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Claims of bias within the 9/11 commission.
Thu Apr 15, 2004 19:01
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Claims of bias within the 9/11 commission.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-11_Commission

Some members of victims' families have claimed that the commission has numerous conflicts of interest. 9/11 CitizensWatch, in particular, has called for the resignation of Philip D. Zelikow, the executive staff director. Zelikow is a Bush-appointee who served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. He spent three years on the President George H. W. Bush's National Security Council. Zelikow worked closely with Bush NSC advisor Condoleezza Rice and even co-wrote a book with her. Some worry that Zelikow may be using his power to deflect blame from himself and to protect Rice.

In addition, many members have ties that could be seen as conflicts of interest.

* Thomas Kean has ties to the National Endowment for Democracy, a long-time conduit of CIA covert operations abroad. Kean also has a history of investments that link him to Saudi investors who have financially supported both George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden in the past. Especially noteworthy are his former business connections to Khalid bin Mahfouz, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law and alleged terrorist financier.
* Fred F. Fielding has done legal work for two of Bush's leading "Pioneer" fund-raisers. Fielding also works for a law firm lobbying for Spirit Airlines and United Airlines.
* Slade Gorton has close ties to Boeing, which built all the planes destroyed on 9/11, and his law firm represents several major airlines, including Delta Airlines.
* James Thompson is the head of a law firm that lobbies for American Airlines, and he has previously represented United Airlines.
* Richard Ben-Veniste has represented Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe, and continues to represent Boeing and United Airlines.
* Max Cleland, former US senator, has received $300,000 from the airline industry. He has since resigned from the commission.
* Lee Hamilton sits on many advisory boards, including those to the CIA, the president's Homeland Security Advisory Council, and the US Army.
* Tim Roemer represents Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
* Jamie Gorelick’s firm has agreed to represent Prince Mohammed al Faisal in the suit by the 9/11 families. The families contend that al Faisal has legal responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.

The commission's defenders claim that these do not represent significant conflicts of interest, and that the commission can be expected to maintain its neutrality.

Claims of lack of cooperation from the White House

Although the commission has yet to make a report, the White House has already come under intense fire concerning the commission from many victims' families [1]. White House leaders have been accused of blocking the commission for nearly a year before announcing its creation. The White House insisted that they be able to appoint the commission's chair, leading some to question the commission's independence. The initial person appointed to head the commission, Henry Kissinger, has been accused by many of having been involved in past government coverups in South America (specifically, the overthrow of the Allende government in Chile).

Even after Kissinger resigned, the White House was often cited as having attempted to block the release of information to the commission [2] and for refusing to give interviews without tight conditions attached (leading to threats to subpoena [3]). They have further been accused of attempting to derail the commission by giving it one of the smallest independent commission funding levels in recent history ($3 million [4]), and by giving the commission a very short deadline. The White House insists that they have given the commission "unprecedented cooperation".

Claims that the commission is being used for partisan purposes

Some conservatives believe that the Democratic Party is planning to use the commission for partisan advantage during the 2004 election campaign. Rather than focusing equally on all factors, critics predict that Congressional Democrats will ignore any policy errors made by Bill Clinton while emphasizing the mistakes of President Bush.[5] Much of this suspicion comes from memos taken from the computers of Democrats in Congress. There is an ongoing investigation of this alleged computer theft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-11_Commission

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National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

(Redirected from 9-11 Commission)

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9-11 Commission, is composed of five Democrats and five Republicans. Its mandate is "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the" September 11, 2001 attacks including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks, as well as allegations of any variation of a 9/11 domestic conspiracy theory. The commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks. Some have compared its role to that of the Warren Commission of 1963-1964.

It was scheduled to issue its final report on May 27, 2004, but a compromise agreed to by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert allowed sixty days of extension, until July 26. The commission is tasked with interviewing over 1,000 current and former officials and reviewing over two million pages of documents, including some closely-guarded classified national security documents. Before it is released by the commission, the final public report will be screened for any potentially classified information and edited as necessary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-11_Commission

"Doctor? No other title? A scholar? And he rates above the civil authority?"

"Why, certainly," replied Hardin, amiably. "We're all scholars more or less. After all, we're not so much a world as a scientific foundation – under the direct control of the Emperor."

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Isaac Asimov

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Isaac Asimov (ca. January 2, 1920–April 6, 1992) was a Russian-born American author and biochemist, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his science books for the layperson. He also wrote mysteries, many of which were collected in the Black Widowers books. He wrote or edited over 500 volumes and an estimated 90,000 letters or postcards. He has works in every major category of the Dewey Decimal System except Philosophy. He was a long-time member of Mensa, albeit reluctantly (he described them as "intellectually combative"). There is an asteroid named in his honor called (5020) Asimov.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov 

• Even Jews are catching on.... — The Webfairy, Thu Apr 15 19:09