WAWA/WeAreWideAwake is my Public Service to America as a muckracker who has journeyed seven times to Israel Palestine since June 2005.
WAWA is dedicated to confronting media and governments that shield the whole
truth.
We who Are Wide
Awake are compelled by the "fierce urgency of Now" [Rev MLK, Jr.] to raise
awareness and promote the human dialogue about many of the crucial issues of our
day: the state of our Union and in protection of democracy, what life is like
under military occupation in Palestine, the Christian EXODUS from the Holy Land,
and spirituality-from a Theologically Liberated Christian Anarchist
POV.
"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils." George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796
"My aim is to agitate & disturb people. I'm not selling bread, I'm selling yeast." Unamuno
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World." John Lennon
"If enough Christians followed the gospel, they could bring any state to its knees." Father Philip Francis Berrigan
"You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." Tom Petty
"If I can't dance, it's not my revolution." Emma Goldman
"We have yet to begin to IMAGINE the power and potential of the Internet." Charlie Rose, 2005
Only in Solidarity do "We have it in our power to begin the world again" Tom Paine
"Never doubt that a few, thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
DO SOMETHING!
Photo of George shown here and in web site banner courtesy of Debbie Hill, 2000.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. -July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence
September 5, 2009: THAT DAY, This 9/11 and Bob Dylan
September 5,2009: THAT DAY, This 9/11 and Bob Dylan
"His voice and lyrics haven't always been easy on the ear, but throughout his career Bob Dylan has never aimed to please. He's disturbed the peace and discomforted the powerful. President Kennedy could easily have been talking about Bob Dylan when he said that, "if sometimes great artists have been most critical of our society, it is because their concern for justice makes them aware that our nation falls short of its highest potential."-President Bill Clinton, 1997 [1]
On THAT DAY we call 9/11, after my initial shock and awe passed, in my inner ear I did hear America's Master Poet, Musician extraordinaire and caustic social critic from his 1981 "Shot of Love" Album:
See the massacre of the innocent She was walking down the hallway while the walls deteriorated West of the Jordan, east of the Rock of Gibraltar I see the turning of the page Curtain rising on a new age See the Groom still waiting at the altar... Try to be pure of heart; they arrest you for robbery… Got the message this morning, the one that was sent to me: About the madness of the comin'… I see the burning of the stage Curtain rising on a new age See the Groom still waiting at the altar But I know God has mercy on them who are slandered and humiliated West of the Jordan, east of the Rock of Gibraltar… I see people who are supposed to know better standin' around like furniture. There's a wall… West of the Jordan, east of the Rock of Gibraltar… Cities on fire, phones out of order They're killing nuns and soldiers, there's fighting on the border… West of the Jordan, east of the Rock of Gibraltar I see the turning of the page Curtain rising on a new age See the Groom still waiting at the altar.
In Christian lingo The Groom is understood to be Jesus.
"Years ago they ... said I was a prophet. I used to say, "No I'm not a prophet" they say "Yes you are, you're a prophet." I said, "No it's not me." They used to say "You sure are a prophet." They used to convince me I was a prophet. Now I come out and say Jesus Christ is the answer. They say, "Bob Dylan's no prophet." [2]
Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in St. Mary's Hospital in 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, and at six, he moved to Hibbing. In 1954-the year of my birth and Catholic baptism at St. Teresa's Catholic church on the lower east side of Manhattan, Bob had his Bar Mitzvah.
As I reflect back to THAT DAY, eight years ago, when the world stood still, I first recalled a trip I took in 1966 in the back seat of a 1964 gold Ford Galaxy with two of my three brothers and both folks up front.
We were on our way through the Holland Tunnel to a lake side vacation, when the radio announcer announced that John Lennon had admitted that The Beatles, "Were more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first-rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
My pop nearly had a stroke at the wheel, when I blurted out, "He is so right! My friends and I know every lyric to every Beatle song there is, but nobody ever quotes Jesus. And if Jesus is suppose to be on the side of the poor, why doesn't the church sell all their art work and pope jewelry and go and feed them?"
It was also in 1966, during the last week of 6th grade, by a "Simple Twist Of Fate" in Mr. Friedman's music class at Island Trees Elementary School in Levittown, Long Island, that I was first introduced to "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" and "The Times They Are A-Changin."
I "felt a spark tingle to my bones" which I now know was my first spiritual experience.
Normally, Mr. F would make us sing lame tunes such as B-I-N-G-O, and I would spend the weekly hour day dreaming out the window. But, on that particular day in '66, Bob became one of my gods; for there was something in his voice, lyrics and that harmonica that lit up my brain and every fiber of my being:
How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man? Yes, n how many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand? Yes, n how many times must the cannon balls fly Before they're forever banned? How many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky? Yes, n how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry? Yes, n how many deaths will it take till he knows That too many people have died? How many years can a mountain exist Before it's washed to the sea? Yes, n how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, n how many times can a man turn his head, Pretending he just doesn't see? The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind, The answer is blowin in the wind…
Come gather round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth savin Then you better start swimmin Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin.
Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again
Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There's a battle outside And it is ragin. It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin.
