Jackie Salloum became a filmmaker almost by accident. One day, Salloum was propelled into action after hearing an interview with Israeli artist Udi Aloni on a New York City radio station. The artist played music by a Palestinian hip hop group, named DAM, on the radio.
“I was so moved and inspired by these young voices that I wanted to do something with their music,” she says.
Salloum used the song by Palestine’s first known hip hop group as the basis of a music video for one of her graduate classes. It was called “Meen Erhabe” or “Who is the Terrorist?” “I watched the other students react, some with tears, and thought: ‘This is really reaching them’,” she says.
The young Palestinian-American artist, whose work was featured at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, was born in Dearborn, Mich. She grew up in a traditional home, surrounded by Middle Eastern food and music. Arabic was her first language.
In 2001, Salloum moved to New York City to pursue her interest in art as a graduate student. Her early work depicted conflict in Latin America. However, when the Israeli military raided Jenin in April 2002, Salloum was galvanized into a new focus on her Palestinian roots.
After the “Meen Erhabe” video, Salloum went on to make a movie montage for her senior thesis. She named it “Planet of the Arabs”, and illuminated Hollywood’s widespread depictions of Arabs as villains and terrorists. Then Salloum experienced “a big shock.” “Planet of the Arabs” went on to become an official selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. “Planet of the Arabs” also received the International Editing Award at the 2005 CinemaTexas Film Festival
Her early successes inspired Salloum to create the world’s first full-length feature film about Palestinian Hip-Hop. “SlingShot Hip Hop” premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Slingshot Hip Hop, braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them.Salloum’s work is also the basis of a youth education program on Palestine/Israel, and she frequently speaks at universities and conferences internationally.
The mission of the Liberty Foundation is to raise donations in order to purchase newspaper space to tell the USS Liberty story. The USS Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) has tried for over 37 years to expose the true story of the deliberate Israeli attack on the USS Liberty to the American people through books, news media, movies, and letters to the President of the United States and congressmen. While we have encountered politicians and news media personnel who were willing to help, they have been unable to interest their superiors or others in supporting our cause. Many people believe it is just too politically risky or politically incorrect to confront the Israeli lobbyists and support groups. Please read on.
THE ISSUE
The Israelis do not want the truth to be told. It is obvious that they fear that America may be less of a supportive ally if the truth were known. The truth of their deeds and the Johnson Administration needs to be fully investigated. Congress has never officially investigated the attack and so the attack continues to be a cover-up of the worse magnitude. We believe the operational plans were FRONTLET 615 and Operation Cyanide. We have discovered that the USS Liberty was part of these plans. These documents should be declassified immediately and released to the American public for historic analytical purposes. The complicity of the Israelis and the Johnson Administration in starting the Six Day War alarmed the Soviet Union. The United States and the Soviet Union came closer to a nuclear confrontation than any other incident in history including the Cuban Missile crises. When the Soviets discovered that the U.S. was planning to enter the war militarily, they challenged President Johnson with a nuclear confrontation and President Johnson wisely backed down from any further military activities.
Note: Everything written heretofore and the remaining details are accurate and can be proven by corroborated individual witness testimony, logical deduction, and documentation.
SYNOPSIS OF OUR STORY
On June 8, 1967, the Israeli Defense Forces murdered 34 Americans on the high seas (31 sailors, 2 marines, and a NSA civilian). Out of a total compliment of 294 men, 70% of the crew became casualties as 172 were wounded in addition to the 34 killed.
For 6 hours the morning before the attack, the ship was subjected to intense scrutiny by Israeli photo-reconnaissance aircraft flying as low as 200 feet. The USS Liberty had traditional American markings on her bow (GTR-5) and stern (USS LIBERTY) flying a large American Flag, which stood out in the breeze, and sailing in international waters on a clear and sunny day. The ship was a WWII victory hull cargo ship modified to monitor and record ambient radio transmission and lightly armed with four 50 caliber machine guns.
The Israelis began the attack with 3 fighter jets which strafed, rocketed, and bombed the Liberty. This was followed with 3 torpedo boats that fired 30mm canons and torpedoes. Since the Liberty was a virtually unarmed vessel and not a military threat, at no time did the torpedo boats request the Liberty to surrender as did the North Koreans regarding the USS Pueblo in 1968. Responding to our SOS which was about 15 minutes into the Israeli attack, the USS Saratoga launched conventionally armed fighter aircraft to assist the USS Liberty and the USS America launched nuclear armed jet aircraft to bomb Cairo. Why Cairo? Our SOS did not identify the attacker at the time as the identity of the attacker was unknown. Within minutes after the launch, the White House recalled all aircraft abandoning the USS Liberty subjecting us to an additional 2 hours of an Israeli turkey shoot. In disbelief, RADM Geis, Sixth Fleet Carrier Division Commander, challenged the order (as was his right and responsibility in this situation). Unbelievably, the White House again reaffirmed the order to recall all aircraft despite our plea for help. Israelis destroyed one of the most advanced intelligence ships.
The Liberty was riddled with 821 holes, sustained 2 napalm bombs, and a torpedo blowing a 22 by 39 foot hole in her starboard side killing 25 of the 34 murdered. Miraculously, the Liberty refused to sink and was able to get underway under her own power. The Israelis were observed machine gunning 3 life rafts. It was obvious to the Liberty crew that survivors were not to be taken. When hostilities ceased, helicopters were observed overhead with Israeli commandos at the ready to finish us off. Fortuitously, the Israelis picked up an invalid message that U.S. help was on the way. Israel was reluctantly forced to terminate its ongoing attack. Ironically help did not arrive until 18 hours after the attack when the Liberty was only 15 minutes away from USS Saratoga and USS America fighter jets.
