Johnson revealed in a committee hearing in April that she did not accept the official report of the 9/11 Commission and has since defended supporters calling for a new independent investigation of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. “Ground Zero was treated like little more than the site of a building demolition – which, of course, is exactly what it was,” says Johnson. “Everyone who has studied it recognizes that the Twin Towers and Building 7 came down as a result of controlled explosions – not because of the airplanes and fires.”

Johnson has joined forces with local 9/11 activists who for more than two weeks have been staging a protest outside the Phoenix office of presidential candidate U.S. Senator John McCain. One protestor, college professor Blair Gadsby of Scottsdale, began a hunger strike on May 26 to bring attention to the need for Congress to re-open the investigation into 9/11. Gadsby plans to fast until Senator McCain agrees to meet with experts who will present evidence that the WTC buildings came down through controlled demolition. Senator Johnson has invited Gadsby to the Senate to listen to her Floor speech.

“The U.S. government is constantly interfering with states in matters that are none of its business,” said Johnson. “Yet when it comes to the one really significant job the Constitution assigns to the government — defending our nation – the federal government failed miserably. Not only did they fail to put up any sort of a defense after the first plane struck the North Tower (Tower 1), but they failed to mobilize the air defense system, they failed to protect the President, who sat reading in a public school for 20 minutes while the attacks continued, and they failed to defend our most important military installation – the Pentagon. The public is sick to death of do-nothing politicians in Congress who forget what their job is the minute they arrive in Washington. Finding out what happened on 9/11 and bringing the perpetrators to justice is the job of Congress and the Executive branch. We need to know what happened to Building 7. We need to get answers to the many unanswered questions that still exist. We need an investigation – especially of the new evidence. It’s time for Congress and our President to act.”

Senator Johnson is urging all concerned citizens to sign a Petition at http://www.ae911truth.org requesting an independent scientific investigation of the attacks on 9-11.

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The main themes of his work are the encouragement of inspiration, co-creativity and harmony:

- within the individual

- between people

- between people and their environment

- re-balancing the equilibrium of the ‘male’ and ‘female’ principles in humans

Born into a Dutch family of modest means and raised within the frugal post-war environment, Matser later went on to head one of the, at that time, largest, independent real-estate development companies in the Netherlands and later on to devote most of his time to set up inspiring charitable projects both at home and abroad to empower people.

Fred had responsibility and leadership thrust on him from an early age. When only in his mid-twenties he was already responsible for a staff of over 150 and a multi-million pound turnover, having been appointed Chief Executive Officer of his fathers’ real estate development company and supervising subsidiaries.

He was also appointed to leadership roles in various other business and sport associations both nationally and internationally and did studies in economics and business management, as well as in parapsychology.

Fred experienced tragedy from a young age with the death of two of his brothers and the long-term serious illness of his father, who suffered from diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Through his travels and charitable work he has also extensively witnessed poverty and different types of human suffering. These experiences, amongst others, led him to develop a strong sense of compassion and deep awareness of the suffering of others.

In his life Fred has also had some unexpected ‘paranormal’ and transcendental experiences which expanded his awareness and produced a major shift in his worldview. These have inspired him to devote much of his time to increasing his understanding about life and to contributing towards the betterment of society.

Fred is a keen communicator and creative thinker. In his real estate development work he and his team have created a number of unique, innovative, large-scale projects that have been widely acclaimed.

In his humanitarian work he has initiated or contributed to a number of pioneering humanitarian projects including Peace Child, The Fred Foundation, Peace Flame and Child Alive. This was a programme that he established while working as a volunteer for the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Organizations (now Federation) in Switzerland in the 1980´s. It contributed to the reduction child mortality in developing countries due to dehydration from diarrhoea by helping and educating people at a grassroots level and by the introduction of Oral Rehydration Therapy.

Most recently, Fred was honoured to be invited to head the Dutch campaign for ‘Malaria No More!’ The campaign’s goals include increasing the supply of ‘bed nets’ (mosquito nets for beds) to help eliminate malaria in a sustainable way and contributing to increased awareness of malaria in the context of primary healthcare.

On several projects he has had the privilege of working in close association with many inspiring people including several well-known people, such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Ruud Lubbers, Jane Goodall, Patch Adams and Jerry Jampolsky. He has also participated in various international events for global transformation including the State of the World Forum and, in September ´06, in the Table of Free Voices in Berlin, an initiative created by Dropping Knowledge.

Fred Matser has been honoured to receive several awards for his work including the first International Caring Award (1992, Washington , USA) and the Van Emden Award (1995, The Hague, The Netherlands). His work has also been featured in influential author, Charles Handy’s latest book,,´The New Philanthropists´ (Heinemann, October 2006).