It has been said, that 9/11 changed everything: except how we think. THAT DAY we call 9/11 changed my way of thinking, and ever since I have never relied on the established media or my government to tell the whole truth.
On THAT DAY we call 9/11, the media assumed the role of secretaries taking down dictation from Big Brother who manipulated we the people with FEAR of the other. Corporate media failed miserably by not asking the questions and searching for the truth, such as WHY did a few [and back then it was just a few] people in the world hate US so much that they could target and murder innocent people?
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official." -Theodore Roosevelt
In December 2001, FOX News began a four part series -that has since been removed from their website- regarding Israel's spying on America.
In Part One, host Brit Hume stated:
"It has been more than 16 years since a civilian working for the Navy was charged with passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but later took responsibility for his work. Now Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have known things they didn't tell us before September 11. Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron has details in the first of a four-part series." [3]
Carl Cameron reported, "Since September 11, more than 60 Israelis have been arrested or detained, either under the new patriot anti-terrorism law, or for immigration violations. A handful of active Israeli military were among those detained, according to investigators, who say some of the detainees also failed polygraph questions when asked about alleged surveillance activities against and in the United States. There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9-11 attacks, but investigators suspect that they Israelis may have gathered intelligence about the attacks in advance, and not shared it. A highly placed investigator said there are "tie-ins." But when asked for details, he flatly refused to describe them, saying, "evidence linking these Israelis to 9-11 is classified. I cannot tell you about evidence that has been gathered. It's classified information."
Numerous classified documents obtained by Fox News indicated that even prior to September 11; as many as 140 other Israelis had been detained or arrested in a secretive and sprawling investigation into suspected espionage by Israelis in the United States. Investigators from numerous government agencies are part of a working group that's been compiling evidence since the mid '90s. These documents detail hundreds of incidents in cities and towns across the country that investigators say, "May well be an organized intelligence gathering activity."
"Why would Israelis spy in and on the U.S.? A general accounting office investigation referred to Israel as country A and said, 'According to a U.S. intelligence agency, the government of country A conducts the most aggressive espionage operations against the U.S. of any U.S. ally.'
"A defense intelligence report said Israel has a voracious appetite for information and said, 'the Israelis are motivated by strong survival instincts which dictate every possible facet of their political and economical policies. It aggressively collects military and industrial technology and the U.S. is a high priority target…Israel possesses the resources and technical capability to achieve its collection objectives.' "[Ibid]
After the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, Israel's economy was devastated, but then came 9/11, and "suddenly new profit vistas opened up for any company that claimed it could spot terrorists in crowds, seal borders from attack and extract confessions from closed-mouthed prisoners…Many of the country's most successful entrepreneurs are using Israel's status as a fortressed state, surrounded by furious enemies, as a kind of twenty-four-hour-a-day showroom--a living example of how to enjoy relative safety amid constant war…Israel now sends $1.2 billion in "defense" products to the United States—up dramatically from $270 million in 1999…That makes Israel the fourth-largest arms dealer in the world…Much of this growth has been in the so-called "homeland security" sector. Before 9/11 homeland security barely existed as an industry. By the end of this year, Israeli exports in the sector will reach $1.2 billion--an increase of 20 percent. The key products and services are …precisely the tools and technologies Israel has used to lock in the occupied territories. Israel has learned to turn endless war into a brand asset, pitching its uprooting, occupation and containment of the Palestinian people as a half-century head start in the "global war on terror." [4]
"The only person you have to think twice about lying to is either yourself or to God."-Bob Dylan
All governments lie and politicians get addicted to gaining and keeping power and religion has been misused for eons to divide people.
On THAT DAY we call 9/11, the last thing I wanted to do was shop, but it was also the day that Dylan's "Love and Theft" came out. I was the only customer in the record shop when I arrived to purchase it, shortly after I learned at 12:45 PM that the Twin Towers had fallen and the Pentagon was tattered.
I had spent three hours that morning on my circular drive rollerblading and upon emerging from the shower, my daughter phoned me from her high school. She told me to put the TV on and wanted to know if it was the end of the world.
I wondered the same too, and I cringed at all the politicians and pundits calling for revenge. As I viewed the images of smoke and despair, while hearing Bob singing in my inner ear about The Groom still waiting at the altar, my heart then welled up with a verse from II Chronicles 6:1:
"The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness."
I also wondered about how Abraham Lincoln had always reflected upon if he were on Gods side and I prayed that NOW that we all knew that our nuclear arsenal is no protection against the rage of a few mad men; would this president lead in the way of the NONVIOLENT Jesus?
But hawks were already circling and FEAR ran through the heartland blinding eyes and hardening hearts.
On this eve of the eighth anniversary of that day we call 9/11, I wonder what our founding fathers would say to this president and Tom Paine's words of wisdom are ripe for these modern times:
"Soon after I had published the pamphlet "Common Sense" [on Feb. 14, 1776] in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion…The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."
I also recall the parable [short story] that Jesus told about a Bridegroom and ten Virgins.
In ancient times, weddings went on for days [if not weeks] and anyone who accepted an invitation to a wedding understood it was a commitment of time and money, for jobs were abandoned in order to be at the happening.