The US Naval official inquiry was deliberately falsified to compliment the Israeli story (as testified by retired Navy Lawyer, Captain Ward Boston). Details acquired were either changed or dropped so that the Israeli version which became public was that the attack was a tragic mistake. The orders to falsify came directly from President Johnson for political reasons. The survivors of the USS Liberty were told never to talk about the incident under penalty of fine and/or imprisonment. Military orders that followed were in line with the White House which was not to indicate on any monuments and the like that Israel was the attacker. The USS Liberty skipper, Captain William McGonagle was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions to keep the ship afloat and operational. His award was given to him not by President Johnson at the White House. There is no other explanation to believe other than the President did not want to jeopardize the Jewish vote in an upcoming presidential election. The Captain’s medal was presented to him by the Secretary of the Navy at a low level Washington Navy Yard ceremony.
CONCLUSION
What a crime it would be for historical reasons if the US Government continues to lie about details of the Six Day War. In the end, truth always wins out. What a shame for elected officials who will not stand up to be counted. For the sake of our fallen 34 shipmates, we will not give up. God bless America and may God give our officials the grace and courage to do the right thing and initiate a proper Congressional investigation.
WE NEED YOU
After reading this article, if your American spirit is challenged, please write a tax deductible check or money order to the USS Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) so that we can continue to purchase additional newspaper space in other parts of the country. Anyone who donates $100 or more will receive a free BBC film Dead in the Water DVD or VCR tape (your choice). It is the goal of the Liberty Foundation to publish this article in newspapers all over the country. This is the sole purpose of the funds. In addition, you should write to the President of the United States and your congressmen requesting an official investigation. If enough citizens demand to know the truth, the pressure may be too great for our distracters to stop us. Make no mistake, our society will be the winners when the complete truth of the attack on the USS Liberty and the Six Day War (June 67) are fully understood. Please help!
Ann Wright and Emma’s Revolution in Charlottesville, Va., Sept. 22nd
Host: David Swanson
Previously Aired On: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - Listen to the Show!
Ann Wright will speak and Emma’s Revolution will play in an event beginning at 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 22, 2008, at the Albemarle County Office Building, 401 McIntire Rd., Charlottesville, Va. The event is free and sponsored by the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, which operates on your generous DONATIONS.
“This illuminating and remarkably impressive book should be leaked into the government. If you’re at all like me, you will have a whole set of new heroes when you finish reading this.” — Daniel Ellsberg.
Cindy Sheehan and Ann Wright spoke about Iraq on May 17, 2006, at an event in Charlottesville hosted by the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. Here’s video.
Emma’s Revolution is the duo of award-winning, activist musicians, Pat Humphries & Sandy O.
“Pat’s songs will be sung well into the 22nd century.” — Pete Seeger
“Across from the White House, we paused. . . We were arrested several hours later, having sung ‘Peace Salaam Shalom’ and ‘All We Are Saying . . .’ the entire time.” — Alice Walker
Barrie Zwicker is an independent documentary producer, author and social and political activist. The Great Conspiracy: The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw is a 70-minute sequel to The Great Deception. It premiered at the The Citizens’ Commission on 9-11.
In this work, Zwicker contends that fear was used to control the public after 9/11, and states that the “War on Terrorism” is a public control mechanism. He also analyzes the military breakdown on 9/11 and claims that the president and his aides acted entirely inappropriately that day. Throughout, mainstream media is accused of being either compliant or complicit with a cover-up.
Zwicker followed this with an additional documentary entitled, Deep Complicity, 9-11 And The Media, released in 2004.
Zwicker instigated and was Director of the International Citizens’ Inquiry Into 9/11, held at The University of Toronto 25-30 May 2004. It featured 40 presenters from three continents. Video from the Inquiry is being incorporated into numerous documentaries including The Great Conspiracy. The inquiry organization, Skeptics’ Inquiry For Truth (SIFT) is incorporated and continues as an educational and activist group.
Prior to December 2003, Zwicker was the resident media critic (the only such in Canada) for 15 years with Vision TV, Canada’s only independent not-for-profit TV channel and the world’s first multi-faith TV channel. (One reviewer whimsically described Zwicker as “the professional furrowed brow for the small-r religious set.”) Vision TV is available in more than 8-million Canadian homes via cable and DTH satellite.
In the 2001-2002 TV season Zwicker hosted VisionTV Insight: the MediaFile Edition, “a weekly half-hour commercial-free alternative look at the media,” moderated its media panel and provided a commentary each program. Six of his MediaFile commentaries that season — a series titled “What Really Happened on Sept. 11th?” - made him the first mainstream television journalist in the world to go on air and deeply question the official story of the events of 9/11. The commentaries elicited the greatest response of any programming in the channel’s history. The response was literally 99% positive. The series became known as “The Great Deception” and was released on video under that title. The updated version (available on VHS and DVD) contains seven segments.
Zwicker has worked in journalism and communications since he was 16, when he joined the Russell (Man.) Banner as a Printer’s Devil. He worked on major newspapers including The Vancouver Province, The Detroit News, the Flint Journal and the Lansing State Journal, for a year at Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper, The Toronto Star and for eight years at “Canada’s National Newspaper,” The Globe and Mail. While the Globe’s education writer, he won all three top awards of the Education Writers’ Association of North America.
