital for understanding the history of terrorism and its role in political warfare. Few other historical accounts provide as much detail on how the U.S. government and the CIA began to use programs for counterterrorism to implement political policy through secretive, coldblooded actions. Understanding such history is critical to making sense of what is happening in our world today.
U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions Has Interesting Response To 9/11 Question
US Congressman Pete Sessions TX-32 Town Hall Meeting at L.V. Berkner High School
http://youtu.be/bQdScs9UfNk?t=43m54s
Congressman Pete Sessions Answers 9/11 Truth Question with Bizarre Question
http://youtu.be/0L4U6C7N7q4
Congressman Responds to 9/11 Truther by Musing About JFK Conspiracy
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/06/sessions-911-truther-JFK-conspiracy-video.html
Congressman Pete Sessions Quizzed on 9/11 "Conspiracy" by High School Student. Gets a D.
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/06/pete_sessions_held_a_weird_town_hall_meeting_with_a_bunch_of_high_schoo...
Asked if the government was withholding information about 9/11 because it doesn’t fit with the official narrative, Republican Rep. Pete Sessions replied with a question about who shot President John F. Kennedy.
“Do you think that Oswald was the only person to shoot Jack Kennedy, our president?” Sessions said in response to a student in a Berkner High School AP government class in December 2013.
War Crimes and 9/11: Why Dick and Don Are Suspects
Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism official, has recently come out suggesting that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld should be brought up on war crimes. Unfortunately, media outlets reporting this story have failed to examine Clarke’s long relationship to Cheney and Rumsfeld and his record of having prevented the capture of Osama bin Laden. These omissions highlight that, although Cheney and Rumsfeld undoubtedly are guilty of post-9/11 war crimes, suspicions that they helped create the pretext for those crimes go unreported.
Clarke’s history is regularly misrepresented in the media. It’s often said that he started in his counterterror position under Clinton when he was, in fact, appointed to it by George H.W. Bush in 1992. Clarke is a right wing hawk who had close ties to Cheney and Rumsfeld going back at least another decade with his selection for a secret Reagan Administration project. Clarke, Cheney and Rumsfeld were among a small group that spent nearly 30 years practicing to takeover the United States government in the Continuity of Government (COG) program. Their secretive COG plan was implemented only once—on the morning of 9/11.
Considering the media’s treatment of Clarke, it’s no surprise that most people have little or no understanding of his relationship to Cheney and Rumsfeld. It’s also not surprising that some people don’t know why these men are primary 9/11 suspects, despite the many reasons to consider that Cheney and Rumsfeld were behind the attacks. Apart from the lack of critical reporting, much of the evidence against Cheney and Rumsfeld is circumstantial. But the amount of evidence linking them to the crimes is far greater than that used to accuse Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Osama bin Laden.
Let’s Not Forget Duane Andrews and SAIC
Both before and after 9/11, one private company had a greater impact on counterterrorism programs in the Unites States than any other. That company, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), also profited more from the events of 9/11 than any other. Its chief operating officer (COO), Duane Andrews, was a man who had expertise-level knowledge of the vulnerabilities that were exploited on 9/11. He also just happened to be a long-time, close colleague of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
SAIC feeds on terrorism, having won many of its record number of government contracts through the national security state that has arisen via the War on Terror. Through its numerous contracts and employee security clearances, it has become a private business that cannot be distinguished from a permanent form of government. In short, SAIC is “the fraternal twin of the intelligence establishment.”[1]
With regard to 9/11, SAIC’s impact cannot be overstated as the company:
- Created the national databases that tracked and identified terrorists
- Supplied U.S. airports with terrorism screening equipment
- Predicted and investigated terrorist attacks against U.S. infrastructure including national defense networks and the World Trade Center (WTC)
- Helped create the official account for what happened at the WTC both in 1993 and after 9/11
- Was a leader in research on thermitic materials like those found in the WTC dust[2]
- Employed the leader of the robotics team that scoured the pile at Ground Zero, using equipment capable of eliminating explosives
- Provided the information to capture the alleged mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM)
Furthermore, Dick Cheney’s long-time protégé, Duane P. Andrews, ran SAIC’s government business for thirteen years, from 1993 to 2006, and was therefore a principal character in these activities. During this time, Andrews was also a leading corporate representative on government commissions and taskforces that evaluated threats to U.S. defense and information systems.