The custom was for the Bridegroom to decide when the wedding would take place; it could be on the first day of the festivities or even the ninth! No one knew when the Groom would appear, and Jesus related how five out of the ten brides were unprepared for their man. Some were out shopping when he came, and so they were left out of the Bridal Chamber and you can imagine how frustrated they were.
Parables are stories that invite the reader to decide who they relate to and what it means to them on the heart level. Jesus didn't hit his listeners over the head with his message; he led by example not lectures and encouraged people to allow their imaginations to lead them.
"Imagination is evidence of The Divine."-William Blake
"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." -John Lennon
Jesus was always on about trying to wake up his audience, to stay alert and read the signs of the times. No one knows when the end of time will come, and "even if the end of the world comes tomorrow. I would plant an olive tree today."-St. Francis of Assisi
Jesus was also never a Christian; the term was not even coined until three decades after he walked the earth as a man.
Jesus was a radical, social justice revolutionary Palestinian devout Jewish Road Warrior who told his followers to go out and make disciples-and all a disciple is- is one who does what the Master teaches. Jesus had very few friends inside the Temple Authority for he challenged their job security by teaching the people they didn't have to pay the priests for ritual baths or sacrificing livestock to be OK with God-for God was already within them and loved them just as they were; poor, oppressed, diseased, outcasts, widows, orphans and refugees all enduring under a brutal military occupation.
The authority of God, up until 2,000 years ago, was understood to be external. What got Christ crucified was that he placed God in the very hearts of his hearers and elevated them to the same level Caesar claimed to hold.
Jesus was a story teller that presupposed that his listener already knew it all and they didn’t need any outside authority to tell them what was wrong or right. His message was that the Divine authority is already in the heart of every human being; and this remains a most revolutionary concept.
The Roman Occupying Forces crucified Christ because he disturbed the status quo of the Empire which ruled by oppression. Jesus taught liberation.
The immanence of God and the Divine within the human heart throughout the ages has always inspired poets, musicians, writers, artists and prophets, even in modern times.
"If it keeps on raining, the levee's gonna break, If it keeps on raining, the levee's gonna break, some people are still sleeping, some people ARE WIDE AWAKE"- Bob Dylan, 2006 "Modern Times"
On October 13, 2009 Dylan's, "Christmas In The Heart" will be released.
[Another Jewish born 'prophet'; Mordechai Vanunu, the Whistle Blower of Israel's WMD Program will mark his 55th birthday on the 'birth' of Dylan's 47th album.]
All royalties will go to benefit millions in need through Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to more than 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year’s holiday season. Dylan is also donating all of his future U.S. royalties from this album to Feeding America in perpetuity.
“It’s a tragedy that more than 35 million people in this country alone -- 12 million of those children – often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning unsure of where their next meal is coming from. I join the good people of Feeding America in the hope that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need during this holiday season.”-Bob Dylan
It's also a tragedy that we the people of America are still in the dark over many things regarding THAT DAY we call 9/11.
Van Jones Resignation: Bad for the Country and Bad for Obama
By Rabbi Michael Lerner
This moment will be looked back upon as giving a signal of encouragement to some of the most fascistic elements in the American political Right.
I signed the same statement on 9/11 that Van Jones signed, and there was nothing immoderate about it. It didn’t say what the Right claimed it said (and the mainstream media chimed in without investigation). I’ll explain below.
Jones’ resignation is bad for the country and for the Obama Administration. It's bad for America when progressive views are an excuse to purge someone from the Administration while extremist right-wing views of past Administrations were always given a “pass.”
Van Jones forced resignation is a huge defeat for the forces of sanity and humanity, and represents a deep failure of the Obama-ites to understand the nature of the challenge they face from an increasingly fascistic Right wing.
Jones was the first African American environmentalist to have become a national figure (his book became a national best seller), and was brought into the Administration to help enlist minority communities in the struggle to save the environment from decades of abuse.
Right-wingers pounced on him for a speech in which he allegedly called Right-wingers assholes, though he used the same word to describe himself and the Left. But what gave them a supposedly clinching argument was that he signed a statement calling for an objective investigation of 9/11. Look below to see what it really said—not what the media claimed.
The forced resignation of Van Jones demonstrates the lack of backbone of the Obama Administration.
Jones was a rare progressive appointment among the wide array of Wall Street sycophants and Inside-the-Beltway pragmatists who have misled Obama into a path that has caused him to lose his initial popularity and severely endanger his presidency.
The notion that Jones' past could have a serious impact on the future of health care reform defies all plausibility--those who will oppose health care reform will do so just as strongly without Jones' presence in the White House as they would have had he remained. The message being given by the Obama Administration is clear: if you on the Right critique us, we will pander to you and abandon our friends.
In conditions of expanding prosperity, this would create the possibility of a resurgence of McCarthyism throughout the society. in conditions of growing economic pain, this kind of mimicking of the worst behavior of the German middle-of-the-roaders during the Weimar Republic sets the stage for the possibility of a genuine home grown fascism in the U.S.
If, God forbid, that should happen, people will look back to the capitulations on health care, human rights, and many other policy areas of the Obama Administration, but will give equal importance to the abandonment of Van Jones and the signal it gives to the Right.