Zwicker taught journalism part time for seven years at Ryerson Polytechnic University. His courses were “Media and Society” and then “Media, Ethics and the Law.”
He co-authored and co-edited, with the late Dick MacDonald, THE NEWS: Inside the Canadian Media (Deneau) and authored War, Peace and the Media (Sources). In September 2004 he produced Barrie Zwicker’s 9/11 Resource Guide.
Towers of Deception: The Media Cover-up of 9/11
Zwicker’s new book published by New Society Publishers was released September 1, 2006.
Barrie produced more than 200 media criticism segments for Vision TV in his last four seasons. Before that he contributed regularly to Vision’s public affairs programs “It’s About Time,” “Arts Express” and “Inventing Reality,” from Vision’s launch in September 1988.
Zwicker is also seen and heard as a media critic on CBC-TV, CTV’s News1, RoB-TV and other TV and radio outlets and in print. For three and a half years his “Facing the Fourth Estate” commentary was nationally syndicated on 18 stations on CBC Radio.
He earned a Southam Fellowship (1967-68) and studied for three years under Marshall McLuhan. Earlier (1959-61) he was a University of Michigan/Michigan Press Club Co-operative Journalism Fellow, the first Canadian chosen up until then.
He owned and published the journalism review content from 1974 through 1981, when he sold that publication to Humber College.
In 1999, he sold his directory business, Sources®, The Directory of Contacts for Editors, Reporters and Researchers (www.sources.com)* which he founded in June 1977. He also founded Parliamentary Names & Numbers. He is Publisher Emeritus of Sources.
In the 1960s and 70s he was active in the Don Vale Association of Homeowners and Residents. Working in concert with then Ward 7 city Councillors John Sewell and Karl Jaffary, the association became a “giant slayer” at City Hall. The Association succeeded in abolishing a so-called “urban renewal” plan for Don Vale which would have razed numerous homes - including that of the Zwickers - and turned the sites over to developers.
As Corresponding Secretary for the Association, Zwicker wrote letters and press releases arising from democratic meetings. He named and helped found the ward’s newspaper, 7 News. He also delivered it door to door.
He was awarded an honourary Life Membership in the Media Club of Canada in 1991 and is listed in Canadian Who’s Who.
He was born Nov. 5, 1934 in White Head, N.S., a son of the late United Church minister, Rev. W. G. Zwicker and the former Norah Hall. He has been married to the former Jean Adie Muzzell of Owen Sound, Ont. for 41 years. They have two children. Xena-Linda is a musician and therapist. Gren-Erich specializes in audio post-production in Toronto and has worked with Norman Jewison and David Cronenberg. He has just finished working on Cronenberg’s latest, History of Violence, to be premiered at Cannes this month.
Following the lead of his parents, Zwicker has long been a committed environmentalist. Jean is an avid gardener. Under Zwicker’s guidance Sources was the first directory in Canada to be printed on all recycled stock. He and wife gave up automobile ownership in 1966; Zwicker has ridden a bicycle since.
In the Summer of 2000 he started a solo cross-Canada bicycle journey, off-road as much as possible on the Trans-Canada Trail, travelling 1,900km from Vancouver Island to Calgary. The Summer of 2001 he covered 4,000km from Calgary to Toronto. He plans to resume his cross-Canada tour from Toronto to St. Johns, Newfoundland when time permits.
Zwicker describes himself as “an atheist Christian humanist” and is a member of the Humanist Association of Canada. His hero is Bertrand Russell. He’s a board member of both SIFT and of 9/11truth.org.
Previously Aired On: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - Listen to the Show!
Brad Friedman is an investigative citizen journalist/blogger, political commentator and broadcaster. He is the Creator and Managing Editor of The BRAD BLOG.
Just some of the many notable national stories he’s broken on his blog include “The White House Website Scrubbing”, the “Tom Feeney/Clint Curtis/Yang Enterprises Vote-Rigging Scandal”, the story of the phony GOP front group, “American Center for Voting Rights”, the E-Voting Machine “Sleepover” controversy in San Diego’s Busby/Bilbray U.S. House Special Election, numerous explosive exclusives on whistleblowers such as FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, along with his well-respected, and widely-touted continuing coverage of various Electronic Voting Machine companies like Diebold who are destroying American democracy. He has filed, literally, thousands of stories on Election Integrity and Electile Dysfunction since at least November 3rd, 2004.
He has appeared in numerous documentary films, as well as on ABC News, CNN, CourtTV and elsewhere to discuss his reporting and expertise on a variety of issues.
He’s a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and has written articles and editorials for Mother Jones, Editor & Publisher, ComputerWorld, Columbus Free Press, Salon.com, TruthOut.org, Harvard’s Nieman Foundation of Journalism, Hustler and other non-pornographic publications and websites.
In addition to live speaking engagements around the country, Brad has Guest Hosted on a number of radio programs for Peter B. Collins, Mike Malloy, The Young Turks and others. He’s also the host of The BRAD SHOW, a radio program co-produced with Internet news site RAW STORY and a frequent Guest on radio shows across the country. More information, online listening links, and archives to previous BRAD SHOW’s can be found at www.BradShow.com. Other favorite media appearances, both audio and video, are available here.