Why Do Good People Become Silent—or Worse—about 9/11? - Part 7: Groupthink
Summary/Editor's Note:
Frances Shure, M.A., L.P.C., has performed an in-depth analysis addressing a key issue of our time: "Why Do Good People Become Silent—or Worse—About 9/11?" The resulting essay, to be presented here as a series, is a synthesis of both academic research and clinical observations.
In addressing the question in the title of this essay, last month's segment,
Part 6, explored the phenomenon of conformity, featuring the Solomon Asch experiments and Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann's study of German elections with her resulting theory of the "spiral of silence." We discussed the human proclivity to adhere to social norms in order to keep one's reputation intact, and we noted that this strong inclination can often trump evidence, openness, curiosity, and the human need for truth.
In Part 7, we continue Ms. Shure's analysis with an especially maladaptive form of conformity called "groupthink."
9/11 Consensus Panel Releases New Evidence from Witness Testimonies and Architectural Drawings
PRESS RELEASE: World Trade Center Building 7’s Controlled Demolition: 9/11 Consensus Panel Releases New Evidence from Witness Testimonies and Architectural Drawings
June 1, 2014 –The 24-member 9/11 Consensus Panel – which includes physicists, chemists, engineers, commercial pilots, attorneys and lawyers – today announced three new studies confirming the controlled demolition of World Trade Center 7.
The studies scientifically refutes the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) claim that, for the first time in history, fire caused the sudden and complete collapse of a large, fire-protected, steel-framed building on 9/11.
(Note that whereas the Consensus Panel uses a scientific methodology to peer-review its work, the NIST report was not peer-reviewed.)
The first Panel study deals with the NIST computer simulations, which purported to show that fire-induced thermal expansion caused a girder to be pushed off its seat at Column 79, thereby initiating a global collapse of the entire 47-storey building at 5:21 in the afternoon.
However, a recent FOIA request has produced WTC 7 architectural drawings showing that the NIST simulations omitted basic structural supports that would have made this girder failure impossible.
The second Consensus Panel study deals with NIST’s claim that it did not recover any steel from this massive steel-frame skyscraper.
This is extraordinary, given the need to understand why a steel-frame building would have completely collapsed for the first time in history from fire alone, and to thereby prevent a recurrence.
We know now that some of the steel was recovered. Photographs recently obtained by researchers show the strange curled-up paper-thin WTC 7 steel, with a NIST investigator pointing it out.
The third Panel study shows that on September 11, 2001, many people were told hours in advance that WTC 7 was going to collapse.
MSNBC reporter Ashleigh Banfield said early in the afternoon: "I’ve heard several reports from several different officers now that that is the building that is going to go down next.”
Many members of the New York Fire Department were confidently waiting for the building to come down:
Firefighter Thomas Donato: "We were standing, waiting for seven to come down. We were there for quite a while, a couple hours.”
Assistant Commissioner James Drury: "I must have lingered there. There were hundreds of firefighters waiting to -- they were waiting for 7 World Trade Center to come down.”
Chief Thomas McCarthy: “So when I get to the command post, they just had a flood of guys standing there. They were just waiting for 7 to come down.”
In addition, CNN and the BBC made premature announcements.
This foreknowledge corroborates the evidence presented in previous Consensus Points (WTC7-1 to WTC7-5) that WTC 7 was brought down by controlled demolition.
Source: The 9/11 Consensus Panel @911consensus consensus911@gmail.com
Contact List: http://www.consensus911.org/media-contacts/
Co-founders: David Ray Griffin, Elizabeth Woodworth
Don’t Be Fooled By ‘Conspiracy Theory’ Smears
CNN and Newsweek recently launched dubious tirades against what they called “conspiracy theories.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal published U.N. Considers Reopening Probe into 1961 Crash that Killed Dag Hammarskjöld, a report that broached the possibility that the United States may have been involved in the death of the secretary-general, who is shown in a file photo.
As a way to understand such varied messages, I urge readers to evaluate evidence with an open mind — and regard with special suspicion those commentators who slant their coverage with the loaded smear words “conspiracy theory” without citing specific evidence.
