9/11: Blueprint for Truth – WTC Building 7 – 10 minutes – from the new AE911Truth “Companion” Edition DVD
Watch the video here:
http://www.911blogger.com/node/20158
This is one of the 3 abridged videos on the new AE911Truth Companion Edition to “9/11: Blueprint for Truth — The Architecture of Destruction” DVD. In just 10 minutes Richard Gage, AIA of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth takes you through most of the scientific forensic evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the destruction of WTC 7 was accomplished with explosive controlled demolition.
This DVD is available at the AE911Truth online store, packaged together along with the 30 and 60 minute versions of 9/11: Blueprint for Truth. See the extended 2 hour Research Edition for the complete array of evidence and background information!
The YouTube clip is posted here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lESol88wOi0
For more information, go to: http://www.ae911truth.org/
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Fake Diplomas Found at U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command
UPDATE: VIDEO ADDED HERE
Breach of Trust: Fake Diplomas Found at U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command
WHNT NEWS 19's Investigation reveals AMCOM's Director of Readiness purchased bogus diploma
Wendy Halloran
WHNT NEWS 19 Chief Investigative Reporter
May 13, 2009
HUNTSVILLE, AL
It's graduation season all across the country. Thousands of students spent years to get their bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees.
However, many people have bought phony diplomas. In Part 1 of our Taking Action Investigation, WHNT NEWS 19 showed you how fake degrees have infiltrated the enlisted ranks of the U.S. Army.
Now, our investigation reveals this breach of trust goes all the way to the top civilian ranks at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal.
The fake degree is in the hand of a key essential leader at the U.S. Army's Aviation and Missile Command, AMCOM. The bogus diplomas are against policy, put a person's integrity in question, and make them a potential target for blackmail.
As Director of Readiness for the Army's Aviation and Missile Command, Chris Oleyte carries the weight of America's missile defense readiness on his shoulders. He's also carrying other baggage.
WHNT NEWS 19's Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Halloran confronted him. "Did you buy a degree from that diploma mill?" we asked.
"Uh, nothing to talk about," Oleyte replied.
Oleyte has top secret clearance, and access to classified information about missile defense. He would probably rather you not know about this secret he's hidden.
"It's on your bio," we say. "Yeah," he replies. "So, I don't even understand why you're talking to me about it," Oleyte said.
Did the system promote him, despite his bogus degree? Does the Department of the Army care that he has a fake credential?
"You have an obligation to talk to us," we say. "No, I don't, you're on my property," Oleyte replies.
Oleyte's secret potentially compromises the integrity of AMCOM and certainly defrauds you, the taxpayer.
"Taxpayers pay your salary," WHNT NEWS 19's Wendy Halloran says. "You don't want to talk about a degree from a degree mill? You're a key essential leader, and that's from a diploma mill."
"I don't appreciate [this]," Oleyte says. "Put the camera down. Please, please the camera."
In 2001, Olyete's impressive government resume boasted a Bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management from Trinity College and University out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
"To be fair, in a description of Trinity College and University, it's something that lives in a metal box 'that big' that you could use to store cat food basically in, it's completely fake," said George Gollin, an expert on diploma mills. More from him shortly.
Oleyte's resume lists that he got that bachelor's degree in 2001. The next year, he got a big promotion, to Senior Command Representative in Korea... a promotion that moved him up from a GS 13 to a GS 14, and likely afforded him a sizeable increase in salary.
Oleyte had the authority over all AMCOM issues, personnel and equipment in that country and reported directly to the AMCOM commanding general in Korea.
By the government's standards, it's a very important position. That began Oleyte's rise through the chain of command. Two years later, he was reassigned to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the Deputy Director of Readiness. He was later promoted to Director of Readiness.
WHNT NEWS 19's Wendy Halloran further confronted Oleyte about his bogus degree and the position he holds.
"I don't list that as a degree," Oleyte said.
"But you did," we replied.
"It's way back when," he said.
"Yes, but it's still from a diploma mill," said Halloran.
The promotions process in the U.S. government is very stringent. A complex matrix is used to score applicants. Three screeners judge the applicants on eight criteria. Applicants earn points for everything from aviation or missile systems experience to supervisory experience and even higher education degrees.
When Olyete applied for that promotion in Korea, his initial score was 263. A Freedom of Information Act request shows how 6 points were shaved off from the scoring for that bogus bachelor's degree and his total score corrected. It also shows how Olyete fared against 34 other candidates for the Senior Command Representative position. Despite the reduction, his point total still ranked him third on the list and he still retained the promotion. Without a doubt, someone higher up knew about the bogus degree. Chris Olyete's only 4-year degree is the phony one he possesses from Trinity College and University.
The U.S. Army's policy clearly states an employee who intentionally lists bogus educational credentials on a resume or other form of application for merit promotion calls his trustworthiness and integrity into question. It goes on to say when the employee's current supervisors become aware, he or she will notify the AMCOM Security Intelligence Directorate and it will determine what if anything should be done regarding the employee's clearance and access to classified information.
It's all about trust. To WHNT NEWS 19's knowledge, Olyete's bosses swept it under the rug. Nothing was ever done about it.
How could we know? The U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal has not answered many of our questions. At first, request after request for an interview was met with excuse after excuse.
But, in the waning hours before we went to air with this story, Redstone Public Affairs Specialist Dan O'Boyle was authorized to answer only a few questions we submitted in advance.
"Does AMCOM Commander General Jim Myles know about Chris Oleyte's fake degree from Trinity College and University?" we asked O'Boyle.
"We are aware of the allegations and we have convened a Commander's inquiry now, that's a group of senior key leaders who are looking at the facts surrounding these allegations and are charged with the responsibility to determine the truth and then come up with a course of action based upon the findings that come out of the inquiry board," said O'Boyle.
"On a government resume, he lists that degree. Are you aware of that?" WHNT NEWS 19 asked.
"We are conducting this inquiry and we'll make a course of action based upon the facts that come out as a result of our findings," said O'Boyle.
"Chris Oletye, the Director of Readiness for AMCOM, did he list the degree on his security clearance application?" we asked.
"We are currently working with Defense Security Services Personnel to obtain all the paperwork and documentation that surrounds these allegations and the circumstances and once we have that piece of the puzzle in place we'll be able to make a determination," O'Boyle replied.
This is a very serious matter, and WHNT NEWS 19 thinks you have a right to know answers to questions, for example, does this make Olyete a potential target for blackmail? Does it pose a threat to national security?
With few answers from Redstone Arsenal, we had to go elsewhere.
"So here we have someone in Missile Command who is responsible for very hi-tech, very important, very sensitive information who is a possessor of qualifications that are bogus," said George Gollin.
Gollin is an expert on diploma mills. He worked with federal prosecutors, going after the ringleaders of Saint Regis University, a diploma mill operated out of Spokane, Washington. Saint Regis sold fake degrees to nearly 10,000 people around the world.
Gollin is also a professor at the University of Illinois and a board member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. That is this country's standard when it comes to accrediting universities and colleges.
"What if the fellow has a mortgage, what if he's really not in a position to take a pay cut, have to move into a different position because his credentials are not legitimate -- it really does seem to me like someone in that position is very vulnerable to pressure when they really have to choose between giving up their ability to support their family to pay for their home and providing initially what seems like harmless information," said Gollin. "But really, once you provide harmless but classified information, then you've done something that's illegal and that can be used against you," he added.
As a matter of fact, Oleyte does have a sizeable mortgage. Records show his Madison home was worth more than $330,000 when he bought it in 2006. Oleyte's name is also on the mortgage for a condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It's worth $433,400.
Keep in mind that you, the taxpayer, are paying his salary. But there is more at stake than just taxpayer money.
"Do you think the blackmail issue is a very real threat?" WHNT NEWS 19 asks Retired Brigadier General David Grange.
"Those that have issues financially, those that have issue having to have some type of academic achievement or other awards things like this in order to raise their status and that, are subject to manipulation by enemy agents," said Grange.
Grange serves as the national security expert for CBS NEWS and CNN. He spoke with WHNT NEWS 19 via satellite from Chicago.
"Could this put our troops in harm's way?" WHNT NEWS 19's Wendy Halloran asked.
"Any time someone has accessibility to classified information and has a character flaw, the results could be putting our troops in harms way, absolutely," said Grange.
General Grange says this matter is so serious, there's really only one solution.
"It's disturbing that the individual would in fact do that, not all the checks and balances catch all these types of things, the individual admitted it, the honorable thing to do is to step down be removed from that command and move on, because it's not tolerated," said Grange.
WHNT NEWS 19 believes there are more top leaders at AMCOM installations worldwide with bogus degrees. The Department of the Army is investigating the names that we have turned over.
WHNT NEWS 19 is not saying that Oleyte is not qualified to hold the position he has. He may be qualified, but this is a breach of trust, a question of honor and integrity, and sets a bad example because it flies in the face of the Army's policies and values.
In Part 3 of our investigation, we show you imposter credentials in yet another layer of our military, a local defense contractor in a high position here in Huntsville. Watch Part 3 Thursday on WHNT NEWS 19 at 10:00.
Copyright © 2009, WHNT-TV
Army Responds To Soldiers Buying Fake Diplomas
WHNT NEWS 19 uncovers soldiers, defense contractors and civilians who bought fake diplomas in order to get promotions; Army responds
Wendy Halloran
WHNT NEWS 19 Chief Investigative Reporter
May 12, 2009
HUNTSVILLE, AL
A WHNT NEWS 19 Taking Action Investigation reveals the use of counterfeit credentials in all levels of the military and missile defense, the core of Huntsville's community. This investigation has captured the attention of top leaders from Huntsville to Washington, D.C.
This breach of trust is costing you, the taxpayer, and it could put our nation's security at risk. Our investigation reveals that more than 200 soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and government contractors around the world bought fake degrees.
Our investigation started in October 2008 with retired Master Sergeant Albert Finley, Jr.
"I only inquired, no, I never bought nothing," said Finley.
Finley's military record testifies to a patriotic man, willing to put himself in harm's way for his country. His distinguished record shows he's done everything to be all he can be, from earning the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal and the Global War On Terrorism Service Medal.
These campaign medals, decorations and awards speak volumes. Among the honor, there's another accolade Finley takes credit for: a master's degree in Sociology with a minor in Counseling from Saint Regis University.
His diploma looks official. His transcripts reflect he was an almost straight-A student. But there's one problem, it's all a lie.
The lie was good enough to fool the U.S. Army, until we brought it to their attention. Our investigation essentially shows when soldiers can't be all they can be, they buy it.
Finley told WHNT NEWS 19 he only inquired about buying a fake degree. We traveled to the nation's capitol for answers. The U.S. Army says that's not the case.
"Did Master Sergeant Albert Finley Junior, Retired, turn over a fake degree to the United States Army?" we asked of Sergeant Major Tom Gills.
"He did," said SGM Gills. "We've verified that and I have a copy of it right here for you."
SGM Gills is the Chief of Enlisted Promotions for the U.S. Army. The office is headquartered at the Army's Human Resources Command in northern Virginia.
The fake degree from now-defunct Saint Regis University cost Finley $731. It's one factor in his promotion from Sgt. First Class to Master Sergeant. The promotion meant a bump in pay for him. You've been footing the bill.
"You have a master's degree through Troy University out of Dothan, Alabama, so you know what it's like get the higher education -- the blood sweat and tears -- when you heard of Finley's case what ran across your mind? What entered your mind?" we asked SGM Gills.