Brad’s reports and breaking news from his popular website, The BRAD BLOG, are frequently cited by the national media, and can be read at http://www.BradBlog.com.
Palestinian-American poet and author Naomi Shihab Nye knew she wanted to write even before she could use a pencil. “Selecting and arranging words seemed comforting,” she says. At age seven she submitted her first poem for publication, beginning a prolific and award-winning calling.
Nye was born in St. Louis in 1952. Just four years earlier, her father and his family lost their home in Jerusalem following the establishment of the state of Israel. As a result of her father’s experiences, she learned the importance of place and of being connected - a theme that has been central to her writing ever since.
As Nye explains, “When you grow up in a house with someone who lives with a very strong sense of exile, when they are disconnected from the place they love most, that casts a certain light on how you see everything - your sense of gravity, history and justice.”
In 1966, Nye’s family moved to Jerusalem but left following the outbreak of the 1967 war. They relocated to San Antonio, Texas, where she earned her B.A. from Trinity University and resides today.
Nye has written or edited nearly thirty books. Among them are her collections of poetry, including Different Ways to Pray, 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, A MAZE ME, and You & Yours; two novels for young adults, Habibi and Going Going, and picture books including, Sitti’s Secrets and Come With Me: Poems for a Journey. Anthologies she has edited include The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings from the Middle East and This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World.
“As poets we’re attracted to little things and little stories,” Nye explains. “I think as a Palestinian American that’s part of my job - to tell the stories that the news does not take the time to tell. We have to tell what we know.”
Nye has traveled to Palestine frequently and has given readings at all major Palestinian universities. “I feel an urgency that Arab-American writers find a way where we can be more useful.”
Among her many honors, Nye is the recipient of four Pushcart Prizes, two Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards, the Patterson Poetry Prize and the Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets. Her works Different Ways to Pray and Hugging the Jukebox won the Voertman Poetry Prize. She has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a Witter Bynner Fellow, a Lannan Fellow, and a National Book Award Finalist. Her books Hugging the Jukebox and This Same Sky have been selected as worthy by the American Library Association.
Naomi Shihab Nye has been featured on NPR and Prairie Home Companion. Nye has also appeared on more than one PBS documentaries and specials: NOW with Bill Moyers, The Language of Life with Bill Moyers, and The United States of Poetry
In 2001 she received a presidential appointment to the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Her book of short essays, I’ll Ask You Three Times, Are You OK?: Tales of Driving & Being Driven, was released in 2007. Her latest book Honeybee is a collection of eighty-two poems and paragraphs, alighting on the essentials of our time—our loved ones, our dense air, our wars, our memories, our planet.
David Ray Griffin, PhD is emeritus professor of philosophy of religion and theology, Dr. Griffin is the author or editor of over 20 books, many of them highly acclaimed. He is one of 60 scholars worldwide included in the most recent Handbook of Christian Theologians.
After reading the work of Paul Thompson and Nafeez Ahmed, he became convinced that there was a prima facie case for the contention that there must have been complicity from individuals within the United States, and joined the 9/11 Truth Movement in calling for an extensive investigation from the United States media, Congress and the 9/11 Commission. At this time, he set about writing his first book on the subject, which he called The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11 (2004). Although largely ignored by the mainstream media, this highly revealing book has been widely read and translated into many other languages.
Part One of the The New Pearl Harbor looks at the events of 9/11, discussing each flight in turn and also the behaviour of President George W. Bush and his Secret Service protection. Part Two examines 9/11 in a wider context, in the form of four “disturbing questions”. David Ray Griffin discussed this book and the claims within it in an interview with Nick Welsh, reported under the headline Thinking Unthinkable Thoughts: Theologian Charges White House Complicity in 9/11 Attack.
Dr. Griffin has published a piercing critique of the final report of the 9/11 Commission. Calling his critique The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions & Distortions, he shows that the Commission’s report, while presenting itself as an impartial investigation into the facts surrounding 9/11, in reality simply defends the official account, ignoring or else distorting all the facts suggestive of governmental complicity. In numerous radio interviews around the country and the world, Dr. Griffin is helping to mobilize large numbers to demand a real investigation into what happened on that fateful day.
In 2007 Prof. Griffin published his most remarkable book on 9/11, Debunking 9/11 Debunking, a detailed response to the well-funded official and semi-official attempts to debunk the 9/11 Truth movement. His most recent book, 9/11 Contradictions: An Open Letter to Congress and the Press, published in March, 2008, focuses on serious internal contradictions within the official story.
Prof. Griffins’ 9/11 books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies both in the US and abroad. They have been translated into several languages, and have convinced many key people of the need for a truly independent investigation into that fateful day.
June 8th, 1967 was a clear, sunny day with unlimited visibility. It was such a nice day that as the U.S.S. Liberty floated in international waters 14 miles north of the Sinai Peninsula, sailors were sunbathing on the spy ship’s deck.
But all wasn’t as tranquil as the sunny day would convey, for June 8th also marked the 4th day of the 6-Day War, which involved Israel, Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
Monitoring this situation was the U.S.S. Liberty, a World War II freighter that had been converted into a spy vessel by the NSA – the National Security Agency. In fact, the Liberty was the most sophisticated and identifiable intelligence ship in the world at the time with dozens of large antennae, state of the art electronic intercept equipment, moon bounce satellite dishes, massive aerials, plus a TRSSCOM system that sent real-time messages to the Pentagon. The Liberty also flew a large 5×8 foot American flag, was freshly painted with large white numbers and letters on its bow and hull, and contained no offensive weaponry except for four 50 caliber machine guns for defensive purposes.