As to how Jones could have signed the statement below, let me make clear that neither he nor I, who also signed the statement, signed something accusing Bush of being directly involved in 9/11. I did authorize my name to be used to call for an investigation of the claims of those who deny the official story of 9/11.
I am now and was then an agnostic about what actually happened to make 9/11 possible, but do agree with those who say that there are enough inconsistencies and problems with the official story to warrant an impartial investigation by people not connected to the government of the US and not bound by political considerations. I think that such an investigation would be a great advantage to everyone.
I have often found myself surrounded by people obsessed with 9/11 and acting in ways that I would call "nut cases" because they are so sure that they know not only what I agree with--namely that the inconsistencies deserve further investigation-- but also what I disagree with, namely that there is a prima facie reason to believe that President Bush had concrete prior knowledge of an attack on the US and for political reasons allowed it to happen. Frankly, I don't believe that one bit, but that is one of the reasons why I'd like to see an impartial investigation by people who have no political stake in the outcome of that investigation,and with the power to subpoena all relevant documents. Such an investigation could once and for all put these paranoid types to rest or at least silence them. So that is why I signed the call.
What the Right did, with the help of the 9/11 "truthers," was to distort the intention of at least some of us who were asked to sign the statement. The "truthers" published that statement with their own speculations of the role of Bush, and the way that it appears on their website makes it possible for someone to imagine that the signatories to the statement were all agreeing to their framing--and that is simply not true. Conversely, the Right used that deceptive form of publicity by the "truthers" to affirm something that Van Jones and others made clear we never intended to sign, namely the claim that Bush was knowingly involved. ( One reason I don't believe Bush was part of 9/11: it was too well executed for that bungler to have been involved. Even Cheney seemed incapable of pulling off a serious military move, much less something that would have required the coordination and secrecy to make 9/11 happen, and then keep secret the involvement of others for the next eight years.. Though it worked very much in favor of their militarist policies, they were far too incompetent to have made it happen. )
I was asked to sign a letter which I was told had four demands:
As Americans of conscience, we ask for four things:
An immediate investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Immediate investigation in Congressional Hearings.
Media attention to scrutinize and investigate the evidence.
The formation of a truly independent citizens-based inquiry.
I did not authorize my name to be used for all the other stuff that I now see was included surrounding the letter, namely the sponsors of that 911truth.org, and would not have had I been aware that all that stuff was presented in ways that suggested that I agreed with it, and though I do recognize a few of the people I'd consider "nut cases" among the list of signatories, my guess is that most of those who signed were, like me, unaware of the context in which our names would appear.
Some time after signing that, I was asked to be part of a book of people questioning 9/11. In that book I said what I said here--that I am an agnostic on the question of what really happened, neither believing the official story nor the alternative stories that I've heard presented. However, in that article I made clear that I believe that the people pushing in that direction of trying to make this into a big issue were making a mistake, not because I knew that they were wrong, but because I don't think that progressives or spiritual progressives like myself should be wasting their time uncovering conspiracies.
My own experience with the FBI and other law enforcement groups during the anti-Vietnam-war movement period in the 60s and 70s leads me to believe that there are far more conspiracies than most of us would believe, but they are fundamentally irrelevant to what shapes American policies, and hence not worth spending much time on unless one's goal is to become a famous investigative reporter. The uncovering of Watergate, in my estimation, actually served to focus attention away from the structural problems in American politics and economics that generated American need to dominate much of the world, and instead into a focus on the specific criminal acts of Richard Nixon.
I would have been far more interested in seeing the war crimes actions of Dr. Kissinger brought to justice, and the military industrial complex which he represented and the FBI that engaged in illegal acts exposed by the Frank Church investigations into Co-Intelpro in 1994 and 95. So, I've urged these people to stop putting their energy into this focus on 9/11 which is, in my view, a waste of time and energy. Yet, for the good of the country, I would like to see some impartial investigation done if that were imaginable (it certainly won't be generated by the Obama Administration or by the current Congress), to answer all the legitimate questions that have been raised and not yet answered.
My guess is that they can be answered in ways that will disappoint those who think that the whole thing was a conspiracy, because most of what seems most questionable or implausible is based on the theory that people normally act rationally, whereas my own experience as a psychotherapist for several decades leads me to believe that what seemed irrational and hence possibly intended for some other purpose (for example, the way so many people ignored the warnings being given to FBI and other intelligence agencies in the months before 9/1 warning about many of the aspects of 9/11) turn out to be just the normal stupidity and lack of attention that one finds pervasive in so many of human institutions and social practices, and not a reflection of a conspiracy to win political advantage!!!
But this kind of complex answer doesn't fit into a sound byte, does it?