"In a word, disgust," said SGM Gills.
"When I think of the hard work, and not just for myself, setting an example for our young soldiers to see what right looks like and to spend those nights and the weekends missing family events and all the other things that all of us do to achieve the degree had to go through, it's not easy of course," said SGM Gills.
"It's very worthwhile, so as you work to make that example for your subordinates and your peers hoping to inspire them, to have someone who would go and do something like this, it sickens me," he added.
"It just adds insult to injury that a senior NCO would take that, that route to go outside of what the Army authorizes as an accredited institution and pay money out of their own pocket again when the Army will pay for their tuition and books 100% to go and actually get the education," SGM Gills added.
The Army's promotions board approved it. However, Master Sergeant Albert Finley's far-from-genuine degree isn't the only fake that slipped through the cracks of the Army's screening process. There are a battalion of others who flew under the radar.
WHNT NEWS 19's Taking Action Investigation has uncovered Major Eliza Watson of Birmingham bought a fake bachelor's degree in Business.
The comment section on the Saint Regis University buyer's list reveals Major Watson took measures to make sure her secret stayed a secret.
Her post said "I am Captain in the Army Reserves and I need a degree to retain my commission; no transaction on e-mail."
Major Thurman Towry of Homewood also engaged in a covert operation, purchasing a total of eight degrees and certificates, including a bachelor's in Business Management, a master's in Management and a PhD in International Management Strategy.
Towry turn all three degrees over to the Army, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Taxpayers paid for his salary raise.
WHNT NEWS 19 has uncovered more than 200 soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and government contractors around the world who bought fake degrees.
"Each case, it is significant, it is egregious and it just smacks right at those core values that we live by," said SGM Gills.
The group who bought fake diplomas includes dozens fighting right now on the front lines. They submitted these degrees into their official military file for consideration for promotion.
"When you're in combat, you've got to trust that man on the right, that woman on the left and certainly that leader who's behind you or in front of you telling you this is the action we're gonna take, and as soon as you give that integrity away by doing something like this, you have now chipped away at a trust factor," said SGM Gills. "How many senior commanders can trust you again or how subordinates can trust you?"
With the Army's strict codes and strict conduct, how does this happen?
"One would never expect that a seasoned leader would do something like this, so you could see how they could slip through the cracks," said SGM Gills.
"There are some civilians and people who are critical of the Army, saying that the Human Resources Command doesn't do enough to stop these bogus degrees from slipping through the cracks. What would you say to people who feel that way?" WHNT NEWS 19 asked Gills.
"Now that this command is aware of it, at this time were going to educate the Human Resources Specialists throughout the Army," said SGM Gills. "We're going to send a message out to the commanders within the Army that same message."
We also spoke with retired U.S. Army Brigadier General David Grange about our investigation.
"I think most of these cases are people getting these credentials in order to obtain a job a higher pay scale," said Grange.
Grange has three silver stars, two purple hearts and one real master's degree in public service from Western Kentucky University.
He serves as the military analyst for CBS and CNN, and spoke with WHNT NEWS 19 via satellite from Chicago.
"Does it concern you, or how concerned are you with fake academic credentials and people defrauding the United States Government?" we asked him.
"Because they're a government person, they belong to the public, in other words that this is an issue I think that the military will crack down on this immediately and weed out anyone that does have bogus credentials," said Grange. "It's not tolerated. I'm sure those that did it wittingly will be punished."
Since the start of WHNT NEWS 19's Taking Action Investigation, we have turned over 12 names of military members in Alabama who bought fake degrees from bona fide diploma mills.
The U.S. Army says it is taking the matter very seriously, conducting a review of all of their records to see if they turned over their fake degrees as part of the promotions process.
One is too many," said SGM Gills. "And each and every one we're going to identify we're going to turn it over to their commanders for appropriate action."
Gills also thanked us for the investigation.
"I just want to say God bless you for bringing this to the Army's attention, for me, at least, to find out about this at this scope or level so that we can take the action," said SGM Gills. "We couldn't do it if you hadn't have brought it to us, so that's the starting point of fixing any problem is knowing you have one."
The punishment for turning over a fake degree ranges from a general officer letter of reprimand, up to an Article 15, which is a non-judicial punishment that allows a commander to take rank, forfeiture of pay, restrict a soldier's activities to the barracks, all the way to a court martial.
If a soldier is court martialed, it becomes a matter of public record. However, because Retired Master Sergeant Albert Finley, Jr. was not court martialed, we'll never know what punishment he was given.
Our Taking Action Investigation is getting more results, too.
The U.S. Army is now auditing all of its records. It is revamping its Human Resource Command to better detect fake credentials, and it is also encouraging those who purchased fake degrees to step forward.
Those who don't come clean could face a court martial.
The Army is also launching an educational campaign that will be broadcast over military radio and television, on web sites, and in newspapers and other print publications.
Copyright © 2009, WHNT-TV
Danger of a Defense Contractor Having a Fake Degree
WHNT NEWS 19's Investigation reveals a defense contractor purchased phony degrees
Wendy Halloran
Chief Investigative Reporter
May 14, 2009
Huntsville, AL
All across Alabama, students are celebrating the satisfaction of graduating from college and that they've got their diploma in hand.
For most people, it's not easy to get a bachelors, masters or doctoral degree. It takes years of studying,, tens of thousands of dollars in student loans and endless stress from exams.
What does that diploma get you? The potential for a better profession, higher pay, pride and prestige.
WHNT NEWS 19 has exposed how people in high positions in the military and missile defense have purchased their degree without spending all the time, energy and money that you did.
Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Halloran has revealed how some people tried to take a shortcut, paying a fraction of what it costs to go to school, and purchasing counterfeit credentials.
In Part 3 of this WHNT NEWS 19 Taking Action investigation we put a man who works for a defense contractor under the microscope.
Jim Samuelson is the Director of Contracts, Proposals and Pricing for ADT (Applied Data Trends).
His job is to get his company awarded contracts with the Department of Defense. He has security clearance on Redstone Arsenal, access to classified information about the software his company makes for the Warfighter and he claims to be an International Traffic in Arms Regulations Empowered Official.
He also teaches continuing education courses in government contracting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Wendy Halloran confronted Samuelson and asked him what university he got his bachelor's in business administration and his master's in business from.
"I really got to go. Please?" replied Samuelson. Halloran then asked, "Does your employer know where it's from?" "Yes, ma'am they do," he said. "And, what university is that sir?" "Please turn that off, turn it off," Samuelson said.
Many people aspire to achieve an MBA. But, Samuelson took a shortcut by buying one from Saint Regis University, a diploma mill. There were no classes and no course work. All it took was cash.
"When I did it, I was requested to fill out enormous amounts of paperwork to justify experience," claimed Samuelson.
The Saint Regis buyer's list we obtained shows he paid $2,917 for the two higher education degrees. Saint Regis University concocted credentials that looked legitimate, but aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Halloran asked him if he turned the degrees over to get his job at ADT. Samuelson replied, "No ma'am. I did not."
Samuelson's profile on the social networking site, Facebook, provided a wealth of information about his background. He proudly posted details about his decade in the United States Marine Corps, several tours of duty including assignments in Vietnam. He listed his more than 20 years of work experience and his own government consulting business. And, he showcased his higher ed degrees - a bachelor's supposedly earned in 2002 and a master's two years later.
He posted much detail, but had one glaring omission.
Halloran stated, "Your resume currently lists Regis University." "Then I must have had something messed up," replied Samuelson.
The posting on his Facebook profile indicates his degrees are from Regis University, a legitimate University in Denver, Colorado.
Halloran asked, "Did you drop the 'Saint' on there? Because Regis University has no record of you, sir." Samuelson sighed deeply.
"We checked with Regis University. The Jesuit University was quick to clarify that it had no record of this James Samuelson attending its institution," said Halloran.
What's the harm, you wonder?
"Do you have security clearance onto Redstone Arsenal?" Halloran asked. "Yes, ma'am I do," he replied.
A powerful position, access to classified information and a secret that could be used against him.
"So, I really worry about secrets getting out," stated George Gollin. Gollin is an expert on diploma mills. He worked with the federal government to prosecute the leaders of Saint Regis University.
Gollin said, "We have holes in our ability to keep information secure that this opens up. So here we have a contractor responsible for handling very sensitive information. Information that, if it gets out, puts our armed forces at risk. The person is susceptible to pressure to blackmail to being told that he needs to provide some information or else they're going to nail him. They'll make him lose his job and this is a person in a position of great responsibility. It's really, really frightening."
But, don't just take Gollin's word for it.
"Any corrupt individual would be harmful to the defense of the United States of America, whether it would be this issue or other issues," said Retired Brigadier General David Grange.
Grange spent nearly three decades serving our country. Now, he's a national security analyst for CBS and CNN. He spoke to Wendy Halloran from Chicago.
Halloran asked Grange, "Could this put our troops in harms way?" Grange said, "Anytime someone has accessibility to classified information and has a character flaw the results could be putting our troops in harms way. Absolutely."
Grange said the potential for blackmail is a reality, "Depending on the level of security clearance they have, that would be the level of information they could obtain and give to a foreign agent."
Samuelson's Facebook profile indicates he got the job at ADT in June of 2003. Remember, he got that bogus bachelor's in business in 2002 and the phony MBA in 2004.
Halloran asked Samuelson again, "Does your employer know about these degrees?"
He replied, "I'm not. No, the only people who would know about it are thanks to you, the whole city."
ADT is a multi-million dollar defense contractor. We requested an interview with ADT's CEO about this matter. We even provided a set of questions in advance. Instead, ADT's CEO Derrick Copeland sent us a statement that said ADT is aware of the WHNT NEWS 19 investigative report. It went on to say "ADT takes seriously such matters and is currently assessing the facts of the situation to determine what action by ADT, if any, is warranted."
A college degree isn't a requirement for a lot of jobs posted at ADT. Samuelson said he didn't use the degree to get the job and now worries it could cost him dearly.
Halloran said, "I'm giving you the chance to tell me exactly what happened here." Samuelson replied, "What you're doing for a living could cost me my living."
With so much at stake and plenty of professional experience, the nagging question remains why?
"Let me ask you why you would get these types of credentials after your years in the service in the Marine Corps. Then, all of a sudden you wind up with a bachelor's and a master's in business administration and government contracting. Is it the pressure to get a job? What prompted you to do it?" asked Halloran. "To be a 100 percent honest, what prompted me to get it was that my daughter was about to graduate from college and I have dealt with years of being highly experienced and not having a degree," said Samuelson.
He went on to say, "There's some discussion that's going to go on. They're going to say 'how could somebody who does what he does be that dumb?' But, you know sometimes all of us do things that are not real bright."
Samuelson said he was taken advantage of, scammed by Saint Regis University. His attorney told WHNT NEWS 19 that Samuelson thought Saint Regis was legitimate and that he knew nothing of its accreditation status when he applied for the degree online. Samuelson also told us he's trying to get his degree the right way and he is currently enrolled at the University of Phoenix, which is an accredited institution.
Samuelson and his lawyer stress that he never got a job or promotion because of the degree and he never represented the degree to be anything it was not. Samuelson's lawyer says he never received personal financial gain as a result of the degree certificate, and, in fact, the attorney said Samuelson "has simply lost money."