These details are important to keep in mind, because at 8:00 am, as the Liberty floated in international waters at less than 5 knots – with a 5×8 foot American flag furling in the wind – a squadron of Israeli jets circled the ship at least a dozen times. These reconnaissance planes flew at such low levels – as close as 200 feet – that the sailors aboard the Liberty actually waved to the Israeli pilots. These Israeli jets not only I.D.’d this ship as being of American origin, they also positively I.D.’d it as being the U.S.S. Liberty.
Then inexplicably, unmarked Israeli aircraft, began to attack the Liberty. The attacked continued for 2 hours by Israeli Mirage fighter bombers, Dassault Mystyre III jets, and torpedo boats. The Israelis used missiles, rockets and napalm to slaughter 34 of the Liberty crew members, wounding 173 others. Even men and lifeboats in the water were targetted as the crew of the USS Liberty was forced to abandon ship.
Guest Joseph Lentini was a Senior Petty Officer of Communications on board the USS Liberty that fateful day:
“Even the IDF officers on duty that day in 1967 now say they had identified the U.S.S. Liberty prior to the attack.
They have said this publicly on U.S. National TV and have also indicated that, contrary to the original official Israeli statement that the ship flew no flag, they thought we were “flying false colors.” It may take some time, but eventually the truth is exposed. In recent times it has been the Israeli government itself that has verified what we survivors have said all along!
To all those folks who were not there that day, who have not carefully studied the facts as they are recorded by both sides, I suggest that if they doubt the attack was planned and carried out deliberately, they should research U.S. Naval records, official pictures, and information available from the State of Israel. This is not, nor has it ever been, a religious issue. The issues revolve around the politics of an ally who, when it was perceived to be in its best interest, attacked and killed U.S. Navy men. They revolve around the politics of the U.S. which kept a President from allowing a military response to come to our aid/comfort/protection. Finally, they revolve around the U.S. politics which kept our President then from presenting the Medal of Honor to our Captain and a more recent George Bush from even meeting with survivors while we were visiting the White House.
Notice please that there is nothing anti-religion in any of those statements. Liberty survivors were wronged by Israelis whose religion happens to be Jewish and U.S. politicians who were guided by monetary political issues. Nothing more - nothing less.
I was there! It was no accident! I can only hope and pray that what happened to me and my shipmates never has to happen again, especially not at the hands of an “ally!”
Joseph C. Lentini was a career Public Servant and is retired from the Federal Government after 29 ½ years of service. He was a staff member within the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of the Administrator. He served as both a Communications Specialist and a Computer Specialist for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) prior to joining the EPA. Joe received agency and peer-level recognition every year of his Federal employment. This included cash awards; organizational and peer certificates of appreciation; and five of EPA’s highest level awards - an EPA Silver medal for Superior Service and four EPA Bronze medals for Commendable Service.
Joe entered Public Service prior to his 18th birthday when he joined the U.S Navy, where he served with honor for eight years. During this time he distinguished himself as an honor graduate of the Communications Technician (CT) School at Pensacola, Florida where he trained as a Communications and Cryptographic Specialist. He was promoted through the rank of Petty Officer First Class (E-6), and later returned to the same CT School as a senior instructor. During this duty he received base-wide recognition as an outstanding leader and instructor. He was retired from the Navy after eight years of active military service for medical reasons and received a permanent 30% disability for wounds inflicted by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) during their deliberate attack of the intelligence ship USS Liberty June 08, 1967.
Joe was honored by the Navy and the National Security Agency (NSA) for training efforts related to accurately documenting this attack and for his efforts to help establish a Cryptologic Military History Program. They publicly presented him with an honorary promotion to the rank of Chief
Petty Officer (E-7). He considers this to be one of the highest honors the Navy can bestow and counts it a major achievement.
Lt. Col. Karen U. Kwiatkowski, PhD, U.S. Air Force (ret) – 9/11 Pentagon survivor. Former Political-Military Affairs Officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Also served on the staff of the Director of the National Security Agency. 20-year Air Force career.
Member adjunct faculty, Political Science Department, James Madison University. Instructor, University of Maryland University College and American Public University System. Author of African Crisis Response Initiative: Past Present and Future (2000) and Expeditionary Air Operations in Africa: Challenges and Solutions (2001).
Contributor to 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out 8/23/06: Account of Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, Pentagon employee and eyewitness to the events at the Pentagon on 9/11. “I believe the Commission failed to deeply examine the topic at hand, failed to apply scientific rigor to its assessment of events leading up to and including 9/11, failed to produce a believable and unbiased summary of what happened, failed to fully examine why it happened, and even failed to include a set of unanswered questions for future research.
It is as a scientist that I have the most trouble with the official government conspiracy theory, mainly because it does not satisfy the rules of probability or physics. The collapses of the World Trade Center buildings clearly violate the laws of probability and physics.
There was a dearth of visible debris on the relatively unmarked [Pentagon] lawn, where I stood only minutes after the impact. Beyond this strange absence of airliner debris, there was no sign of the kind of damage to the Pentagon structure one would expect from the impact of a large airliner. This visible evidence or lack thereof may also have been apparent to the secretary of defense [Donald Rumsfeld], who in an unfortunate slip of the tongue referred to the aircraft that slammed into the Pentagon as a “missile”. …
I saw nothing of significance at the point of impact - no airplane metal or cargo debris was blowing on the lawn in front of the damaged building as smoke billowed from within the Pentagon. … all of us staring at the Pentagon that morning were indeed looking for such debris, but what we expected to see was not evident.