The bigger issue remains: how Obama responds to the assaults from the Right. The pattern he sets by allowing his assistants to force Jones to resign (or set by Jones himself in the unlikely case that he made the decision without such outside pressure) is one of capitulation—and that will only guarantee yet more extreme assaults from the Right. Wilhelm Reich in the late 1920s analyzed the growth of fascism in Germany, and one of his important observations was that the fascists managed to intimidate people because the Left was not in the streets challenging them. Luckily, we are not yet at a point where the Right is scaring people in the streets of American cities, but they are doing so through the media. What is needed is a vigorous challenge in the media from liberals and progressives, and the obvious place from which that should be coming is the Obama Administration. If, instead, they wimp out, as so many Congressional Democrats have done for the past many years, the Right will be encouraged and tens of millions of decent Americans will become fearful and withdraw from public involvement, allowing a path to power for some of the most hate-oriented forces in American society. Historians may well look back at the Van Jones resignation as an important step in that process of shifting the society, so recently rejoicing at having gotten back on track toward progressive values, toward a renewed McCarthyism or worse.
Of course, I have lots of compassion for Obama and for Jones, because when they peer out into the society they don’t hear enough voices speaking out on their behalf. Please read the Sept/Oct editorial I wrote on that topic!
And I have compassion for many Americans on the Right who have been deeply misled both about the facts and about how to understand them by rightwing media like FOX, and by spineless liberal politicians and media who rarely provide Americans with an alternative context through which they can analyze their experiences and the news.But that compassion should not lead us to inaction, but rather to vigorous advocacy of a spiritual progressive perspective, recognizing that many Americans would actually be quite moved were they to hear such a perspective and see how that could be tied to specific programs to heal and transform our world.
Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor, Tikkun Magazine
The Original Statement We Signed:
Please note that the only reference to involvement of government officials (implied: Bush Administration) comes in reference to a poll that indicated Americans belief that such involvement was possible. To seek an independent investigation, which is what I and Van Jones and others called for, was NOT to endorse the suspicion of conspiracy, but at least in my case and in the case of many others, to want to put that behind us by insisting on getting a coherent story rather than the obviously inadequate story put out by the US government and media. In citing issues that had not been reoslved, the signatories to this letter were referencing unanswered questions that required an impartial investigation. In fact, they still do require such an investigation, but not because of any reason to suspect that the Bush Administration itself was directly involved.
Tuesday, October 26 2004 - Endorsements & Support 911 Truth Statement
Respected Leaders and Families Launch 9/11 Truth Statement Demanding Deeper Investigation into the Events of 9/11
NEW YORK CITY, NY (Oct. 26, 2004) - An alliance of 100 prominent Americans and 40 family members of those killed on 9/11 today announced the release of the 911 Truth Statement, a call for immediate inquiry into evidence that suggests high-level government officials may have deliberately allowed the September 11th attacks to occur. The Statement supports an August 31st Zogby poll that found nearly 50% of New Yorkers believe the government had foreknowledge and "consciously failed to act," with 66% wanting a new 9/11 investigation.
Focusing on twelve questions, the Statement highlights areas of incriminating evidence that were either inadequately explored or ignored by the Kean Commission, ranging from insider trading and hijacker funding to foreign government forewarnings and inactive defenses around the Pentagon. The Statement asks for four actions: an immediate investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Congressional hearings, media analysis, and the formation of a truly independent citizens-based inquiry.
The Statement's list of signatories includes notables spanning the political spectrum, from Presidential candidates Ralph Nader, Michael Badnarik, and David Cobb to Catherine Austin Fitts, a member of the first Bush administration, as well as Washington veterans like Pentagon whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern. Other signers range from peace activists like Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans and Global Exchange's Kevin Danaher to former US Ambassador and Chief of Mission to Iraq, Edward L. Peck; from environmentalists like Randy Hayes and John Robbins to business leaders such as Paul Hawken and Karl Schwarz, CEO of Patmos Nanotechnologies; from populist journalist Ronnie Dugger to renowned investigative reporter Kelly Patricia O'Meara.
The Statement also includes 43 noted authors, including New York Times #1 bestseller John Gray, as well as 18 eminent professors, historians, and theologians. Other notables include five-term Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, singers Michelle Shocked and Michael Franti, and actors Ed Asner and Mimi Kennedy.
The Statement was facilitated by 911truth.org, a leading coalition. The organization has also announced a press conference outside of Eliot Spitzer's Manhattan office (corner of Cedar and Nassau) at 2:00PM on Thursday, Oct. 28th where 9/11 family members and victim group representatives will file a formal complaint demanding the first criminal investigation of 9/11 events by the New York Attorney General.
The Statement: We Want Real Answers About 9/11
On August 31, 2004, Zogby International, the official North American political polling agency for Reuters, released a poll that found nearly half (49.3%) of New York City residents and 41% of those in New York state believe US leaders had foreknowledge of impending 9/11 attacks and "consciously failed" to act. Of the New York City residents, 66% called for a new probe of unanswered questions by Congress or the New York Attorney General.
In connection with this news, we have assembled 100 notable Americans and 40 family members of those who died to sign this 9/11 Statement, which calls for immediate public attention to unanswered questions that suggest that people within the current administration may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.