A college degree is not required for the continuing education courses that Samuelson teaches at UA Huntsville. He is not a faculty member at the school and the people who take his class do not receive academic credit.
WHNT NEWS 19 is working on several more angles to this investigation, including one that will air Wednesday, May 20th on WHNT NEWS 19 at 10:00 p.m. that addresses what's being done to crack down on people who purchase phony degrees.
Copyright © 2009, WHNT-TV
Breach of Trust: Fake Diplomas Found at U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command
WHNT NEWS 19's Investigation reveals AMCOM's Director of Readiness purchased bogus diploma
Wendy Halloran
WHNT NEWS 19 Chief Investigative Reporter
May 13, 2009
HUNTSVILLE, AL
It's graduation season all across the country. Thousands of students spent years to get their bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees.
However, many people have bought phony diplomas. In Part 1 of our Taking Action Investigation, WHNT NEWS 19 showed you how fake degrees have infiltrated the enlisted ranks of the U.S. Army.
Now, our investigation reveals this breach of trust goes all the way to the top civilian ranks at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal.
The fake degree is in the hand of a key essential leader at the U.S. Army's Aviation and Missile Command, AMCOM. The bogus diplomas are against policy, put a person's integrity in question, and make them a potential target for blackmail.
As Director of Readiness for the Army's Aviation and Missile Command, Chris Oleyte carries the weight of America's missile defense readiness on his shoulders. He's also carrying other baggage.
WHNT NEWS 19's Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Halloran confronted him. "Did you buy a degree from that diploma mill?" we asked.
"Uh, nothing to talk about," Oleyte replied.
Oleyte has top secret clearance, and access to classified information about missile defense. He would probably rather you not know about this secret he's hidden.
"It's on your bio," we say. "Yeah," he replies. "So, I don't even understand why you're talking to me about it," Oleyte said.
Did the system promote him, despite his bogus degree? Does the Department of the Army care that he has a fake credential?
"You have an obligation to talk to us," we say. "No, I don't, you're on my property," Oleyte replies.
Oleyte's secret potentially compromises the integrity of AMCOM and certainly defrauds you, the taxpayer.
"Taxpayers pay your salary," WHNT NEWS 19's Wendy Halloran says. "You don't want to talk about a degree from a degree mill? You're a key essential leader, and that's from a diploma mill."
"I don't appreciate [this]," Oleyte says. "Put the camera down. Please, please the camera."
In 2001, Olyete's impressive government resume boasted a Bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management from Trinity College and University out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
"To be fair, in a description of Trinity College and University, it's something that lives in a metal box 'that big' that you could use to store cat food basically in, it's completely fake," said George Gollin, an expert on diploma mills. More from him shortly.
Oleyte's resume lists that he got that bachelor's degree in 2001. The next year, he got a big promotion, to Senior Command Representative in Korea... a promotion that moved him up from a GS 13 to a GS 14, and likely afforded him a sizeable increase in salary.
Oleyte had the authority over all AMCOM issues, personnel and equipment in that country and reported directly to the AMCOM commanding general in Korea.
By the government's standards, it's a very important position. That began Oleyte's rise through the chain of command. Two years later, he was reassigned to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the Deputy Director of Readiness. He was later promoted to Director of Readiness.
WHNT NEWS 19's Wendy Halloran further confronted Oleyte about his bogus degree and the position he holds.
"I don't list that as a degree," Oleyte said.
"But you did," we replied.
"It's way back when," he said.
"Yes, but it's still from a diploma mill," said Halloran.
The promotions process in the U.S. government is very stringent. A complex matrix is used to score applicants. Three screeners judge the applicants on eight criteria. Applicants earn points for everything from aviation or missile systems experience to supervisory experience and even higher education degrees.
When Olyete applied for that promotion in Korea, his initial score was 263. A Freedom of Information Act request shows how 6 points were shaved off from the scoring for that bogus bachelor's degree and his total score corrected. It also shows how Olyete fared against 34 other candidates for the Senior Command Representative position. Despite the reduction, his point total still ranked him third on the list and he still retained the promotion. Without a doubt, someone higher up knew about the bogus degree. Chris Olyete's only 4-year degree is the phony one he possesses from Trinity College and University.
The U.S. Army's policy clearly states an employee who intentionally lists bogus educational credentials on a resume or other form of application for merit promotion calls his trustworthiness and integrity into question. It goes on to say when the employee's current supervisors become aware, he or she will notify the AMCOM Security Intelligence Directorate and it will determine what if anything should be done regarding the employee's clearance and access to classified information.
It's all about trust. To WHNT NEWS 19's knowledge, Olyete's bosses swept it under the rug. Nothing was ever done about it.
How could we know? The U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal has not answered many of our questions. At first, request after request for an interview was met with excuse after excuse.
But, in the waning hours before we went to air with this story, Redstone Public Affairs Specialist Dan O'Boyle was authorized to answer only a few questions we submitted in advance.
"Does AMCOM Commander General Jim Myles know about Chris Oleyte's fake degree from Trinity College and University?" we asked O'Boyle.
"We are aware of the allegations and we have convened a Commander's inquiry now, that's a group of senior key leaders who are looking at the facts surrounding these allegations and are charged with the responsibility to determine the truth and then come up with a course of action based upon the findings that come out of the inquiry board," said O'Boyle.
"On a government resume, he lists that degree. Are you aware of that?" WHNT NEWS 19 asked.
"We are conducting this inquiry and we'll make a course of action based upon the facts that come out as a result of our findings," said O'Boyle.
"Chris Oletye, the Director of Readiness for AMCOM, did he list the degree on his security clearance application?" we asked.
"We are currently working with Defense Security Services Personnel to obtain all the paperwork and documentation that surrounds these allegations and the circumstances and once we have that piece of the puzzle in place we'll be able to make a determination," O'Boyle replied.
This is a very serious matter, and WHNT NEWS 19 thinks you have a right to know answers to questions, for example, does this make Olyete a potential target for blackmail? Does it pose a threat to national security?
With few answers from Redstone Arsenal, we had to go elsewhere.
"So here we have someone in Missile Command who is responsible for very hi-tech, very important, very sensitive information who is a possessor of qualifications that are bogus," said George Gollin.
Gollin is an expert on diploma mills. He worked with federal prosecutors, going after the ringleaders of Saint Regis University, a diploma mill operated out of Spokane, Washington. Saint Regis sold fake degrees to nearly 10,000 people around the world.
Gollin is also a professor at the University of Illinois and a board member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. That is this country's standard when it comes to accrediting universities and colleges.
"What if the fellow has a mortgage, what if he's really not in a position to take a pay cut, have to move into a different position because his credentials are not legitimate -- it really does seem to me like someone in that position is very vulnerable to pressure when they really have to choose between giving up their ability to support their family to pay for their home and providing initially what seems like harmless information," said Gollin. "But really, once you provide harmless but classified information, then you've done something that's illegal and that can be used against you," he added.
As a matter of fact, Oleyte does have a sizeable mortgage. Records show his Madison home was worth more than $330,000 when he bought it in 2006. Oleyte's name is also on the mortgage for a condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It's worth $433,400.
Keep in mind that you, the taxpayer, are paying his salary. But there is more at stake than just taxpayer money.
"Do you think the blackmail issue is a very real threat?" WHNT NEWS 19 asks Retired Brigadier General David Grange.
"Those that have issues financially, those that have issue having to have some type of academic achievement or other awards things like this in order to raise their status and that, are subject to manipulation by enemy agents," said Grange.
Grange serves as the national security expert for CBS NEWS and CNN. He spoke with WHNT NEWS 19 via satellite from Chicago.
"Could this put our troops in harm's way?" WHNT NEWS 19's Wendy Halloran asked.
"Any time someone has accessibility to classified information and has a character flaw, the results could be putting our troops in harms way, absolutely," said Grange.
General Grange says this matter is so serious, there's really only one solution.
"It's disturbing that the individual would in fact do that, not all the checks and balances catch all these types of things, the individual admitted it, the honorable thing to do is to step down be removed from that command and move on, because it's not tolerated," said Grange.
WHNT NEWS 19 believes there are more top leaders at AMCOM installations worldwide with bogus degrees. The Department of the Army is investigating the names that we have turned over.
WHNT NEWS 19 is not saying that Oleyte is not qualified to hold the position he has. He may be qualified, but this is a breach of trust, a question of honor and integrity, and sets a bad example because it flies in the face of the Army's policies and values.
In Part 3 of our investigation, we show you imposter credentials in yet another layer of our military, a local defense contractor in a high position here in Huntsville. Watch Part 3 Thursday on WHNT NEWS 19 at 10:00.
Copyright © 2009, WHNT-TV
Army Responds To Soldiers Buying Fake Diplomas
WHNT NEWS 19 uncovers soldiers, defense contractors and civilians who bought fake diplomas in order to get promotions; Army responds
Wendy Halloran
WHNT NEWS 19 Chief Investigative Reporter
May 12, 2009
HUNTSVILLE, AL
A WHNT NEWS 19 Taking Action Investigation reveals the use of counterfeit credentials in all levels of the military and missile defense, the core of Huntsville's community. This investigation has captured the attention of top leaders from Huntsville to Washington, D.C.
This breach of trust is costing you, the taxpayer, and it could put our nation's security at risk. Our investigation reveals that more than 200 soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and government contractors around the world bought fake degrees.
Our investigation started in October 2008 with retired Master Sergeant Albert Finley, Jr.
"I only inquired, no, I never bought nothing," said Finley.
Finley's military record testifies to a patriotic man, willing to put himself in harm's way for his country. His distinguished record shows he's done everything to be all he can be, from earning the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal and the Global War On Terrorism Service Medal.
These campaign medals, decorations and awards speak volumes. Among the honor, there's another accolade Finley takes credit for: a master's degree in Sociology with a minor in Counseling from Saint Regis University.
His diploma looks official. His transcripts reflect he was an almost straight-A student. But there's one problem, it's all a lie.
The lie was good enough to fool the U.S. Army, until we brought it to their attention. Our investigation essentially shows when soldiers can't be all they can be, they buy it.
Finley told WHNT NEWS 19 he only inquired about buying a fake degree. We traveled to the nation's capitol for answers. The U.S. Army says that's not the case.
"Did Master Sergeant Albert Finley Junior, Retired, turn over a fake degree to the United States Army?" we asked of Sergeant Major Tom Gills.
"He did," said SGM Gills. "We've verified that and I have a copy of it right here for you."
SGM Gills is the Chief of Enlisted Promotions for the U.S. Army. The office is headquartered at the Army's Human Resources Command in northern Virginia.
The fake degree from now-defunct Saint Regis University cost Finley $731. It's one factor in his promotion from Sgt. First Class to Master Sergeant. The promotion meant a bump in pay for him. You've been footing the bill.
"You have a master's degree through Troy University out of Dothan, Alabama, so you know what it's like get the higher education -- the blood sweat and tears -- when you heard of Finley's case what ran across your mind? What entered your mind?" we asked SGM Gills.
"In a word, disgust," said SGM Gills.
"When I think of the hard work, and not just for myself, setting an example for our young soldiers to see what right looks like and to spend those nights and the weekends missing family events and all the other things that all of us do to achieve the degree had to go through, it's not easy of course," said SGM Gills.
"It's very worthwhile, so as you work to make that example for your subordinates and your peers hoping to inspire them, to have someone who would go and do something like this, it sickens me," he added.