No one has time to investigate everything without preconceptions. For efficiency, we rely in part on slanted commentary by our favorite sources. But if the stakes are high and we want to be honest we should admit (at least to ourselves) that our preliminary conclusions should be subject to change based on new data.
Donald Rumsfeld and the Demolition of WTC 7
When former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was asked about World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7), he claimed that he had never heard of it. This was despite the unprecedented destruction of that 47-story building and its relationship to the events of 9/11 that shaped Rumsfeld’s career. Although not hit by a plane, WTC 7 experienced free fall into its own footprint on the afternoon of 9/11—through the path of what should have been the most resistance. The government agency charged with investigating the building’s destruction ultimately admitted that it had been in free fall during a portion of its descent. That fact makes explosive demolition the only logical explanation. Considering how WTC 7 might have been demolished leads to some interesting facts about Rumsfeld and his associates.
The one major tenant of WTC 7 was Salomon Smith Barney (SSB), the company that occupied 37 of the 47 floors in WTC 7. A little discussed fact is that Rumsfeld was the chairman of the SSB advisory board and Dick Cheney was a board member as well. Rumsfeld had served as chairman of the SSB advisory board since its inception in 1999. According to the financial disclosures he made in his nomination process, during the same period Rumsfeld had also been a paid consultant to the Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet. Rumsfeld and Cheney had to resign from their CIA and SSB positions in 2001 when they were confirmed as members of George W. Bush’s cabinet.
Several of Rumsfeld and Cheney’s colleagues had access to, or personal knowledge of, WTC 7. Secret Service agent Carl Truscott, who was in charge of the Presidential Protection Division on 9/11, knew the building well because he had worked at the Secret Service’s New York field office located there. Furthermore, Tenet’s CIA secretly operated a “false front of another federal organization” from within WTC 7. That false front might have been related to the Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Rumsfeld’s Department of Defense, or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all of which were listed as tenants of WTC 7. The SEC lost many important documents when the building was destroyed, including much of what was needed to effectively prosecute Enron and WorldCom.
Neil Degrasse Tyson was an eye-witness to 9/11, he wrote a letter describing his horrifying experience.
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2001/09/12/the-horror-the-horror
The Horror, The Horror
September 12, 2001 in the Read section
Via e-mail
Wednesday, September 12, 2001, 10:00 AM
First-hand account of the WTC attacks and subsequent evacuation from Lower Manhattan residence. A heavily forwarded e-mail that became the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal a week later on the widespread use of the web to communicate the tragic news of the day.
My entire family is safe. We evacuated our lower-Manhattan residence at about noon yesterday and migrated north on foot to Grand Central Terminal (about three miles) where we took Metro North to the home of my parents in Westchester, from where I write this message.
"Wall Street genius" Mark Gorton publishes summary of "ruthless secret cabal that assassinated JFK and planned 9/11."
The Astounding Conspiracy Theories of Wall Street Genius Mark Gorton
By Hamilton Nolan on April 10th, 2014
Mark Gorton is a prominent financier and a respected entrepreneur. He founded the music sharing site Limewire, and he runs Tower Research, a famed high-frequency trading firm. Gorton also believes that the "ruthless" secret cabal that assassinated JFK and planned 9/11 could be coming to kill his family.
Mark Gorton does not have a reputation as a crackpot. Quite the opposite. He's been favorably profiled in the New York Times for his business acumen and charitable deeds. His experience as the head of Limewire—which disrupted the music industry and then lost a $100 million lawsuit as a result—was closely followed by the press. And when Michael Lewis's blockbuster new book about high frequency trading was published recently, prominent media outlets turned to Gorton to learn what HFT firms are really like. The Huffington Post even dubbed him "the new face of Wall Street." He is a very respected and very wealthy man.
This week, we were forwarded documents that Gorton was sending out to employees at Tower Research. These documents—embedded at the bottom of this post—are essays by Mark Gorton, laying out his theories on the secret high-level murderous criminal "Cabal" that is responsible for, among other things, the JFK and RFK assassinations, the presidential careers of the Bushes, Clinton, and Obama, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 9/11 plot, and the murder of countless witnesses, politicians, and journalists who sought to expose them, including Sen. Paul Wellstone and even Hunter S. Thompson. Everything, according to Gorton, has been an inside job.
It is really something.