We want truthful answers to questions such as:
1. Why were standard operating procedures for dealing with hijacked airliners not followed that day? 2. Why were the extensive missile batteries and air defenses reportedly deployed around the Pentagon not activated during the attack? 3. Why did the Secret Service allow Bush to complete his elementary school visit, apparently unconcerned about his safety or that of the schoolchildren? 4. Why hasn't a single person been fired, penalized, or reprimanded for the gross incompetence we witnessed that day? 5. Why haven't authorities in the U.S. and abroad published the results of multiple investigations into trading that strongly suggested foreknowledge of specific details of the 9/11 attacks, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of traceable gains? 6. Why has Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator who claims to have knowledge of advance warnings, been publicly silenced with a gag order requested by Attorney General Ashcroft and granted by a Bush-appointed judge? 7. How could Flight 77, which reportedly hit the Pentagon, have flown back towards Washington D.C. for 40 minutes without being detected by the FAA's radar or the even superior radar possessed by the US military? 8. How were the FBI and CIA able to release the names and photos of the alleged hijackers within hours, as well as to visit houses, restaurants, and flight schools they were known to frequent? 9. What happened to the over 20 documented warnings given our government by 14 foreign intelligence agencies or heads of state? 10. Why did the Bush administration cover up the fact that the head of the Pakistani intelligence agency was in Washington the week of 9/11 and reportedly had $100,000 wired to Mohamed Atta, considered the ringleader of the hijackers? 11. Why did the 911 Commission fail to address most of the questions posed by the families of the victims, in addition to almost all of the questions posed here? 12. Why was Philip Zelikow chosen to be the Executive Director of the ostensibly independent 911 Commission although he had co-authored a book with Condoleezza Rice?
Those who are demanding deeper inquiry now number in the hundreds of thousands, including a former member of the first Bush administration, a retired Air Force colonel, a European parliamentarian, families of the victims, highly respected authors, investigative journalists, peace and justice leaders, former Pentagon staff, and the National Green Party.
As Americans of conscience, we ask for four things:
1. An immediate investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer 2. Immediate investigation in Congressional Hearings. 3. Media attention to scrutinize and investigate the evidence. 4. The formation of a truly independent citizens-based inquiry.
Given the importance of the coming election, we feel it is imperative that these questions be addressed publicly, honestly, and rigorously so that Americans may exercise their democratic rights with full awareness.
In closing, we pray and hope for the strength to approach this subject with wisdom and compassion so that we may heal from the wounds inflicted on that terrible day.
Signed,
Signatories
Note: All organizations are mentioned for identification purposes only. Individuals have signed this statement as an act of their own conscience, not to signify organizational endorsement.
1. Virginia Deane Abernethy, Ph.D., anthropologist, author, Population Politics 2. Ed Asner, actor, activist 3. Marshall Auerback, international portfolio strategist for David W. Tice & Associates, Inc. 4. Catherine Austin Fitts, Asst. Secretary of Housing in the first Bush administration 5. Keidi Obi Awadu, aka The Conscious Rasta, talk show host, LIBRadio 6. Michael Badnarik, Libertarian candidate for President 7. Byron Belitsos, publisher, Origin Press, author Planetary Democracy 8. Philip J. Berg, Esquire, former deputy attorney general, Pennsylvania 9. Medea Benjamin, activist, author, co-founder, Global Exchange and Code Pink 10. Dennis Bernstein, investigative reporter, radio host of KPFA's Flashpoints 11. Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda, author, political comedian 12. Brad Blanton, Ph.D., psychotherapist, author, Radical Honesty 13. Saniel Bonder, spiritual teacher and author, Great Relief 14. Dr. Robert Bowman, USAF Lt. Col. (Rtd.), founder, Institute for Space and Security Studies 15. John Buchanan, author, candidate for the Republican Party Presidential nomination, 2004 16. Gray Brechin, Ph.D., author, environmental historian, professor, UC Berkeley 17. Fred Burks, presidential interpreter for Bush, Clinton, Cheney, and Gore 18. Norma Carr-Rufino, Ph.D., author, professor of management, San Francisco State University 19. Angana Chatterji, Ph.D., scholar-activist and professor of anthropology 20. Paul Cienfuegos, co-founder, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County 21. David Cobb, attorney, national presidential candidate, US Green Party 22. John Cobb, Ph.D., theologian, co-author, For the Common Good 23. Ernest Callenbach, founder/editor, Film Quarterly, author, Ecotopia 24. Kevin Danaher, Ph.D., author, speaker, co-founder, Global Exchange 25. Stephen Dinan, author, Radical Spirit 26. Ronnie Dugger, journalist/author, co-founder, Alliance for Democracy 27. Daniel Ellsberg, author, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers 28. Jodie Evans, co-founder, Code Pink 29. Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University 30. Michael Franti, musician, filmmaker, human rights worker 31. Janeane Garofalo, actress, comedienne, talk show host, Air America Radio 32. Jim Garrison, Ph.D., president, State of the World Forum, author, America as Empire 33. Bruce Gagnon, Chair, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space 34. Ric Giardina, author, consultant, speaker, former Director of Trademarks and Brands for Intel 35. John Gray, Ph.D., #1 bestselling author, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus 36. Stan Goff, 25-year Army Special Ops veteran, author, Full Spectrum Disorder 37. Melvin Goodman, senior fellow, Center for International Policy, author, former Senior Analyst, CIA, professor, National War College 38. Morton Goulder, Deputy Secretary for Intelligence and Warning under Nixon, Ford, and Carter 39. David Ray Griffin, Ph.D., theologian, author, New Pearl Harbor 40. Doris "Granny D" Haddock, campaign finance crusader, NH Democratic candidate for Senate 41. Thom Hartmann, radio host; author, Unequal Protection 42. Richie Havens, singer, songwriter, performer, artist 43. Paul Hawken, bestselling author, environmentalist, entrepreneur, founder of Smith & Hawken 44. Randy Hayes, founder, Rainforest Action Network, US National Director, Direction Conservation 45. Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over, core faculty, New College of California 46. Van Jones, executive director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights 47. Rob Kall, editor, OpEdNews.com, president, Futurehealth, Inc. 48. Georgia Kelly, executive director, Praxis Peace Institute 49. Sean Kelly, Ph.D., author, professor of philosophy and religion, CA Institute of Integral Studies 50. John Joseph Kennedy, Democratic Write-in Presidential Candidate for 2004 51. Mimi Kennedy, actress, Dharma and Greg, progressive activist 52. Faiz Khan, M.D., Triage Emergency Physician on 9/11, Assistant Imam 53. David Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World 54. Frances Moore Lapp?, author, Diet for a Small Planet; founder, Small Planet Institute 55. Scott M. Legere, 25 year radio broadcaster as Scott Ledger, Tampa FL 56. Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor, TIKKUN Magazine, author, Healing Israel/Palestine 57. Michael Levine, bestselling author of Deep Cover, journalist, 25-year veteran of the DEA 58. Joanna Macy, Ph.D., eco-philosopher, author 59. Enver Masud, founder, The Wisdom Fund, author, The Truth About Islam 60. John McCarthy, former Special Forces Captain, president, Veterans Equal Rights Protection Advocacy 61. Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity 62. Cynthia McKinney, five-term Congresswoman from Georgia 63. Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author, professor, co-founder, Green Earth Foundation 64. Mark Crispin Miller, media critic, author, professor, New York University 65. Joseph W. Montaperto, New York City Fire Department 66. Leuren Moret, geoscientist, radiation specialist, environmental commissioner 67. Ralph Nader, Independent candidate for President 68. Craig Neal, author, co-founder, The Heartland Institute, former publisher, Utne Reader 69. Jeff Norman, executive director, Tour of Duty 70. Jenna Orkin, Esquire, World Trade Center Environmental Organization 71. Kelly Patricia O'Meara, investigative journalist, public relations 72. Michael Parenti, Ph.D., author, Superpatriotism and The Terrorism Trap 73. Edward L. Peck, former US Ambassador and Chief of Mission to Iraq, former Deputy Director to the White House Task Force on Terrorism 74. Peter Phillips, Ph.D., professor, Sonoma State University, director, Project Censored 75. Henri Poole, Internet pioneer, board member, Free Software Foundation 76. Robert Rabbin, author, speaker, creator of TruthForPresident.org 77. Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., sociologist, author, The Cultural Creatives 78. John Renesch, business futurist, author, Getting to the Better Future 79. John Rensenbrink, professor emeritus, Bowdoin College, co-founder, US Green Party 80. John Robbins, author, founder, EarthSave International 81. William Rodriguez, 9/11 rescue effort hero, founder, Hispanic Victims Group 82. Neal Rogin, Emmy-award winning writer, performer, social observer 83. Allen Roland, Ph.D., psychotherapist, published author and peace activist 84. Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of feminist theology, Graduate Theological Union 85. Michael Ruppert, publisher/editor, From The Wilderness, author, Crossing the Rubicon 86. Chris Sanders, founder, Sanders Research Associates 87. Karl W. B. Schwarz, President, CEO, Patmos Nanotechnologies, LLC 88. Peter Dale Scott, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, author, Drugs, Oil, and War 89. Firefighter Kevin Shea, FDNY Hazmat Operations 90. Michelle Shocked, singer/songwriter, activist 91. Indira Singh, risk management and computer systems consultant 92. J. Michael Springmann, attorney, former Foreign Service Officer, US Department of State 93. Douglas Sturm, Ph.D., university professor emeritus, Bucknell University 94. Marjorie Hewit Suchocki, Ph.D., theologian, author 95. Chuck Turner, Boston City Council 96. James W. Walter Jr., venture investor, philanthropist, founder of Walden Three 97. Dan Whaley, E-commerce pioneer, founder of GetThere.com, acquired for $750M 98. Burns H. Weston, J.S.D., Professor of Law Emeritus, Director, Center for Human Rights, U-Iowa 99. Howard Zinn, professor, historian, author, A People's History of the United States