"It just adds insult to injury that a senior NCO would take that, that route to go outside of what the Army authorizes as an accredited institution and pay money out of their own pocket again when the Army will pay for their tuition and books 100% to go and actually get the education," SGM Gills added.
The Army's promotions board approved it. However, Master Sergeant Albert Finley's far-from-genuine degree isn't the only fake that slipped through the cracks of the Army's screening process. There are a battalion of others who flew under the radar.
WHNT NEWS 19's Taking Action Investigation has uncovered Major Eliza Watson of Birmingham bought a fake bachelor's degree in Business.
The comment section on the Saint Regis University buyer's list reveals Major Watson took measures to make sure her secret stayed a secret.
Her post said "I am Captain in the Army Reserves and I need a degree to retain my commission; no transaction on e-mail."
Major Thurman Towry of Homewood also engaged in a covert operation, purchasing a total of eight degrees and certificates, including a bachelor's in Business Management, a master's in Management and a PhD in International Management Strategy.
Towry turn all three degrees over to the Army, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Taxpayers paid for his salary raise.
WHNT NEWS 19 has uncovered more than 200 soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and government contractors around the world who bought fake degrees.
"Each case, it is significant, it is egregious and it just smacks right at those core values that we live by," said SGM Gills.
The group who bought fake diplomas includes dozens fighting right now on the front lines. They submitted these degrees into their official military file for consideration for promotion.
"When you're in combat, you've got to trust that man on the right, that woman on the left and certainly that leader who's behind you or in front of you telling you this is the action we're gonna take, and as soon as you give that integrity away by doing something like this, you have now chipped away at a trust factor," said SGM Gills. "How many senior commanders can trust you again or how subordinates can trust you?"
With the Army's strict codes and strict conduct, how does this happen?
"One would never expect that a seasoned leader would do something like this, so you could see how they could slip through the cracks," said SGM Gills.
"There are some civilians and people who are critical of the Army, saying that the Human Resources Command doesn't do enough to stop these bogus degrees from slipping through the cracks. What would you say to people who feel that way?" WHNT NEWS 19 asked Gills.
"Now that this command is aware of it, at this time were going to educate the Human Resources Specialists throughout the Army," said SGM Gills. "We're going to send a message out to the commanders within the Army that same message."
We also spoke with retired U.S. Army Brigadier General David Grange about our investigation.
"I think most of these cases are people getting these credentials in order to obtain a job a higher pay scale," said Grange.
Grange has three silver stars, two purple hearts and one real master's degree in public service from Western Kentucky University.
He serves as the military analyst for CBS and CNN, and spoke with WHNT NEWS 19 via satellite from Chicago.
"Does it concern you, or how concerned are you with fake academic credentials and people defrauding the United States Government?" we asked him.
"Because they're a government person, they belong to the public, in other words that this is an issue I think that the military will crack down on this immediately and weed out anyone that does have bogus credentials," said Grange. "It's not tolerated. I'm sure those that did it wittingly will be punished."
Since the start of WHNT NEWS 19's Taking Action Investigation, we have turned over 12 names of military members in Alabama who bought fake degrees from bona fide diploma mills.
The U.S. Army says it is taking the matter very seriously, conducting a review of all of their records to see if they turned over their fake degrees as part of the promotions process.
One is too many," said SGM Gills. "And each and every one we're going to identify we're going to turn it over to their commanders for appropriate action."
Gills also thanked us for the investigation.
"I just want to say God bless you for bringing this to the Army's attention, for me, at least, to find out about this at this scope or level so that we can take the action," said SGM Gills. "We couldn't do it if you hadn't have brought it to us, so that's the starting point of fixing any problem is knowing you have one."
The punishment for turning over a fake degree ranges from a general officer letter of reprimand, up to an Article 15, which is a non-judicial punishment that allows a commander to take rank, forfeiture of pay, restrict a soldier's activities to the barracks, all the way to a court martial.
If a soldier is court martialed, it becomes a matter of public record. However, because Retired Master Sergeant Albert Finley, Jr. was not court martialed, we'll never know what punishment he was given.
Our Taking Action Investigation is getting more results, too.
The U.S. Army is now auditing all of its records. It is revamping its Human Resource Command to better detect fake credentials, and it is also encouraging those who purchased fake degrees to step forward.
Those who don't come clean could face a court martial.
The Army is also launching an educational campaign that will be broadcast over military radio and television, on web sites, and in newspapers and other print publications.
Copyright © 2009, WHNT-TV
Danger of a Defense Contractor Having a Fake Degree
WHNT NEWS 19's Investigation reveals a defense contractor purchased phony degrees
Wendy Halloran
Chief Investigative Reporter
May 14, 2009
Huntsville, AL
All across Alabama, students are celebrating the satisfaction of graduating from college and that they've got their diploma in hand.
For most people, it's not easy to get a bachelors, masters or doctoral degree. It takes years of studying,, tens of thousands of dollars in student loans and endless stress from exams.
What does that diploma get you? The potential for a better profession, higher pay, pride and prestige.
WHNT NEWS 19 has exposed how people in high positions in the military and missile defense have purchased their degree without spending all the time, energy and money that you did.
Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Halloran has revealed how some people tried to take a shortcut, paying a fraction of what it costs to go to school, and purchasing counterfeit credentials.
In Part 3 of this WHNT NEWS 19 Taking Action investigation we put a man who works for a defense contractor under the microscope.
Jim Samuelson is the Director of Contracts, Proposals and Pricing for ADT (Applied Data Trends).
His job is to get his company awarded contracts with the Department of Defense. He has security clearance on Redstone Arsenal, access to classified information about the software his company makes for the Warfighter and he claims to be an International Traffic in Arms Regulations Empowered Official.
He also teaches continuing education courses in government contracting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Wendy Halloran confronted Samuelson and asked him what university he got his bachelor's in business administration and his master's in business from.
"I really got to go. Please?" replied Samuelson. Halloran then asked, "Does your employer know where it's from?" "Yes, ma'am they do," he said. "And, what university is that sir?" "Please turn that off, turn it off," Samuelson said.
Many people aspire to achieve an MBA. But, Samuelson took a shortcut by buying one from Saint Regis University, a diploma mill. There were no classes and no course work. All it took was cash.
"When I did it, I was requested to fill out enormous amounts of paperwork to justify experience," claimed Samuelson.
The Saint Regis buyer's list we obtained shows he paid $2,917 for the two higher education degrees. Saint Regis University concocted credentials that looked legitimate, but aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Halloran asked him if he turned the degrees over to get his job at ADT. Samuelson replied, "No ma'am. I did not."
Samuelson's profile on the social networking site, Facebook, provided a wealth of information about his background. He proudly posted details about his decade in the United States Marine Corps, several tours of duty including assignments in Vietnam. He listed his more than 20 years of work experience and his own government consulting business. And, he showcased his higher ed degrees - a bachelor's supposedly earned in 2002 and a master's two years later.
He posted much detail, but had one glaring omission.
Halloran stated, "Your resume currently lists Regis University." "Then I must have had something messed up," replied Samuelson.
The posting on his Facebook profile indicates his degrees are from Regis University, a legitimate University in Denver, Colorado.
Halloran asked, "Did you drop the 'Saint' on there? Because Regis University has no record of you, sir." Samuelson sighed deeply.
"We checked with Regis University. The Jesuit University was quick to clarify that it had no record of this James Samuelson attending its institution," said Halloran.
What's the harm, you wonder?
"Do you have security clearance onto Redstone Arsenal?" Halloran asked. "Yes, ma'am I do," he replied.
A powerful position, access to classified information and a secret that could be used against him.
"So, I really worry about secrets getting out," stated George Gollin. Gollin is an expert on diploma mills. He worked with the federal government to prosecute the leaders of Saint Regis University.
Gollin said, "We have holes in our ability to keep information secure that this opens up. So here we have a contractor responsible for handling very sensitive information. Information that, if it gets out, puts our armed forces at risk. The person is susceptible to pressure to blackmail to being told that he needs to provide some information or else they're going to nail him. They'll make him lose his job and this is a person in a position of great responsibility. It's really, really frightening."
But, don't just take Gollin's word for it.
"Any corrupt individual would be harmful to the defense of the United States of America, whether it would be this issue or other issues," said Retired Brigadier General David Grange.
Grange spent nearly three decades serving our country. Now, he's a national security analyst for CBS and CNN. He spoke to Wendy Halloran from Chicago.
Halloran asked Grange, "Could this put our troops in harms way?" Grange said, "Anytime someone has accessibility to classified information and has a character flaw the results could be putting our troops in harms way. Absolutely."
Grange said the potential for blackmail is a reality, "Depending on the level of security clearance they have, that would be the level of information they could obtain and give to a foreign agent."
Samuelson's Facebook profile indicates he got the job at ADT in June of 2003. Remember, he got that bogus bachelor's in business in 2002 and the phony MBA in 2004.
Halloran asked Samuelson again, "Does your employer know about these degrees?"
He replied, "I'm not. No, the only people who would know about it are thanks to you, the whole city."
ADT is a multi-million dollar defense contractor. We requested an interview with ADT's CEO about this matter. We even provided a set of questions in advance. Instead, ADT's CEO Derrick Copeland sent us a statement that said ADT is aware of the WHNT NEWS 19 investigative report. It went on to say "ADT takes seriously such matters and is currently assessing the facts of the situation to determine what action by ADT, if any, is warranted."
A college degree isn't a requirement for a lot of jobs posted at ADT. Samuelson said he didn't use the degree to get the job and now worries it could cost him dearly.
Halloran said, "I'm giving you the chance to tell me exactly what happened here." Samuelson replied, "What you're doing for a living could cost me my living."
With so much at stake and plenty of professional experience, the nagging question remains why?
"Let me ask you why you would get these types of credentials after your years in the service in the Marine Corps. Then, all of a sudden you wind up with a bachelor's and a master's in business administration and government contracting. Is it the pressure to get a job? What prompted you to do it?" asked Halloran. "To be a 100 percent honest, what prompted me to get it was that my daughter was about to graduate from college and I have dealt with years of being highly experienced and not having a degree," said Samuelson.
He went on to say, "There's some discussion that's going to go on. They're going to say 'how could somebody who does what he does be that dumb?' But, you know sometimes all of us do things that are not real bright."
Samuelson said he was taken advantage of, scammed by Saint Regis University. His attorney told WHNT NEWS 19 that Samuelson thought Saint Regis was legitimate and that he knew nothing of its accreditation status when he applied for the degree online. Samuelson also told us he's trying to get his degree the right way and he is currently enrolled at the University of Phoenix, which is an accredited institution.
Samuelson and his lawyer stress that he never got a job or promotion because of the degree and he never represented the degree to be anything it was not. Samuelson's lawyer says he never received personal financial gain as a result of the degree certificate, and, in fact, the attorney said Samuelson "has simply lost money."
A college degree is not required for the continuing education courses that Samuelson teaches at UA Huntsville. He is not a faculty member at the school and the people who take his class do not receive academic credit.
WHNT NEWS 19 is working on several more angles to this investigation, including one that will air Wednesday, May 20th on WHNT NEWS 19 at 10:00 p.m. that addresses what's being done to crack down on people who purchase phony degrees.