Fred’s book ‘Rediscover Your Heart’ has a Foreward by Mikhail Gorbachev and an Afterward by Deepak Chopra. Rediscover Your Heart weaves humorous anecdotes with heartrending tales and stories of personal transformation of hope. This inspirational book contains 7 Keys that Matser believes could help transform ourselves and our world.

Please visit: http://www.FredMatser.com

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The footage clinched it for Gadsby. He had to rethink all he had accepted about the terrorist attacks. He spent sleepless nights thinking about how the government planted explosions in Building 7 and then, most likely, the twin towers. Then, how they must have hired men to pilot the planes. And then ordered the media to cover it all up.

Some of Gadsby’s theories, and those of the 9/11 Truth Movement, were looked into by Popular Mechanics in a 2005 article and a subsequent book. The magazine found that the theories had no merit and called them “poisonous.”

“What we saw was that the errors and misrepresentations of the conspiracy movement were not simply innocent errors,” said Jim Meigs, editor in chief of Popular Mechanics. “In many cases, they were very, very deliberate distortions.” Meigs asked McCain to write the forward to the book, and the senator agreed.

Gadsby theorized that McCain was either lying or was lied to. He said he respects McCain, so he was clinging to the notion that the state’s senior senator was lied to.

Although he did not get to meet Senator McCain he did receive a reply which read in part:

“My staff and I are always open to new, scientifically substantiated information that helps explain how and why the tragedies of September 11th occurred. I welcome any additional new information you may wish to present on the subject and will make my staff available to listen to your concerns.”

Also, as a result of his hunger strike, Arizona State Senator Karen Johnson, a Republican from Mesa, visited Gadsby and delivered a letter to McCain’s office asking him to meet with Gadsby and she praised his efforts in front of the Arizona State Senate with him present. All of this has gained alot of coverage in Arizona’s The Republic, as well as a major news radio station and two television stations, and countless 9/11 and non-9/11 sites on the internet.

Professor Gadsby’s courageous hunger strike is a testament to those non-violent peaceful methods of protest used by Gandhi and just as effective today as they were back then. A day by day account of his efforts can be found at:

http://hungry4truth.com/

“As a professor of Religious Studies and of Islam, it was apparent immediately that the reasons given for the attack were suspect: ‘they hate us because we are free’. This was my first clue that the event was being spun, if not greatly distorted… then I learned of the buildings and their apparent ‘collapsing’.

A picture’s worth a thousand words, WTC7 sealed it for me. If this could be satisfactorily explained, I would put down my protest banners and go home.” — Professor Blair Gadsby

Please visit Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth:

http://www.ae911truth.org/

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Margaret started performing stand-up at age 16 in a comedy club called The Rose & Thistle above a bookstore her parents ran. Soon after, she won a comedy contest where first prize was opening for Jerry Seinfeld. She moved to Los Angeles in the early ’90s and lived in a house with several other young performers.

I moved out because I wasn’t the most famous. If the Manson Family had come, I wouldn’t have been Sharon Tate; I would have been one of the supporting victims, and who wants that? Janeane Garofalo moved into my old room. Anyway, ‘Cho’ written in blood on the wall doesn’t look as cool as ‘Garofalo.’

Still in her early twenties, Cho hit the college circuit, where she immediately became the most booked act in the market and garnered a nomination for Campus Comedian of The Year. Arsenio Hall introduced her to late night audiences, Bob Hope put her on a prime time special and, seemingly overnight, Margaret Cho became a national celebrity.

In 1994, she starred in a short-lived ABC sitcom called All-American Girl. Says Margaret:

There were just so many people involved in that show, and so much importance put on the fact that it was an ethnic show. It’s hard to pin down what “ethnic” is without appearing to be racist. And then, for fear of being too “ethnic,” it got so watered down for television that by the end, it was completely lacking in the essence of what I am and what I do. I learned a lot, though. It was a good experience as far as finding myself, knowing who I was and what direction I wanted to take with my comedy.

In 1999, Margaret chronicled her experience on the sitcom in an off Broadway one-woman show called I’m The One That I Want. The show was extremely well received, toured the U.S, and was made into a concert film and a best-selling book of the same name. The film, which garnered incredible reviews, broke the record for the most money grossed per print in movie history. After the success of her first show, Margaret launched Notorious C.H.O. in 2001, a smash-hit 37-city national tour that culminated in a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. Notorious C.H.O. was also recorded and released as a feature film, hailed by the New York Times as “Brilliant!” Both films were acquired by Showtime Cable Networks in 2004 and are currently airing on their channels. Margaret embarked on her third sold-out national tour, Revolution, in 2003. The tour ultimately grossed 4.4M and was heralded as “Her strongest show yet!” by the Chicago Sun Times. The concert film premiered on the Sundance Channel in 2004 and was released on DVD later that year. The CD of Revolution was nominated for a Grammy for best comedy album of the year for 2003.