Family Members
1. Joanne Barbara, wife of FDNY Asst. Chief of Dept. Gerard Barbara 2. Gayle Barker, sister of William A. Karnes, WTC 3. Michele Bergsohn, wife of Alvin Bergsohn, Cantor Fitzgerald 4. Derrill Bodley, father of Deora Bodley, passenger on Flight 93 5. Kathryn C. Bowden, sister of Thomas H. Bowden, Jr. WTC1, 104th floor 6. Janet Calia, wife of Dominick Calia, Cantor Fitzgerald, WTC1 7. Maggie Cashman, wife of William Joseph Cashman, United Flight 93 8. Lynne Castrianno Galante, sister of Leonard Castrianno, 1WTC, 105th floor 9. Elza Chapa-McGowan, daughter of Rosemary Chapa, Pentagon 10. Bruce De Cell, father-in-law of Mark Petrocelli North Tower, 92nd floor 11. Ralph D'Esposito, father of Michael D'Esposito, WTC, 96th floor 12. Loisanne Diehl, Surviving Spouse, Michael D. Diehl, WTC2, 90th floor 13. Adina D. Eisenberg, sister of Eric Eisenberg, WTC 14. Jonathan M. Fisher, son of Dr. Gerald Paul "Geep" Fisher, Pentagon 15. Michael J. Fox, brother of Jeffrey L. Fox, Tower 2, 89th floor 16. Laurel A. Gay, sister of Peter A. Gay, AA Flight 11 17. Irene Golinsky, wife of Col. Ronald F. Golinski USA RET, Pentagon 18. Lori, Jerry, and Beatrice Guadagno, sister and parents of Richard Guadagno, Flight 93 19. Kristen Hall, daughter of fallen firefighter Thomas Kuveikis 9/11 20. Kurt D. Horning, father of Matthew D. Horning, WTC Tower One, 95th floor 21. Jennifer W. Hunt, wife of William C. Hunt, Euro Brokers 22. John Keating, son of Barbara Keating, passenger on AA Flight 11 23. L. Russell Keene II, father of Russ Keene III, WTC2, 89th floor, KBW 24. Peter Kousoulis, sister died in WTC 25. Paul & Barbara Kirwin, parents of Glenn Davis Kirwin, Cantor Fitzgerald 105th floor 26. Barbara Krukowski-Rastelli, mother of William E. Krukowski, NYC firefighter 27. Laura and Ira Lassman, parents of Nicholas C. Lassman, died in WTC, Tower One 28. Johnny Lee, husband of Lorraine Greene 29. Alicia LeGuillow, mother of Nestor A. Cintron III 30. Francine Levine, sister of Adam K. Ruhalter, who died on 9/11 31. Bob McIlvaine, father of Robert McIlvaine, WTC, Merrill Lynch 32. Mary McWilliams, mother of FF Martin E. McWilliams- Engine 22 33. Daryl J. Meehan, brother of Colleen Ann Barkow, WTC 1, 105th floor 34. Elvira P. Murphy, wife of Patrick Murphy, WTC 1 35. Natalee Pecorelli, sister of Thomas Pecorelli of Flight 11 36. James L Perry, M.D and Patricia J. Perry, parents of John W. Perry, Esq., NYPD Officer 9/11 37. David Potorti, brother of James Potorti, North Tower, WTC, Marsh & McLennan 38. Terry Kay Rockefeller, sister of Laura Rockefeller, North Tower, WTC 39. Grissel Rodriguez-Valentin, wife of Benito Valentin, WTC1, 94th floor 40. Alissa Rosenberg-Torres, widow of Luis Eduardo Torres, post-9/11 mother, writer 41. Elaine Saber, mother of Scott Saber 42. Julie Scarpitta, mother of Michelle Scarpitta, WTC Building 2, 84th floor 43. Paula Shapiro, mother of Eric Eisenberg, WTC2 44. Elizabeth Turner, wife of Simon Turner, lost on 11th September 2001 45. Adele Welty, mother of Firefighter Timothy Welty, FDNY, Squad 288 46. Joan W. Winton, mother of David Winton, WTC, South Tower, 89th floor 47. David Yancey, husband of Vicki Yancey, American Airlines Flight 77 48. Nissa Youngren, daughter of Robert G. LeBlanc, flight 175
Late Signatories (starting toward 200...)
1. Rita M. Haley, President, National Organization for Women, New York Chapter 2. Immortal Technique, Harlem-based hip-hop artist with Viper Records, Revolutionary I&II 3. Bob Kirkconnell, served in the U.S. Air Force 27 years, reaching the rank of Master Sergeant 4. Dennis Kyne, former Army air medic, 18th Airborne Corps during Gulf War I, musician, author, "Support the Truth" 5. Paul Landis, author, "Stop Bush Now!" 6. Eric H. May, former Army military intelligence officer and media essayist 7. Charles Shaw, Editor, Newtopia Magazine, National Peace Action Coordinator, National Green Party 8. Peter Erlinder, professor, William Mitchell College of Law, past-President National Lawyers Guild 9. Daniel Robert Rezac, 2004 Vice-Presidential Write-In Candidate, former Aviator & Armor Officer, Army National Guard, B.S.B.A. 10. Joel Horwitz, lost beloved cousin in WTC 1 11. Jessica Murrow, lost husband Stephen Adams, Beverage Manager, Windows on the World, WTC 1 12. Ellen Mariani, lost husband Neil on Flight 175 13. Jean Hunt, disabled survivor of Pentagon attack 14. Ralph & Brigitte Sabbag, lost son Jason in WTC 2
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