Copyright © 2009, WHNT-TV
Monday, May 18, 2009
Meanwhile: The Bilderbergers are advancing in Norway
Jones Report | Siv Jensen was invited to speak in the British lower house where she called herself the new “iron lady”, the new Maggie Thatcher of Norway. And she is very confident that she will become the next Prime Minister…
Alex Jones - Jim Tucker at Bilderberg Day 2. See the rest on TheInfoWarrior.
Bilderberg Fears Losing Control In Chaos-Plagued World
Bilderberg 2009 Attendance List
Bilderberg Fears Losing Control In Chaos-Plagued World
Our man at Bilderberg: I should be ashamed
Fareed Zakaria confronted on Bilderberg and 9/11
VIPs At Secret Summit
The Alex Jones Show - L I V E - May 15: Jim Tucker & Charlie Skelton
Skelton's Blog - 17th May
2009 Bilderberg Attendees List (US Attendees)
Leaked 1955 Bilderberg Documents Outline Plan for a Single European Currency
Bilderberg Fears Losing Control In Chaos-Plagued World
Paul Joseph Watson | Investigative journalist Daniel Estulin reveals Bilderberg’s plan to destroy world economy, lower global population by two thirds.
Bilderberg 2009 Attendance List
Bilderberg Fears Losing Control In Chaos-Plagued World
Investigative journalist Daniel Estulin, whose information from inside Bilderberg has routinely proven accurate, states that the global elite’s plan to completely destroy the economy and ultimately lower global population by two thirds has stoked fears even within Bilderberg itself that the fallout from such chaos could ultimately result in the globalists losing their control over the world.
Our man at Bilderberg: I should be ashamed
You can’t quite make out the face of the Bilderberg delegate on the waterskis, but I’m pretty sure from his shape that it isn’t Ken Clarke. Is it the US deputy secretary of state, James Steinberg? No, Steinberg prefers a shorter rope. “Next year I bring a bigger lens,” says Paul Dorneanu, the young Romanian Bilderberg hunter who took the photo.
Fareed Zakaria confronted on Bilderberg and 9/11
WeAreChange Ohio questioned Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, about his attendance at the 2003 Bilderberg conference and the statements by General Hamid Gul on his CNN show.
VIPs At Secret Summit
ARMED guards are patrolling the grounds of the Athenian Riviera’s luxurious Astir Palace resort this weekend to ensure impenetrable privacy for a coterie of A1 celebrities – but don’t ask who they are.
Skelton's Latest Blog - 17th MayThe Alex Jones Show - L I V E - May 15: Jim Tucker & Charlie Skelton
Alex gets an update from Bilderberger investigator and reporter Jim Tucker from Greece. Alex also talks with Charlie Skelton, a British journalist with The Guardian, who was harassed and arrested by Greek police for taking photos near the Bilderberg confab.
Skelton's Blog - 17th May
2009 Bilderberg Attendees List (US Attendees)
Leaked 1955 Bilderberg Documents Outline Plan for a Single European Currency
Sunday, May 17, 2009
First responders Operation Safe PATH 2009
First responders Operation Safe PATH 2009
Hundreds of firefighters and police swarmed Ground Zero Sunday, the site where the World Trade Center once stood, in the largest security exercise here since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
As part of an elaborate dress rehearsal for a possible future terror strike, rescue workers exploded simulated bombs in a commuter train tunnel linking Manhattan to neighboring New Jersey, burrowed beneath the Hudson River.
"Full-scale exercises like today's give us an opportunity to practice how to integrate the vast response resources available in New York City and establish a command structure under the Citywide Incident Management System," said Joseph Bruno, commissioner at the city's Office of Emergency Management.
As the tunnel filled with smoke, scores of firefighters wearing oxygen masks practiced maneuvers to rescue some 700 to 800 passengers -- the number who might be expected to become stranded along the vital commuter line in the event of a real disaster.
In fact, there were about 150 volunteers playing the role of passengers aboard the train early Sunday, usually a time of light travel along the city's commuter train line.
The simulation closed to the public the train station at the World Trade Center, which links southern Manhattan and the New Jersey town of Newark.
Several streets in lower Manhattan were also closed to pedestrians and vehicular traffic as emergency vehicles, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, filled the city roadways.
The scenario played out early Sunday simulates an explosion that does not cause major damage to the tunnel, but causes a loss of power to the train and an interruption in communications.
The workers drilled their response to simulated blasts on two separate train cars shortly after 8:00 am (1200 GMT), in an exercise lasting about two hours.
New York's deputy mayor for operations, Edward Skyler, said the elaborate drill would help harmonize emergency operations among various agencies across the city.
"Today's exercise was particularly important because it demonstrated the commitment our emergency personnel are making to training and to cooperation among both city agencies and other parts of government," he said.
Skyler added a few words of praise for the ambulance workers, rescuers and police often referred to here as "New York's Finest."
"I am always impressed by the professionalism of our public safety personnel respond to challenging emergencies," he said.
New York is still scarred by the September 11 attacks in which Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked two commercial planes and slammed them into the World Trade Center, destroying the iconic twin towers.
Just under 3,000 people were killed in the attacks in which two other airliners were also hijacked, one slamming into the side of the Pentagon and the other crashing into a Pennsylvania field after passengers overpowered the hijackers.
Reconstruction at Ground Zero, where the hijacked airliners destroyed the Twin Tower skyscrapers, has barely begun. Meanwhile, the area remains under high security.
Last month office workers near Ground Zero panicked when one of President Barack Obama's official planes flew low over the site and the nearby Statue of Liberty for what the White House said was a photo shoot.
Copyright AFP 2008
Hundreds of firefighters and police swarmed Ground Zero Sunday, the site where the World Trade Center once stood, in the largest security exercise here since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
As part of an elaborate dress rehearsal for a possible future terror strike, rescue workers exploded simulated bombs in a commuter train tunnel linking Manhattan to neighboring New Jersey, burrowed beneath the Hudson River.
"Full-scale exercises like today's give us an opportunity to practice how to integrate the vast response resources available in New York City and establish a command structure under the Citywide Incident Management System," said Joseph Bruno, commissioner at the city's Office of Emergency Management.
As the tunnel filled with smoke, scores of firefighters wearing oxygen masks practiced maneuvers to rescue some 700 to 800 passengers -- the number who might be expected to become stranded along the vital commuter line in the event of a real disaster.
In fact, there were about 150 volunteers playing the role of passengers aboard the train early Sunday, usually a time of light travel along the city's commuter train line.
The simulation closed to the public the train station at the World Trade Center, which links southern Manhattan and the New Jersey town of Newark.
Several streets in lower Manhattan were also closed to pedestrians and vehicular traffic as emergency vehicles, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, filled the city roadways.
The scenario played out early Sunday simulates an explosion that does not cause major damage to the tunnel, but causes a loss of power to the train and an interruption in communications.
The workers drilled their response to simulated blasts on two separate train cars shortly after 8:00 am (1200 GMT), in an exercise lasting about two hours.
New York's deputy mayor for operations, Edward Skyler, said the elaborate drill would help harmonize emergency operations among various agencies across the city.
"Today's exercise was particularly important because it demonstrated the commitment our emergency personnel are making to training and to cooperation among both city agencies and other parts of government," he said.
Skyler added a few words of praise for the ambulance workers, rescuers and police often referred to here as "New York's Finest."
"I am always impressed by the professionalism of our public safety personnel respond to challenging emergencies," he said.
New York is still scarred by the September 11 attacks in which Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked two commercial planes and slammed them into the World Trade Center, destroying the iconic twin towers.
Just under 3,000 people were killed in the attacks in which two other airliners were also hijacked, one slamming into the side of the Pentagon and the other crashing into a Pennsylvania field after passengers overpowered the hijackers.
Reconstruction at Ground Zero, where the hijacked airliners destroyed the Twin Tower skyscrapers, has barely begun. Meanwhile, the area remains under high security.
Last month office workers near Ground Zero panicked when one of President Barack Obama's official planes flew low over the site and the nearby Statue of Liberty for what the White House said was a photo shoot.
Copyright AFP 2008
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Leon Panetta's mission to stop Israel bombing Iranian nuclear plant
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/leon-panettas-mission-to-stop-israel.html
Hate Crimes Bill! Unintended Consequences
by Paul Craig Roberts09/05/congressional-leaders-inadvertently.html
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57489
"BIG" Homeland Security Terror Drill Planned for NY’s Ground Zero
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57487
What Did Nancy Know?
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/pelosi-knew-about-torture.html
Chelsea Clinton that used funds from a Goldman Sachs hedge fund to arrange the BRIBING of New York Governor David Paterson
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57366
former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Stephen Friedman, received thirty-seven (37) criminal referrals concerning the involvement of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, J.P. Morgan Associates, the London-based office of AIG (American International Group), Robert Rubin's Citibank and the Israel Discount Bank in New York City, reference their involvement in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme,
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57364
Mossad Blows Up The Israeli Embassy - A False Flag Story
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57355
Police Officer kicks suspect in head after high speed pursuit
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57308
Another $96 Billion for War...Will this madness ever end?
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57455
U.N. rights chief urges Obama to prosecute torturers-From Reuters
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57393
Another 1,225,980+ Guns Bought by Law-abiding Americans in April 2009
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57448
UN Secretary General: "I will ask the General Assemly ... to Strip Israel of its Membership"
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57400
Legitimizing Netanyahu?
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57044
Prosecutor To Interview Rove Today, Sources Say
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/prosecutor-to-interview-rove-today.html
Boycott Israel campaign starts to bite
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/boycott-israel-campaign-starts-to-bite.html
Urban Warfare Training drills Burton, MI
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57150
Cocaine and LSD found in air of Spanish cities... wanna get high?
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/cocaine-and-lsd-found-in-air-of-spanish.html
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/leon-panettas-mission-to-stop-israel.html
Hate Crimes Bill! Unintended Consequences
by Paul Craig Roberts09/05/congressional-leaders-inadvertently.html
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57489
"BIG" Homeland Security Terror Drill Planned for NY’s Ground Zero
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57487
What Did Nancy Know?
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/pelosi-knew-about-torture.html
Chelsea Clinton that used funds from a Goldman Sachs hedge fund to arrange the BRIBING of New York Governor David Paterson
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57366
former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Stephen Friedman, received thirty-seven (37) criminal referrals concerning the involvement of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, J.P. Morgan Associates, the London-based office of AIG (American International Group), Robert Rubin's Citibank and the Israel Discount Bank in New York City, reference their involvement in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme,
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57364
Mossad Blows Up The Israeli Embassy - A False Flag Story
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57355
Police Officer kicks suspect in head after high speed pursuit
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57308
Another $96 Billion for War...Will this madness ever end?
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57455
U.N. rights chief urges Obama to prosecute torturers-From Reuters
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57393
Another 1,225,980+ Guns Bought by Law-abiding Americans in April 2009
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57448
UN Secretary General: "I will ask the General Assemly ... to Strip Israel of its Membership"
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57400
Legitimizing Netanyahu?
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57044
Prosecutor To Interview Rove Today, Sources Say
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/prosecutor-to-interview-rove-today.html
Boycott Israel campaign starts to bite
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/boycott-israel-campaign-starts-to-bite.html
Urban Warfare Training drills Burton, MI
http://snardfarker.ning.com/xn/detail/2649739:BlogPost:57150
Cocaine and LSD found in air of Spanish cities... wanna get high?
http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2009/05/cocaine-and-lsd-found-in-air-of-spanish.html
Friday, May 15, 2009
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANS EXERCISE, Aurora, CO
AURORA - The sound of an explosion, racing police cars and hovering helicopters would normally be cause for alarm, but not in this case. The chaotic scene in Aurora on Friday will be just a drill.