In 2004, Margaret took her politically charged State of Emergency tour through the swing states of the Presidential election. Lauded as “Murderously funny!” by the New York Times, State of Emergency eventually evolved into her fourth national show, Assassin. Her most political and topical work to date, Assassin toured the US, Canada and Australia and was filmed at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. The concert film premiered in select theatres and on the gay and lesbian premium channel Here! TV in late 2005and is now available on DVD.

In addition to her busy touring schedule, Margaret has proven herself an established writer and blogger; her second book, a collection of essays on all subjects political and pop, I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight was published by Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Group (2005). She has also completed her first narrative feature; Bam Bam and Celeste, written by and starring Margaret, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in late 2005 and has since played at the AFI Fest, Frameline, Fusion, and the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

In 2007, Margaret hit the road with 80’s legends Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry & Erasure along with indie faves The Dresden Dolls and The Cliks to host the True Colors Tour, benefiting the Human Rights Campaign. A true entertainment pioneer, Margaret also created and starred in The Sensuous Woman, a live variety show featuring vaudevillian burlesque and comedy, which she took for an extended off-Broadway run last fall.

This year Margaret is returning to her stand-up roots with a brand new tour, Beautiful, debuting in Australia at The Sydney Theater on February 27, 2008. This will mark the first time that Margaret has premiered a new show abroad. Margaret quips, “I love Australia! The audiences are so smart and rowdy, it’s really exciting. I love that they just voted out Bush’s boyfriend, John Howard. How thrilling!” Immediately following the Australian dates, Margaret will launch a national U.S. run of Beautiful, beginning on March 6 in Hawaii and running through June. Ticket and show info is available on her tour page. In describing what Beautiful means to her, Margaret explains:

I want to explore the nature of beauty. What is funny and scary about it, why we often don’t feel beautiful because our society’s standards are so rigid and unattainable. A DJ once asked me, “If you woke up tomorrow and you were beautiful, what would you do? If you were, blonde, blue-eyed, 5 foot 11, and weighed 100 pounds, what would you do?!?” Well, I probably wouldn’t get up in that case, because I’d be too weak to stand. If that is his only idea of beauty then I feel really sorry for him. I want everyone to feel beautiful and I want to do it with laughter. Why not feel good about ourselves?

Margaret was the recipient of the first ever Best Comedy Performance award at the 2007 Asian Excellence Awards. She also recently received the First Amendment Award from the ACLU of Southern California, and the Intrepid Award from the National Organization for Women (NOW). She has also been honored by GLAAD, American Women in Radio and Television, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), and PFLAG for “making a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all, regardless of race, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

I didn’t mean to be a role model. I just speak my truth. I guess speaking from your heart really creates a huge impact, and if I can encourage people to do that, then I would love to be a role model. If I could encourage people to use their voices loudly, then that’s my reward. I don’t care about winning an academy award; I don’t care about mainstream acceptance, because it’s never going to be what I want it to be. I just want to do my work and love it.

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In his new incarnation, he helped manage the media relations for the 2003 New York visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has provided PR, communications and writing services for a broad range of progressive folks, from PBS documentaries to environmental groups to Phil Donahue’s antiwar film Body of War to spiritual books, the Brooklyn Public Library, and a Gates Foundation-funded “AIDS in Asia” program inaugural event, among others.

He’s also on the steering committee of Progressive PR Professionals (a network of 700-plus communicators), volunteers with the Taproot Foundation (which provides pro bono services to nonprofits), and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (Association/Nonprofit section).

His personal antidotes are daily meditation and holistic living, which keep him centered and positive and his mind agile and creative. He lives with Andrea, his wife, and two cats among artists and activists and trees in Beacon, NY, just north of NYC in the verdant Hudson Valley.

Andrea Ramirez
Principal / Holistic Health Counselor, SoulTerra Holistic
Please Visit: http://soulterraholistic.com

After moving from Colombia to the US in 1999, Andrea developed chronic fatigue as well as digestive and allergy issues that made her question her newly adapted Standard American Diet (SAD). She returned to her mother’s teachings of using food as medicine and began taking responsibility for her own health to regain balance and energy. Later, she attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she studied numerous Eastern and Western approaches to nutrition and learned to implement holistic pathways to health. Andrea uses her knowledge to inspire others to lead healthier lives through education and counseling. She is certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and Columbia University, Teachers College.