The same is true with regard to the kind of damage we expected. … But I did not see this kind of damage. Rather, the facade had a rather small hole, no larger than 20 feet in diameter. Although this facade later collapsed, it remained standing for 30 or 40 minutes, with the roof line remaining relatively straight.
The scene, in short, was not what I would have expected from a strike by a large jetliner. It was, however, exactly what one would expect if a missile had struck the Pentagon.
More information is certainly needed regarding the events of 9/11 and the events leading up to that terrible day.”
Part publicist, part marketer, part writer, above all a socially conscious communicator, Scott has 14 years of experience promoting ideas, products, and services in various culture-shaping (and sometimes suffocating) domains — advertising, media, interactive design, photography, technology, television, and fashion. Some years ago, he broke the trance of an increasingly corporate-controlled, cynical consumer culture and started applying his mainstream background and talents to the public interest, promoting nonprofits and progressive social causes.
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.
Robert M. Bowman (born 1934) was a former Director of Advanced Space Programs Development for the U.S. Air Force in the Ford and Carter administrations, and a former United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with 101 combat missions.
Dr. Bowman is active in national and international professional societies and chaired eight major conferences. His PhD is in Aeronautics and Nuclear Engineering from Caltech. Dr. Bowman has lectured at the National War College, the United Nations, Congressional Caucuses, the Academies of Science of six nations, and the House of Lords. He has appeared on McNeil-Lehrer, ABC News, the Larry King Show, Donohue, and Firing Line. He has hosted radio talk shows in New York, Rhode Island, and Florida.
Bowman, the father of Robert M. Bowman, Jr., is the founder and Presiding Archbishop of the United Catholic Church, an “independent Catholic fellowship” created in 1996 and held to be connected through apostolic succession to the Old Catholic Church. Additionally, he is Executive Director of Christian Support Ministries. He also believes the US government was complicit in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Activism
Despite his involvement with space programs and defense, he emerged as an early public critic of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, also aka “Star Wars”) during the Ronald Reagan administration. On The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour, he called it “the ultimate military lunacy, easily overwhelmed and vulnerable”. Bowman founded the Institute for Space and Security Studies, and its publication Space & Security News (1983) (ISSN 1071-2569), and authored two books on the subject of SDI. He is also a critic of an outgrowth of the SDI program, the Bush administration’s proposed National Missile Defense.
For several years he has been active with Veterans for Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War as a speaker. He had also been a member of the Peace Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
In 1998, Project Censored cited Bowman’s article “Our Continuing War Against Iraq,” in the May 1998 issue of Space and Security News as one of the few (along with Bill Blum of the San Francisco Bay Guardian and Dennis Bernstein) covering what they deemed the fifth most censored story, “U.S. Weapons of Mass Destruction Linked to the Deaths of Half a Million Children.” The WMDs referred to are the biological samples sent to Iraq from the United States up to 1989, and use of depleted uranium during the Gulf War.
Bowman holds the belief that the US government was complicit in the September 11, 2001 attacks. On September 11, 2004 in New York City, Bowman said “…the official conspiracy theory of 9/11 is a bunch of hogwash. It’s impossible”. On the 2006 9/11 + The Neo-Con Agenda Symposium, he stated: “I’m an old interceptor pilot, I know the drill, I’ve done it. I know how long it takes, I know the rules… and… critics on the government story on 9/11 have said: “Well, they knew about this, and they did nothing”. That’s not true. If our government had done nothing that day, and let normal procedure be followed, those planes, wherever they were, would have been intercepted, the Twin Towers would still be standing and thousands of dead Americans would still be alive.” Bowman stated that at the bare minimum if Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were involved in 9/11 then the government stood down and allowed the attacks to happen. He said it is plausible that the entire chain of military command were unaware they were used as tools by the people pulling the strings behind the attack.
Because of his beliefs, he is part of the movement to impeach George W. Bush. He is also a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, founded in January 2006 by James H. Fetzer.
In a radio interview on April 12, 2007, Bowman made this statement:
The argument over the technological feasibility of a defensive shield is entirely irrelevant, because Star Wars has nothing to do with defense. It is an attempt to deploy offensive weapons disguised as defense. In 1982, in his secret defense guidance document, Ronald Reagan ordered the Department of Defense to develop Star Wars weapons, and he assigned them two missions. One: Destroy opposing satellites and seize control of space. Two: Destroy targets on the surface of the earth from space without warning. There wasn’t a word in there about shooting down ballistic missiles. That was a smokescreen for the American people, because they knew that the American people would never approve weapons in space for offensive purposes.
Political Ambitions
In 2000, he campaigned nationwide for the nomination of the Reform Party of the United States of America for President of the United States. In some Reform Party straw polls, he polled better than the ultimate winner of the nomination Pat Buchanan, though still 40 points behind the frontrunner John Hagelin. In the California 2000 presidential primaries, he came in third among five Reform Party candidates, after Donald Trump and John B. Anderson, with 15% of the vote. Including “votes cast by Independents or voters of another party”, he came in third among six Reform Party candidates with 14% of the vote, after Trump and George D. Weber.