Advertisement
The city's officer of emergency management plans to start the training exercise at Buckley Air Force Base some time after 5 p.m.
After a loud "boom," emergency responders will race to the base and could impact traffic. Military helicopters will fly "pretend" victims of a terrorist attack to the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
The drill is a test of how well civilian and military responders work together in an emergency.
"This is the largest thing I've every done, so there's over 40 agencies in involved. We anticipate that there's over 500 responders as well as over 200 volunteers that are gonna be playing our victims," Deanne Criswell with the Officer of Emergency Management said.
Aurora's 911 operators are prepared to answer calls about the emergency drill. The city will also have recorded information about it on its phone lines and on its Web site. Click here for more information.
(Copyright KUSA*TV, All Rights Reserved)
Advertisement
The city's officer of emergency management plans to start the training exercise at Buckley Air Force Base some time after 5 p.m.
After a loud "boom," emergency responders will race to the base and could impact traffic. Military helicopters will fly "pretend" victims of a terrorist attack to the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
The drill is a test of how well civilian and military responders work together in an emergency.
"This is the largest thing I've every done, so there's over 40 agencies in involved. We anticipate that there's over 500 responders as well as over 200 volunteers that are gonna be playing our victims," Deanne Criswell with the Officer of Emergency Management said.
Aurora's 911 operators are prepared to answer calls about the emergency drill. The city will also have recorded information about it on its phone lines and on its Web site. Click here for more information.
(Copyright KUSA*TV, All Rights Reserved)
Leon Panetta's mission to stop Israel bombing Iranian nuclear plant
America’s spy chief was sent on a secret mission to Israel to warn its leaders not to launch a surprise attack on Iran without notifying the US Administration.
As Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, prepares to visit Washington, it emerged yesterday that Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA, went to Israel two weeks ago. He sought assurances from Mr Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, that their hawkish new Government would not attack Iran without alerting Washington.
Concerns have been rising that Mr Netanyahu could launch a strike on Tehran’s atomic programme, in the same way that Israel hit Saddam Hussein’s Osirak reactor in 1981. Israel has been preparing for such an eventuality. It has carried out long-distance manoeuvres and is due to hold its largest civil defence drills this summer. The country’s leaders reportedly told Mr Panetta that they did not “intend to surprise the US on Iran”.
Mr Netanyahu will leave for Washington this weekend. He will meet Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, and Mr Obama, whom he will try to convince of the need for tougher action against Iran. Mr Obama favours trying to engage Tehran, but his efforts have been received coolly by President Ahmadinejad.
The Israeli leader is expected to insist that the US stays focused on Iran, rather than tackling stalled talks with the Palestinians.
Mr Netanyahu has held meetings with Arab leaders this week, including President Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan. Both Sunni leaders share Israel’s fears of a resurgent Shia Iran.
In Aqaba, Jordan, yesterday King Abdullah told Mr Netanyahu there could be no regional peace without a Palestinian state. So far Mr Netanyahu has refused to commit to a two-state solution. Instead, he has talked about developing the Palestinian economy, with Palestinians having only limited sovereignty. That view is likely to cause confrontation with Mr Obama.
Mr Netanyahu raised the issue of Iran during a private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Nazareth yesterday. “I asked him as a moral figure to make his voice heard loud and continuously against the declarations coming from Iran of their intention to destroy Israel,” he said. .
“I think we found in him an attentive ear.” The Pope, who reiterated his calls for peace yesterday, did not give an account of the meeting.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6289593.ece
Cocaine and LSD found in air of Spanish cities... wanna get high?
Air pollution has long been a fact of life in Spanish cities, but scientists now say that it is not just smog that chokes people as they walk to work or stroll through the park.
A new study has found the air in Madrid and Barcelona is also laced with at least five drugs - most prominently cocaine.
The Superior Council of Scientific Investigations, a government institute, said on its website that in addition to cocaine, it found trace amounts of amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid -a relative of LSD - in air-quality control stations in the cities.
But it said there was no reason for alarm.
"Not even if we lived for a thousand years would we consume the equivalent of a dose of cocaine by breathing this air," said one of its scientists, Miren Lopez de Alda, in the statement.
The scientific group added that "in no case should these levels be considered representative of the air in the two cities".
In Madrid the test site was close to a ruined building believed to be frequented by drug dealers. And in both Madrid and Barcelona, the studies were carried out close to universities.
The group also said that the study showed higher concentrations of the components on weekends, suggesting that drug consumption was up in these periods.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
A new study has found the air in Madrid and Barcelona is also laced with at least five drugs - most prominently cocaine.
The Superior Council of Scientific Investigations, a government institute, said on its website that in addition to cocaine, it found trace amounts of amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid -a relative of LSD - in air-quality control stations in the cities.
But it said there was no reason for alarm.
"Not even if we lived for a thousand years would we consume the equivalent of a dose of cocaine by breathing this air," said one of its scientists, Miren Lopez de Alda, in the statement.
The scientific group added that "in no case should these levels be considered representative of the air in the two cities".
In Madrid the test site was close to a ruined building believed to be frequented by drug dealers. And in both Madrid and Barcelona, the studies were carried out close to universities.
The group also said that the study showed higher concentrations of the components on weekends, suggesting that drug consumption was up in these periods.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Congressional leaders inadvertently expose Israeli lobbyists behind letter to Obama
GOP House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) circulated a letter to colleagues this week urging President Obama to support Israel when moving forward with any Israeli peace process.
Trouble is, they forgot to delete the name of the lobbying group involved in the letter from the document.
Attached to the email message they circulated when seeking signatures from other members of Congress was the document, titled, “AIPAC Letter Hoyer Cantor May 2009.pdf.”
AIPAC stands for the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, a powerful bipartisan pro-Israel lobbying group. Recently, the group found itself in the news over allegations that two former staff members were involved in espionage — though the Justice Department recently dropped the case against them and no wrongdoing was alleged against the group itself.
The file name flub was discovered by The Washington Post’s Al Kamen in his “In the Loop” Column Friday.
The email to congressmembers seeking their support said they hoped they’d sign onto “the attached letter to President Obama regarding the Middle East peace process,” which argued that the US “must be both a trusted mediator and a devoted friend to Israel” and added, “Israel will be taking the greatest risks in any peace agreement.”
“Seems as though someone forgot to change the name or something,” Kamen quipped. “AIPAC? The American Israel Public Affairs Committee? Is that how this stuff works?”
The practice of lobbyists writing letters for congressmembers — to which they affix their names — is not uncommon. The custom was prominently in view during the scandal involving fallen power-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose staff were sometimes responsible for drafting letters that found themselves on congressional letterhead. Abramoff pled guilty to fraud and corruption charges in 2006.
An email to Hoyer’s press secretary was not immediately returned. The spokesperson for Cantor could not immediately be reached for comment, nor could a spokesperson for AIPAC.
The letter follows as a GIF. The PDF version can be downloaded here.
President Barack Obama spoke to the AIPAC Policy Conference in June 2008.
rawstory.com
Pelosi knew about torture
What Did Nancy Know?
And other not-so-mysterious mysteries by Justin Raimondo,
May 15, 2009
May 15, 2009
The brouhaha over what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) knew about torture, and when she knew it, is typical of the American "debate" over the events of the past eight years — the long Bush Interregnum, when we slipped into an alternate universe, and Bizarro World ethics displaced our regular moral compass, effectively inverting traditional concepts of right and wrong. Typical in that the real issues are avoided, or not mentioned at all.
We keep hearing arguments from defenders of the administration’s "enhanced interrogation techniques" that go something like this: you have to remember that everything was different way back then, the smoke was still rising from the ruins of the World Trade Center and if you had asked the archetypal man-in-the-street if it was okay to torture the terrorists, nary a single one of them would have said no. Everyone — or so the argument goes — is forgetting what it was like.
To begin with, it doesn’t matter what the man-in-the-street believes is justifiable — quite aside from its dubious utility, torture is flat-out wrong under any and all circumstances. Period.
Yet this argument makes a valid point, albeit one that fails to justify torture: the elected leadership of the country, and much of the US population, went collectively mad in the weeks — and years — after the worst terrorist attack in American history. It isn’t at all hard to believe that Pelosi, too — being human, all too human — was swept up in the hysteria, and went along with those "enhanced interrogation techniques" without uttering a word of protest.
On the other hand, Pelosi contends — well, it’s hard to say what she contends, because her story keeps changing. First she said she knew nothing about it. Then she said she knew about the "enhanced" techniques, but only that this was an option, not that they were going to be used or had actually been used. Now she’s changed her story yet again, and is claiming that the Bush administration "misled" her, and carried out these torture sessions before she was briefed. Regardless of what shape her story takes on any particular day, what she says and what the CIA documents say can’t both be true. Somebody is fibbing, bigtime — and I don’t think it’s Leon Panetta over at the CIA.
By all means, let us have a "truth commission," as Speaker Pelosi has advocated, with one difference: it ought not to be mandated or controlled in any way by Congress — since we don’t know how many members, or which ones, are implicated in these crimes.
Instead, let an independent commission made up of professional researchers and investigators in this field, along with competent academics, hold public sessions at which the testimony of witnesses can be heard. And as long as we’re in an investigative mood, there’s plenty in the legacy of the Bush years that cries out for a vigorous probe. Here’s my own personal wish list:
Let’s investigate the "intelligence" that got us into the Iraq war — starting with the Niger uranium forgeries [.pdf]. You’ll recall the once-famous "sixteen words" uttered by Bush in the course of a speech, in which he claimed that the African nation of Niger had been the site of an attempt by Saddam Hussein to procure uranium ore. The "intelligence" behind this assertion turned out to be a very crude forgery, the provenance of which has remained a mystery to this day — although we have a few important clues. In any case, that’s not the only example of outright fraud when it comes to "evidence" of Iraqi WMD, proffered during the run-up to the invasion, only the most glaring.
Remember Ahmed Chalabi, the smooth-talking slickster and neocon hero who bamboozled us out of millions in exchange for phony "intelligence" purportedly "proving" Iraq was harboring all kinds of WMD? He disappeared for a while, after characterizing himself and his confreres as "heroes in error," and popped up months later as a possible oil minister in the new Iraqi government. Right before he disappeared, however, the CIA raided his Iraqi headquarters and stories appeared in the American media reporting that he was suspected of committing espionage against the United States: the Iranians apparently learned through Chalabi that the Americans had broken their code and were eavesdropping on the internal deliberations of the Iranian government. The Iranians changed their code, and an invaluable window on the Iranian leadership was closed. Chalabi dropped out of sight, resurfacing as putative oil minister — and that was the last we heard of the probe into Chalabi’s activities.
At one point, you’ll recall, the FBI was running lie-detector tests on Pentagon employees to determine if any of them had leaked information to Chalabi. That’s one investigation that needs to be resumed.
By the way, another possibly related investigation into Israeli spying activities in the US — the same probe that led to the indictment of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, two top AIPAC officials — is still ongoing. According to former DIA analyst Pat Lang, writing on his Sic Semper Tyrannis blog:
"Sources familiar with the FBI investigation of the AIPAC espionage case, say that the investigation is continuing even though the charges against Rosen and Weissman were dropped. Harman was interviewed by DoJ prosecutors after the Rosen/Weissman charges were dropped.