In her private practice she helps her clients create highly effective nutrition and health programs. Her counseling style is fresh and funny with a deep respect for her client’s intelligence, with whom she “teams up” to find real, effective, lifelong solutions. Her clients especially enjoy Andrea’s spiritual and compassionate approach to counseling and her cooking lessons — simple and time saving. Andrea lives with Scott and the cats in Beacon, NY, and is a founding member of the Beacon Healing Collective. She lectures frequently around the Hudson Valley.

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Edward Peck argued against invading Iraq prior to the March 2003 invasion. He argued, in part, “when you take out Saddam Hussein, the key question you have to ask then is, what happens after that? And we don’t have a clue. Nobody knows, but it’s probably going to be bad. And a lot of people are going to be very upset about that, because that really is not written into our role in this world is to decide who rules Iraq.”

Amb. Peck has been highly critical of U.S. policy toward Israel, arguing through the Council for the National Interest (CNI) in which he plays an active role, that the U.S. should be more even handed in its Middle East policy. He claims that in 2000, at the Camp David talks, Israel offered the Palestinians “12 little Bantustans.” His speech was publicized in a documentary produced by an organization, If Americans Knew, a non-profit organization that focuses on the Arab-Israeli conflict and United States foreign policy regarding the Middle East.

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David gained more credible glimpses of Buddhism while studying Jung as part of his psychology degree, also developing a keen interest in cognitive behaviour therapy and other concepts he later discovered form a central part of Buddhist psychology. During his twenties and early thirties, his career in corporate public relations and social life became pre-eminent - all more esoteric interests were put firmly on hold. There they may have remained if not for an allergic condition in his early thirties which led to the start of his meditation practice and a journey of inner growth.

Within two years of beginning to meditate, David achieved a long-held ambition of becoming a published writer. And having met and married his Australian wife, they moved to Perth where he continued his work both in public relations and writing. Away from the frenetic buzz of the big city, he was able to develop his interest in Tibetan Buddhism further, attending regular classes and retreats. Buddhism for Busy People describes David’s encounter with Dharma, both in London and Perth, weaving an autobiographic narrative through a presentation of core Tibetan Buddhist concepts.

About ‘Buddhism for Busy People’…

What does it take to be happy? We’ve all asked ourselves this question at some point, but few of us have found the path to lasting fulfillment.David Michie thought he had achieved his life’s goals–the high level job, the expensive city apartment, the luxury car, great holidays but a small voice was telling him he wasn’t really happy. A chance remark from a naturopath sent him to his local Buddhist centre. There, he began the most important journey of his life.In this simple, but beautifully written book, David Michie opens the door to the core teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. With wry, self-deprecating humour, he shows us how he began to incorporate Buddhist practices into his daily life. He explains how he came to understand the difference between the temporary pleasures of ordinary life, and the profound sense of well-being and heart-felt serenity that comes from connecting with our inner nature.Every once in a while you come across an extraordinary book with the power to change your life. Buddhism for Busy People is one such book. It is not by chance that you now hold it in your hands. Buddhism for Busy People shows us, with refreshing clarity, how we can make big changes taking small steps.

Please visit:

http://www.DavidMichie.com

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Ms. de la Vega retired from federal employment in 2004, but she did not stop working on behalf of the people of the United States. She simply moved from the courtroom to the computer, using her expertise and passion for justice to write about the most significant political and legal issues of the 21st century: presidential fraud, torture, civil liberties violations and peace activism. Her incisive and inspiring pieces on these topics have appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Nation magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Mother Jones, Common Dreams, TomDispatch, Truthout and Alternet.

The author of the New York Times best-selling book United States v. George W. Bush et. al., Ms. de la Vega is a frequent guest on national talk shows like The Colbert Report!, Randi Rhodes, The Thom Hartmann Program, Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now and The Tavis Smiley Show. Her wit, expertise and dynamic discussion of civic engagement, public integrity and justice-related issues make her popular with college and law students, peace and justice groups and other political organizations.