Bowman was also considered as one of the running mates for John Hagelin, who was running as the Natural Law Party candidate for President and also one of the front runners for the Reform Party nomination. Though many believed Bowman would win the slot on Hagelin’s ticket as the candidate for Vice President of the United States, he ultimately lost it to Nat Goldhaber.
In 2004, Bowman attempted another run at the Presidency, but ultimately endorsed John Kerry. In 2005 he toured the United States at the invitation of friends honoring him for his efforts towards peace, viewing it as a sort of “farewell tour” due to his battle with a form of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
In 2006, Bowman collected signatures to get on the ballot as a Democrat running for the seat in the United States House of Representatives held by 15th District Florida Republican Dave Weldon. Democrat Timothy A. Shipe filed, but did not qualify. Shipe was not known to the Brevard County, Florida Democratic party whereas Bowman has been working with them. In September 2006 Dr. Bowman won the Democratic Primary election, and became the official Democratic candidate running against the Republican incumbent in November 2006.
Awards
The recipient of the Eisenhower Medal, the George F. Kennan Peace Prize, the President’s Medal of Veterans for Peace, the Republic Aviation Airpower Award, The Society of American Military Engineers’ Gold Medal (twice), the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters, and numerous other awards, he is one of the country’s foremost authorities on national security.
Will Thomas is an award-winning Canadian journalist specializing in health and environment. During and immediately after the Gulf War, he served five months in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as a member of a three-man environmental emergency response team.
A professional journalist for nearly four decades, his writing and photography have appeared in more than 50 publications in 8 countries-including translations into French, Dutch and Japanese. Winner of four Canadian feature-writing awards, Will is the author of five books and several electronic “ebooks” available as exclusive downloads.
All of his work is thoroughly documented and footnoted. Much of his current reporting is based on a trusted insider, well known to him over a 15 year working relationship. “Hank”–not his real name–is a behind-the-scenes player on the world stage who draws on extensive contacts in the US military and intelligence communities to reveal stories presented only on the pages of http://www.WillThomasOnline.net
Attempting to probe the biggest story of the new century, Will Thomas wrote the first book on 9/11. Published in December 2001, All Fall Down: The Politics Of Terror And Mass Persuasion was reissued in hardcover the following year. Will’s most recent book, Days Of Deception: Ground Zero and Beyond remains one of the most thoroughly documented reports on the agents and agendas behind the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Produced by 9/11 Truth Vancouver from their recent conference, a DVD of his public presentation documenting the stand down of US air defenses on September 11, 2001 will soon be available online.
Based on more than eight years of research after breaking this story on Art Bell’s Coast To Coast radio show in January 1999, his recently updated book, Chemtrails Confirmed 2007 remains the definitive book on chemtrails. It will soon be updated again and available once again as an e-book electronic download online.
Drawn in part from his first-hand experience of a Desert Storm and its aftermath, Scorched Earth examines the impacts of the world’s military on the environment. Based on the true stories of Gulf War veterans, Bringing The War Home is the first book to fully document the origins of Gulf War Syndrome, as well as some promising treatments.
Will’s 30-minute video documentary Eco War won the 1991 US Environmental Film Festival award for “Best Documentary Short”. Excerpts from this “front-lines” chronicle of a three-man environmental emergency response team in Kuwait aired in an eight-part CBC Gulf War mini-series, and have been shown on CNN and NBC television, as well as Noam Chomsky’s feature film, “The Corporation”.
A former pilot, ocean sailor and frequent radio talk-show guest who resigned his US Navy Reserves commission during the Vietnam War because he refused to bomb families not unlike his own, Will Smith currently lives and works among the Gulf Islands of British Columbia.
Margaret Cho was born December 5, 1968 and raised in San Francisco. “It was different than any other place on Earth,” she says. “I grew up and went to grammar school on Haight Street during the ’70s. There were old hippies, ex-druggies, burnouts from the ’60s, drag queens, and Chinese people. To say it was a melting pot - that’s the least of it. It was a really confusing, enlightening, wonderful time.”
Her grandfather was a Methodist minister who ran an orphanage in Seoul during the Korean War. Ignoring the traditions of her patriarchal culture, her mother bravely resisted an arranged marriage in Korea and married Margaret’s father who writes joke books - in Korean. “Books like 1001 Jokes for Public Speakers - real corny stuff,” Margaret says. “I guess we’re in the same line of work. But we don’t understand each other that way. I don’t know why the things he says are funny and the same for him.”
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.
Blair Gadsby is a Professor of Religious Studies at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Phoenix Arizona who staged a hunger strike outside the Phoenix office of U.S. Sen. John McCain in an effort to meet and talk with the Senator regarding the need for the Senator to meet with experts who will present evidence that the WTC buildings came down through controlled demolition.
About a year ago, Gadsby came to the conclusion based on his research that the U.S. government, not terrorists, demolished the World Trade Center buildings in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. And that belief turned him into a fasting activist.
Gadsby found a video online that showed the collapse of World Trade Center 7. He believes the government has ordered media outlets not to show the footage, which shows the building falling in on itself, much like a building does when it implodes.
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:
“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:
On June 10th, highly respected and popular Arizona State Senator Karen Johnson delivered a 10-minute 9/11 Truth address to her fellow colleagues, and especially to her hero Blair Gadsby.
Senator Karen S. Johnson plans to blast Congress for their failure to defend U.S. citizens who were killed on September 11, 2001, and their failure to properly investigate those attacks.