"Sources indicate that based on multi-agency reports of Israeli espionage activities in the US prior to 9/11, George Tenet as DCI ordered his senior staff to assemble for him a study of all the files available concerning the history of Israeli espionage activities in the US. The resulting study shocked him."
That’s one subject on which we’ll never see a congressional investigation, of that you can be sure. Fortunately, however, when it comes to all of the above topics, and more, we have a source of investigative reporting that is on the ball and on the War Party’s case. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about Antiwar.com.
From the Niger uranium forgeries to the "Mohammed Atta in Prague" story, from the Scooter Libby case to the Rosen-Weissman-AIPAC spy nest, Antiwar.com has gone where most "mainstream" media outlets were very slow to tread. We nailed Scooter Libby from day one, and were all over the Niger uranium forgeries with reportage and detailed analysis, while the "mainstream" never covered the story in depth.
What’s important in running a news portal and commentary site such as this is that the editors know what’s going to be significant — before it becomes a big deal. A good example of our news judgment in this regard is our comprehensive coverage of the AIPAC spy scandal, the arrest and conviction of former Pentagon analyst Larry Frankliln, and the long legal process following the indictment of Rosen and Weissman — which we reported and commented on every step of the way, while the "mainstream" ignored it after the indictments went down. Our persistence paid off when Rep. Jane Harman was caught red-handed talking to "a suspected Israeli agent" offering her assistance in getting lenient treatment for Rosen and Weissman in exchange for AIPAC’s help in securing the chair of the House intelligence committee. As the Harman scandal roiled official Washington, regular readers of this site had a fuller understanding of the context in which it was occurring.
There’s a lot more going on than they want us to know — that is a given. The key to discovering it is to look behind the headlines, at the larger narrative taking shape, a method that gives our readers the real lowdown on what the War Party has in store. That’s what the spirit of independent journalism is all about, and it’s alive and well here at Antiwar.com — but only as long as our money holds out, and it’s going fast.
We depend entirely on the generosity of our readers to keep going, and our current fundraising drive is now going full-gear. I know you’ve been hectored endlessly for the past couple of days, but believe me, it’s necessary — because if we don’t make our fundraising goal, the spirit of independent journalism as represented by this web site is going to wilt considerably. So don’t delay — contribute today.
Prosecutor To Interview Rove Today, Sources Say
Washington Post
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Karl Rove will be interviewed today as part of a criminal investigation into the firing of U.S. attorneys during the presidency of George W. Bush, according to two sources familiar with the appointment.
Rove, a former senior aide to Bush, will be questioned by Connecticut prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy, who was named in September to examine whether former Justice Department and White House officials lied or obstructed justice in connection with the dismissal of federal prosecutors in 2006.
Robert D. Luskin, an attorney for Rove, declined to comment. Tom Carson, a spokesman for Dannehy, also declined to comment.
Dannehy has operated mostly out of the public spotlight, issuing subpoenas for documents through a federal grand jury in the District. But in recent weeks, she has interviewed other government aides, including former White House political deputies Scott Jennings and Sara Taylor.
Dannehy also has reached out to representatives of former senator Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and his chief of staff, Steve Bell, to determine whether New Mexico U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias was removed improperly.
The firings were the focus of a lengthy report released last fall by the Justice Department's inspector general and the department's Office of Professional Responsibility. Investigators there uncovered improper political motivations in the dismissal of several of the nine fired federal prosecutors.
But the department's own probe was thwarted in part because its investigators did not have the authority to compel testimony from Bush White House advisers and lawmakers.
Legal experts say that a particular source of interest for Dannehy will be statements that officials made to the inspector general and to Congress about the episode, which could lead to charges of perjury or obstruction of justice. Outcry over the firings contributed to the departure of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, his chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, and Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty.
The prosecutor firings also are the subject of intense interest from the House Judiciary Committee, which sued former Bush aides Harriet E. Miers and Joshua B. Bolten for access to testimony and documents. Rove is also tentatively scheduled to provide closed-door testimony to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and other members of the panel next month.
Boycott Israel campaign starts to bite
9 May 2009
Motorola, Caterpillar, Veolia, the Tesco supermarket chain, and other companies across the world that do business with Israel are suffering losses due to a global boycott in support of Palestinian rights.
On May 4, protesters greeted Motorola shareholders, already disgruntled by the company’s losses, as they arrived for their annual meeting at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago.
The protest, organised by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, is part of a drive to “Hang Up On Motorola” until it ends sales of communications and other products that support Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian land.
Inside the meeting, the Presbyterian, United Methodist and other churches urged shareholders to support their resolution, which calls for corporate standards grounded in international law. Doing the right thing could also reduce the risk of “consumer boycotts, divestment campaigns and lawsuits”.
Although Motorola executives deny it, such risks must have played a part in their decision to sell the department making bomb fuses shortly after Human Rights Watch teams found shrapnel with Motorola serial numbers at some of the civilian sites bombed by Israel in its December-January assault on Gaza.
The US protests are part of a growing global movement that has taken international law into its own hands because governments have not. And, especially since the attacks on Gaza, the boycotts have been biting.
There are three reasons why.
First, boycotts enable ordinary citizens to take direct action. For instance, the New York group Adalah decided to target diamond merchant Lev Leviev, whose profits are plowed into colonising the West Bank.
During the Christmas season, they sing carols with the words creatively altered to urge shoppers to boycott his Madison Avenue store.
The British group Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine teamed up with Adalah and others to exert public pressure on the British government regarding Leviev. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv recently cancelled plans to rent premises from Leviev’s company Africa-Israel.
There are other results. Activists in Britain have targeted the supermarket chain Tesco to stop the sales of Israeli goods produced in settlements.
In a video of one action — over 38,000 YouTube views to date — Welsh activists load up a trolley with settlement products and push it out of the shop without paying.
All the while, they calmly explain to the camera just what they are doing and why, as they pour red paint over the produce — and as British Bobbies quietly lead them away to a police van.
The result of such consumer boycotts? A fifth of Israeli producers have reported a drop in demand since the assault on Gaza, particularly in Britain and Scandinavia.
The second reason boycotts are effective is the visible role of Jewish human rights advocates, making it harder for Israel to argue that these actions are anti-Semitic.
For example, British architect Abe Hayeem, an Iraqi Jew, describes in a passionate column in the British Guardian exactly how Leviev tramples on Palestinian rights, and warns Israeli architects involved in settlements that they will be held to account by their international peers.
In the US, Jewish Voice for Peace has led an ongoing campaign to stop Caterpillar from selling bulldozers to Israel, which militarises them and uses them in home demolitions and building the separation wall.
The third, key, reason for the growing success of this global movement is the determined leadership of Palestinian civil society. The spark was lit at the world conference against racism in Durban in 2001. In 2004, Palestinian civil society launched an academic and cultural boycott that is having an impact.
In 2005, over 170 Palestinian civil society coalitions, organisations, and unions from the occupied territories, within Israel, and in exile issued a formal call for an international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) until Israel abides by international law.
The call sets out clear goals for the movement and provides a framework for action.
In November 2008, Palestinian NGOs helped convene an international BDS conference in Bilbao, Spain, to adopt common actions. This launched a “Derail Veolia” campaign. The French multinational corporation, together with another French company, Alstom, is building a light railway linking East Jerusalem to illegal settlements.
The light rail project was cited by the Swedish national pension fund in its decision to exclude Alstom from its US$15 billion portfolio, and by the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in its decision not to further consider Veolia’s bid for a $1.9 billion waste improvement plan. There were active grassroots campaigns in both areas.
Other hits: Veolia lost the contract to operate the city of Stockholm subway and an urban network in Bordeaux. Although these were reportedly “business decisions” there were also activist campaigns in both places. The Galway city council in Ireland decided to follow Stockholm’s example.
Connex, the company that is supposed to operate the light rail, is being targeted by Australian activists.
The “Derail Veolia” campaign has been the movement’s biggest success to date. Veolia and its subsidiaries are estimated to have lost as much as $7.5 billion.
As one of the BDS movement leaders, Omar Barghouti, put it: “When companies start to lose money, then they listen”. Perhaps governments will too.
[Nadia Hijab is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies in Washington. Reprinted from Middle-east-online.com.]
The protest, organised by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, is part of a drive to “Hang Up On Motorola” until it ends sales of communications and other products that support Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian land.
Inside the meeting, the Presbyterian, United Methodist and other churches urged shareholders to support their resolution, which calls for corporate standards grounded in international law. Doing the right thing could also reduce the risk of “consumer boycotts, divestment campaigns and lawsuits”.
Although Motorola executives deny it, such risks must have played a part in their decision to sell the department making bomb fuses shortly after Human Rights Watch teams found shrapnel with Motorola serial numbers at some of the civilian sites bombed by Israel in its December-January assault on Gaza.
The US protests are part of a growing global movement that has taken international law into its own hands because governments have not. And, especially since the attacks on Gaza, the boycotts have been biting.
There are three reasons why.
First, boycotts enable ordinary citizens to take direct action. For instance, the New York group Adalah decided to target diamond merchant Lev Leviev, whose profits are plowed into colonising the West Bank.
During the Christmas season, they sing carols with the words creatively altered to urge shoppers to boycott his Madison Avenue store.
The British group Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine teamed up with Adalah and others to exert public pressure on the British government regarding Leviev. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv recently cancelled plans to rent premises from Leviev’s company Africa-Israel.
There are other results. Activists in Britain have targeted the supermarket chain Tesco to stop the sales of Israeli goods produced in settlements.
In a video of one action — over 38,000 YouTube views to date — Welsh activists load up a trolley with settlement products and push it out of the shop without paying.
All the while, they calmly explain to the camera just what they are doing and why, as they pour red paint over the produce — and as British Bobbies quietly lead them away to a police van.
The result of such consumer boycotts? A fifth of Israeli producers have reported a drop in demand since the assault on Gaza, particularly in Britain and Scandinavia.
The second reason boycotts are effective is the visible role of Jewish human rights advocates, making it harder for Israel to argue that these actions are anti-Semitic.
For example, British architect Abe Hayeem, an Iraqi Jew, describes in a passionate column in the British Guardian exactly how Leviev tramples on Palestinian rights, and warns Israeli architects involved in settlements that they will be held to account by their international peers.
In the US, Jewish Voice for Peace has led an ongoing campaign to stop Caterpillar from selling bulldozers to Israel, which militarises them and uses them in home demolitions and building the separation wall.
The third, key, reason for the growing success of this global movement is the determined leadership of Palestinian civil society. The spark was lit at the world conference against racism in Durban in 2001. In 2004, Palestinian civil society launched an academic and cultural boycott that is having an impact.
In 2005, over 170 Palestinian civil society coalitions, organisations, and unions from the occupied territories, within Israel, and in exile issued a formal call for an international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) until Israel abides by international law.
The call sets out clear goals for the movement and provides a framework for action.
In November 2008, Palestinian NGOs helped convene an international BDS conference in Bilbao, Spain, to adopt common actions. This launched a “Derail Veolia” campaign. The French multinational corporation, together with another French company, Alstom, is building a light railway linking East Jerusalem to illegal settlements.
The light rail project was cited by the Swedish national pension fund in its decision to exclude Alstom from its US$15 billion portfolio, and by the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in its decision not to further consider Veolia’s bid for a $1.9 billion waste improvement plan. There were active grassroots campaigns in both areas.