Praise for United States v. George W. Bush et al.:

“Any American patriot who would like to see a grand jury challenge this Administration’s blitzkrieg against our constitution will relish Elizabeth de la Vega’s book United States v. George W. Bush et al. Machiavelli believed fraud was laudable and glorious in matters of war. In her book, Ms. de la Vega invites us into the courtroom to consider the indictment of our modern day Machiavellis and the fraud they’ve perpetrated.” —Edward Asner

“De la Vega has accomplished an amazing feat with this singularly triumphant presentation of the intersection between political fantasy and legal reality. Reading the delightfully logical and clearheaded United States v. George W. Bush et al. is both incredibly sobering, and yet strangely hopeful. Real American patriots can only wish the United States godspeed in this case, and this brief is destined to be well studied by principals in all three branches of American government, as well as by those who serve as the Fourth Estate.” —Karen Kwiatkowski, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel

“This book makes the case. It shines a brilliant beam of light into the fog of mainstream news and politics. If you’re tired of partisan rhetoric and media evasions, read United States v. George W. Bush et al.” —Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death

“…Much more powerful than the 9/11 report. A tour de force.” —Chalmers Johnson, author of Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire

“With her imaginative Grand Jury approach, Elizabeth de la Vega gives us a front-row seat for the evidence of violent crimes by high officials of the Bush administration. Her lively style and sense of humor pierce the all-too-familiar melancholy and make for a fascinating read. Give this book to friends who cannot get their head around the notion that our president lied us into an unnecessary war. But alert them to the possibility that they may be moved to act more responsibly than the frightened Germans of the 1930s and the apathetic neighbors of Kitty Genovese. For it will be clear that we are all in this together.”—Ray McGovern, retired CIA analyst

“On the basis of the evidence presented by former prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega, I’m convinced that George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their fellow ‘indictees’ are fully entitled to a fair and honest trial—indeed, several fair and honest trials—by juries of their peers.” —Daniel Ellsberg, former State and Defense Department official who revealed the Pentagon Papers

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Mallika’s second book, 100 Questions From My Child was a natural follow up to 100 Promises to My Baby as it incorporated the next phase of her two daughters development - asking questions.

Mallika is a partner in Chopra Media where she is a co-creator in several television and feature film concepts currently in production. www.intentblog.com is a project she created with Deepak Chopra, Shekhar Kapur and Gotham Chopra. She is also a partner with Vikram Chatwal and Gotham Chopra in K Lounge in New York.

Mallika was a founder and executive at MyPotential Inc, a multi-media company focused on the self-help industry. Mallika was profiled in several publications, including Forbes, W Magazine, Femina and the LA Times, for her work with MyPotential. Mallika served as one of the first representative for the re-launch of MTV in India, and has also worked with MTV International, Go Network (Disney), and consulted for Yahoo! on marketing and strategic initiatives.

Mallika is a graduate of Brown University, and has an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She currently lives in Santa Monica, California, with her husband, Sumant Mandal, and their two daughters, Tara and Leela.

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Mrs. Kucinich’s work has taken many forms. She is engaged in policy and humanitarian issues such as human and animal rights as well as showing how businesses can be agents of positive change in the world. Elizabeth is actively involved in the Congressional Human Rights and Holistic Health Caucuses in the House of Representatives, has taught graduate MBA courses on monetary reform, environmental sustainability and appreciative organizational development. As a life long advocate of environmental sustainability and ecological protection, Elizabeth, trained by Al Gore, is a certified presenter on Climate Change.

Elizabeth started early to strive for the transformation of an entrenched destructive political culture to one of empowerment, peace and prosperity. She first lobbied the British Parliament at age fourteen; at seventeen she taught in Hungary and at eighteen was offered her first job working for an MP who encountered her hand delivering 600 letters on a school day to MPs on the issue of animal welfare and factory farming. Instead of taking the position, Elizabeth decided to travel alone to India for six months where she fulfilled her dream to work at a Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa) home in Agra and later moved to a village close to the Taj Mahal where she developed a small environment focused education project for Dahlit children, providing a safe space for children of all backgrounds to socialize and learn together as equals.

Because of her experiences living with a subsistence farming community in East Africa (2002-2003), working in education, HIV/AIDS prevention, appropriate technology water and energy projects, Mrs. Kucinich formed SHE (Sustainable Holistic Enterprise) in 2006, in partnership with Cleveland based International Partners in Mission. SHE is sponsoring an education project in East Africa. SHE has just started researching comparable models for application in underserved communities in the United States. Elizabeth worked with the Forum for Stable Currencies at the House of Lords, London, and organized the American Monetary Institute’s first international conference in Chicago. For Elizabeth, reforming the global debt-based money system is the most pressing issue of our time.

An interesting note:

My final exam for my MA was on “Conflict Resolution in World Politics” the date of the exam: September 11th, 2001.

Elizabeth’s favorite quote: “Knowing love I shall allow all things to come and go, to be as supple as the wind and take everything that comes with great courage. My heart is as open as the sky.” –from ‘Kama Sutra’ film

Elizabeth would like everyone to watch the film by Paul Grignon: Money As Debt

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