“It has been nearly seven years,” says Johnson, “and we are faced with new evidence that turns the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission upside down. We are fighting a war because of 9/11 – and we still don’t really know what happened. We have spent billions of dollars on the war, with an additional $340 million per day. Thousands of U.S. servicemen and women have lost their lives, not to mention the lives of innocent Iraqi and Afghan civilians.”
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.
Jackie Salloum became a filmmaker almost by accident. One day, Salloum was propelled into action after hearing an interview with Israeli artist Udi Aloni on a New York City radio station. The artist played music by a Palestinian hip hop group, named DAM, on the radio.
Her early successes inspired Salloum to create the world’s first full-length feature film about Palestinian Hip-Hop. “SlingShot Hip Hop” premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Slingshot Hip Hop, braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them.Salloum’s work is also the basis of a youth education program on Palestine/Israel, and she frequently speaks at universities and conferences internationally.
THE LIBERTY FOUNDATION 
Barrie Zwicker is an independent documentary producer, author and social and political activist. The Great Conspiracy: The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw is a 70-minute sequel to The Great Deception. It premiered at the The Citizens’ Commission on 9-11.
In the 2001-2002 TV season Zwicker hosted VisionTV Insight: the MediaFile Edition, “a weekly half-hour commercial-free alternative look at the media,” moderated its media panel and provided a commentary each program. Six of his MediaFile commentaries that season — a series titled “What Really Happened on Sept. 11th?” - made him the first mainstream television journalist in the world to go on air and deeply question the official story of the events of 9/11. The commentaries elicited the greatest response of any programming in the channel’s history. The response was literally 99% positive. The series became known as “The Great Deception” and was released on video under that title. The updated version (available on VHS and DVD) contains seven segments.
Towers of Deception: The Media Cover-up of 9/11
Brad Friedman is an investigative citizen journalist/blogger, political commentator and broadcaster. He is the Creator and Managing Editor of The 
Palestinian-American poet and author Naomi Shihab Nye knew she wanted to write even before she could use a pencil. “Selecting and arranging words seemed comforting,” she says. At age seven she submitted her first poem for publication, beginning a prolific and award-winning calling.
Nye has written or edited nearly thirty books. Among them are her collections of poetry, including Different Ways to Pray, 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, A MAZE ME, and You & Yours; two novels for young adults, Habibi and Going Going, and picture books including, Sitti’s Secrets and Come With Me: Poems for a Journey. Anthologies she has edited include The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings from the Middle East and This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World.
Naomi Shihab Nye has been featured on NPR and Prairie Home Companion. Nye has also appeared on more than one PBS documentaries and specials: NOW with Bill Moyers, The Language of Life with Bill Moyers, and The United States of Poetry 
David Ray Griffin, PhD is emeritus professor of philosophy of religion and theology, Dr. Griffin is the author or editor of over 20 books, many of them highly acclaimed. He is one of 60 scholars worldwide included in the most recent Handbook of Christian Theologians. 
Dr. Griffin has published a piercing critique of the final report of the 9/11 Commission. Calling his critique The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions & Distortions, he shows that the Commission’s report, while presenting itself as an impartial investigation into the facts surrounding 9/11, in reality simply defends the official account, ignoring or else distorting all the facts suggestive of governmental complicity. In numerous radio interviews around the country and the world, Dr. Griffin is helping to mobilize large numbers to demand a real investigation into what happened on that fateful day. 
June 8th, 1967 was a clear, sunny day with unlimited visibility. It was such a nice day that as the U.S.S. Liberty floated in international waters 14 miles north of the Sinai Peninsula, sailors were sunbathing on the spy ship’s deck. 
Lt. Col. Karen U. Kwiatkowski, PhD, U.S. Air Force (ret) – 9/11 Pentagon survivor. Former Political-Military Affairs Officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Also served on the staff of the Director of the National Security Agency. 20-year Air Force career.
Scott Tillitt
Robert M. Bowman (born 1934) was a former Director of Advanced Space Programs Development for the U.S. Air Force in the Ford and Carter administrations, and a former United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with 101 combat missions. 
Will Thomas is an award-winning Canadian journalist specializing in health and environment. During and immediately after the Gulf War, he served five months in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as a member of a three-man environmental emergency response team. 
Attempting to probe the biggest story of the new century, Will Thomas wrote the first book on 9/11. Published in December 2001, All Fall Down: The Politics Of Terror And Mass Persuasion was reissued in hardcover the following year. Will’s most recent book, Days Of Deception: Ground Zero and Beyond remains one of the most thoroughly documented reports on the agents and agendas behind the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. 
Margaret Cho was born December 5, 1968 and raised in San Francisco. “It was different than any other place on Earth,” she says. “I grew up and went to grammar school on Haight Street during the ’70s. There were old hippies, ex-druggies, burnouts from the ’60s, drag queens, and Chinese people. To say it was a melting pot - that’s the least of it. It was a really confusing, enlightening, wonderful time.” 
Blair Gadsby is a Professor of Religious Studies at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Phoenix Arizona who staged a hunger strike outside the Phoenix office of U.S. Sen. John McCain in an effort to meet and talk with the Senator regarding the need for the Senator to meet with experts who will present evidence that the WTC buildings came down through controlled demolition. 
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.” 
On June 10th, highly respected and popular Arizona State Senator Karen Johnson delivered a 10-minute 9/11 Truth address to her fellow colleagues, and especially to her hero Blair Gadsby. 