Other hits: Veolia lost the contract to operate the city of Stockholm subway and an urban network in Bordeaux. Although these were reportedly “business decisions” there were also activist campaigns in both places. The Galway city council in Ireland decided to follow Stockholm’s example.
Connex, the company that is supposed to operate the light rail, is being targeted by Australian activists.
The “Derail Veolia” campaign has been the movement’s biggest success to date. Veolia and its subsidiaries are estimated to have lost as much as $7.5 billion.
As one of the BDS movement leaders, Omar Barghouti, put it: “When companies start to lose money, then they listen”. Perhaps governments will too.
[Nadia Hijab is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies in Washington. Reprinted from Middle-east-online.com.]
news may 15 2009
Complete "Bilderberg Group" Coverage from Greece - (scroll down for links) http://is.gd/zWLP
Pentagon whistleblower Karen Kwiatkowski http://is.gd/zTep
Urban Warfare Training drills - "Young kids will love watching the helicopters fly around and everything." - http://is.gd/zVQb
Missouri Anti-Real ID Bill Passes the Senate in a Landslide! - http://is.gd/zVIO
Senator says CIA admitted making up dates of torture briefings http://is.gd/zVE5
ACTUAL FOOTAGE Pastor Beaten & Tased by Border Patrol & DPS http://is.gd/zVBA
Cheney's office ordered waterboarding 5-14-09 VIDEO MSNBC - http://is.gd/zVwD
VIDEO: Innocents Betrayed: Calculated Genocide http://is.gd/zVuD
Report of Georgia Sen Nancy Schaefer on Corruption in Child Protective Services http://is.gd/zUbm
Pelosi : CIA Mislead Her http://is.gd/zTZV
Homeland Security Trains Scouts To Fight Terrorism http://is.gd/zTlQ
ABC News - "CIA Lied to US Congress" http://is.gd/zThE
CNN: Lou Dobbs - Obama supports an international treaty creating sweeping gun control efforts http://is.gd/zTeR
Buffalo crash: links about the 9/11 Activist On Downed Flight 3407 http://is.gd/zTc1
Here Are a Few of the Torture Photos Obama Doesn't Want You To See - http://is.gd/zDtU
Datastrip Introduces Next Generation Biometric Reader for One-Step Identity Verification of E-passports http://is.gd/zSsF
'Adam Kokesh 4 Congress - Marine Corps War Veteran and Patriot Needs Your Support !' http://is.gd/zeeA
Fed Reserve Cannot Account for $9 Trillion -video - http://is.gd/zS4Z
Pentagon whistleblower Karen Kwiatkowski http://is.gd/zTep
Urban Warfare Training drills - "Young kids will love watching the helicopters fly around and everything." - http://is.gd/zVQb
Missouri Anti-Real ID Bill Passes the Senate in a Landslide! - http://is.gd/zVIO
Senator says CIA admitted making up dates of torture briefings http://is.gd/zVE5
ACTUAL FOOTAGE Pastor Beaten & Tased by Border Patrol & DPS http://is.gd/zVBA
Cheney's office ordered waterboarding 5-14-09 VIDEO MSNBC - http://is.gd/zVwD
VIDEO: Innocents Betrayed: Calculated Genocide http://is.gd/zVuD
Report of Georgia Sen Nancy Schaefer on Corruption in Child Protective Services http://is.gd/zUbm
Pelosi : CIA Mislead Her http://is.gd/zTZV
Homeland Security Trains Scouts To Fight Terrorism http://is.gd/zTlQ
ABC News - "CIA Lied to US Congress" http://is.gd/zThE
CNN: Lou Dobbs - Obama supports an international treaty creating sweeping gun control efforts http://is.gd/zTeR
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Here Are a Few of the Torture Photos Obama Doesn't Want You To See - http://is.gd/zDtU
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'Adam Kokesh 4 Congress - Marine Corps War Veteran and Patriot Needs Your Support !' http://is.gd/zeeA
Fed Reserve Cannot Account for $9 Trillion -video - http://is.gd/zS4Z
Thursday, May 14, 2009
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Urban Warfare Training drills Burton, MI
Resisting the New World Order
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Military to use Burton as a training ground for a week
by Bryn Mickle
The Flint Journal
Wednesday May 13, 2009, 7:15 AM
Boeing MH-6 "Little Bird" helicopters may be seen over Burton in the coming days.
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Military to use Burton as a training ground for a week
by Bryn Mickle
The Flint Journal
Wednesday May 13, 2009, 7:15 AM
Boeing MH-6 "Little Bird" helicopters may be seen over Burton in the coming days.BURTON, Michigan -- The black helicopter crowd's worst fears of a New World Order are coming true.
The military is invading Burton.
But it promises to only stay a week.
The U.S. Special Operations Command is using Burton as a training ground for military exercises.
Sometime over the next day or two, a military spokesman said residents may see low-flying helicopters buzzing overhead.
People may even catch a glimpse of special operations forces, but the goal is to keep the exercise as low key as possible.
"Chances are that most people won't see them," said Naval Lt. Nathan C. Potter, a spokesman for the exercises.
Citing safety and security concerns, the military is being mum on details about the exercises, including the size of the force being trained.
There's also no word on where exactly the operations will take place, although Potter said soldiers could be working in neighborhoods and industrial sites.
"It will be very sporadic," he said.
The goal is to prepare troops for unfamiliar urban areas.
Once they are finished in Burton, Potter said the soldiers will be ready to be deployed overseas.
The military approached Burton officials with the request to train there about three months ago, said Burton police Lt. Tom Osterholzer.
Although officials are being cautious about the details, Osterholzer said they opted to notify the public to allay any fears once people start seeing helicopters.
Burton and Flint police will provide traffic control for some of the exercises and 911 operators at the Flint and Genesee County dispatch centers have been alerted in case of panicked calls.
"It's an honor to help these guys," said Osterholzer.
Not everyone is as enthusiastic.
"It scares me," said Jennie Moench of Swartz Creek.
Moench questioned whether the military is getting ready for action in a new theater outside of Iraq and Pakistan and wonders why it chose Burton.
"Would you see this happening in a wealthy city?" said Moench, a member of the area Peace Triangle group that has protested the U.S. presence in Iraq for about seven years.
But Burton resident Leroy Cronkright believes the city is providing an important service to the military.
"Nowadays, almost everything (soldiers do) is cities and towns," said Cronkright, a Navy veteran who served in the 1960s.
Sonia Flagg said she would have been caught offguard by the sight of helicopters over her yard, but likes the idea.
"Somebody's got to do it, so why not Burton," said Flagg.
"Young kids will love watching the helicopters fly around and everything."
Potter said the military appreciates the local help and said such training exercises are critical to the ability of soldiers to operate overseas.
Similar operations have been run in other cities around the nation.
"We're not trying to cause a disturbance," said Potter.
Scouts To Fight Terrorism - DHS is training teenage scouts how to conduct armed raids on terrorists and drug dealers
Terrorist described as “disgruntled Iraq war veteran” in role play
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The Department of Homeland Security is training teenage scouts how to conduct armed raids on terrorists and drug dealers.
In a program which officials have described as “about being a true-blooded American”, boys and girls as young as fourteen are being put through their paces by DHS Border Patrol agents.
The New York Times Reports:
The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence — an intense ratcheting up of one of the group’s longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters.
[...]
The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses.
Some youngsters have described the program as enjoyable due to the fact that they get to shoot guns and learn about discipline.
Eyebrows will be raised over the nature of the role play situation however, due to the fact that in at least one instance the “terrorist” to be neutralized was described as a “disgruntled Iraq war veteran”.
“Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained. “I guarantee that he’ll shut up.”
Given recent concerns over the DHS definition of “right wing extremists” and the agency’s penchant to affiliate veterans, gun owners, Ron Paul supporters and even those who question the mainstream media with terrorists, one wonders exactly who the boy scouts are being trained to target.
The Explorer program also touches close to home with recent concerns regarding President Barack Obama’s promised “civilian national security force”.
“Our end goal is to create more agents,” said April McKee, a senior Border Patrol agent and mentor at the session.
FULL STORY:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14explorers.html
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Daniel Estulin Nick Bryant Jack Blood Deadline Live Radio
Daniel Estulin and Nick Bryant on Jack Blood Deadline Live Radio
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Nick Bryant
franklinscandal.com
A chilling exposé of corporate corruption and government cover-ups, this account of a nationwide child-trafficking and pedophilia ring in the United States tells a sordid tale of corruption in high places. The scandal originally surfaced during an investigation into Omaha, Nebraska's failed Franklin Federal Credit Union and took the author beyond the Midwest and ultimately to Washington, DC. Implicating businessmen, senators, major media corporations, the CIA, and even the venerable Boys Town organization, this extensively researched report includes firsthand interviews with key witnesses and explores a controversy that has received scant media attention.
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL: A Story of Powerbrokers,, Child Abuse & Betrayal
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Barry Cooper on Jack Blood Deadline Live Radio
Barry Jennings WTC 7 9/11 discussion with Dylan Avery on Jack Blood Radio show
Dylan Avery on Jack Blood
G. Edward Griffin on Deadline Live w/ Jack Blood
Jack Blood w/ Cindy Sheehan Dylan Avery “We The People” Fest Los Angeles
download 05/12/2009
Daniel Estulindanielestulin.com
Nick Bryant
franklinscandal.com
A chilling exposé of corporate corruption and government cover-ups, this account of a nationwide child-trafficking and pedophilia ring in the United States tells a sordid tale of corruption in high places. The scandal originally surfaced during an investigation into Omaha, Nebraska's failed Franklin Federal Credit Union and took the author beyond the Midwest and ultimately to Washington, DC. Implicating businessmen, senators, major media corporations, the CIA, and even the venerable Boys Town organization, this extensively researched report includes firsthand interviews with key witnesses and explores a controversy that has received scant media attention.
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL: A Story of Powerbrokers,, Child Abuse & Betrayal
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more mp3's
Karen Kwiatkowski on Jack Blood 05 05 09
Adam Kokesh on Jack Blood's Deadline LiveBarry Cooper on Jack Blood Deadline Live Radio
Barry Jennings WTC 7 9/11 discussion with Dylan Avery on Jack Blood Radio show
Dylan Avery on Jack Blood
G. Edward Griffin on Deadline Live w/ Jack Blood
Jack Blood w/ Cindy Sheehan Dylan Avery “We The People” Fest Los Angeles
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Joyce Riley on Alex Jones Radio Show
May 12, 2009
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Sherrif Raid on Dawn Welsh's Home!
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Sherrif Raid on Dawn Welsh's Home! Click To Listen Full Live Recording
Listen as the fascist U.S. government steals an American grandmother's home and terrorizes her!!!!!
Unreal!
People THIS happened this morning!
We BETTER wake up soon or we're toast!
To follow this story listen to the Power Hour with Joyce Riley and Dave vonKleist
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thepowerhour.com
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Sherrif Raid on Dawn Welsh's Home!
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GCN & The Power Hour Exclusive:
Sherrif Raid on Dawn Welsh's Home! Click To Listen Full Live Recording
Listen as the fascist U.S. government steals an American grandmother's home and terrorizes her!!!!!
Unreal!
People THIS happened this morning!
We BETTER wake up soon or we're toast!
To follow this story listen to the Power Hour with Joyce Riley and Dave vonKleist
http://www.gcnlive.com/programs/powerHour/index.php
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