ABU NIDAL was CIA - recalibrate your world view

Abu Nidal, notorious Palestinian mercenary, 'was a US spy'

Secret papers claim the feared assassin was hired to find links between Saddam and al-Qa'ida. Robert Fisk reports

Saturday, 25 October 2008

Iraqi secret police believed that the notorious Palestinian assassin Abu Nidal was working for the Americans as well as Egypt and Kuwait when they interrogated him in Baghdad only months before the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq. Hitherto secret documents which are now in the hands of The Independent -- written by Saddam Hussein's brutal security services for Saddam's eyes only -- state that he had been "colluding" with the Americans and, with the help of the Egyptians and Kuwaitis, was trying to find evidence linking Saddam and al-Qa'ida.

President George Bush was to use claims of a relationship with al-Qa'ida as one of the reasons for his 2003 invasion, along with Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. Western reports were to dismiss Iraq's claim that Abu Nidal committed suicide in August 2002, suggesting that Saddam's own security services murdered him when his presence became an embarrassment for them. The secret papers from Iraq suggest that he did indeed kill himself after confessing to the "treacherous crime of spying against this righteous country".

The final hours of Abu Nidal, the mercenary whose assassinations and murderous attacks in 20 countries over more than a quarter of a century killed or wounded more than 900 civilians, are revealed in the set of intelligence reports drawn up for Saddam's "presidency intelligence office" in September of 2002. The documents state that Egyptian and Kuwaiti intelligence officers had asked Abu Nidal, whose real name was Khalil al-Banna, to spy for them "with the knowledge of their American counterparts". Five days after his death, Iraq's head of intelligence, Taher Jalil Habbush, told a press conference in Baghdad that Abu Nidal had committed suicide after Iraqi agents arrived at the apartment where he was hiding in the city, but the secret reports make it clear that the notorious Palestinian had undergone a long series of interrogations prior to his violent demise. The records of these sessions were never intended to be made public and were written by Iraqi "Special Intelligence Unit M4" for Saddam. While Abu Nidal may have lied to his interrogators -- torture is not mentioned in the reports -- the documents appear to be a frank internal account of what the Iraqis believed his mission in Iraq to be. The papers name a Kuwaiti major, a member of the ruling Kuwaiti al-Sabbah family, as his "handler" and state that he was also tasked to "perform terrorist acts inside and outside Iraq". His presence in the country "would provide the Americans with the pretext that Iraq was harbouring terrorist organisations," the reports say.

"Coded messages indicate that the Kuwaitis asked him indirectly to find out whether al-Qa'ida elements were present in Iraq. Our conclusions were confirmed when he [Abu Nidal] started to mitigate his actions with irrational answers when asked about the data against him. He attempted to sidetrack his answers by not being specific and referring to historical matters. It was noted by the investigators that he went from short, ambiguous and unclear replies to generalities ... he seemed perturbed ... But once he became convinced of the weight of the evidence against him concerning his collusion with both the American and Kuwaiti intelligence apparatuses in co-ordination with Egyptian intelligence, he realised that his treacherous crime of spying against this righteous country had been exposed ..."

Abu Nidal was no stranger to Iraq. He had operated from Baghdad, Damascus and the Libyan capital of Tripoli when the regimes wanted to use him as a "gun for hire". It was Iraq which paid him to organise the attack on the Israeli ambassador to London, Shlomo Argov, in 1982, an attempted assassination which prompted Israel to accuse Yasser Arafat of responsibility and to begin its disastrous invasion of Lebanon, and Colonel Muammur Gaddafi later established a close relationship with Abu Nidal. In 1985, his crazed gunmen attacked Israeli-bound passengers at Rome and Vienna airports, killing a total of 18 people. His biographer Patrick Seale, who suggests that for some time Abu Nidal even worked for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, has written of how, when he feared treachery in his own ranks, a suspected spy would be buried alive, fed through a tube for days and then -- if Abu Nidal's "court" deemed death appropriate -- a bullet would be fired down the tube.

His own interrogation at the hands of Saddam's secret police, will therefore appear equally appropriate punishment for so cruel a man. Among the other crimes of which he was accused in the Iraqi intelligence report was the preparation of 14 booby-trapped suitcase bombs to be used on foreigners -- Swiss and Austrian, according to the intelligence file -- in the northern Kurdish area of Iraq, at the time a US-supported "safe haven", and an attempt to recruit new members for his so-called Fatah Revolutionary Council among Palestinians wounded by the Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza who were recovering in Baghdad hospitals.

There are some oddities in the report and some unanswered questions. It says, for example, that Abu Nidal originally infiltrated Iraq from Iran on a false Yemeni passport years earlier, but that this was facilitated by his own representative in Kuwait, named as Nabil Uthman. Abu Nidal was said to have communicated to Kuwait via coded messages sent through Lebanon and Dubai. The papers give his date of birth as 1939 -- he is believed to have been born in Jaffa in what was then Palestine in 1937 -- and state that he resided in Libya in 1984 but "had no links with the Libyan authorities". He is also stated to have been imprisoned by the Egyptian security services for two months. The man who is said to have provided Abu Nidal with a "safe house" in Baghdad was interrogated in 2002 alongside the Palestinian and is named as Abdulkareem Mohammed Mustapha.

Could Abu Nidal really have entered Iraq from Iran, whose own intelligence services, would surely have questioned him? Could Abu Nidal have lived in secret in the Baathist state of Iraq without Saddam's own mukhabarat finding him? And for how long was he interrogated? The documents give us no answers to these questions.

His end is, however, recorded bleakly. "Upon being asked to accompany those charged with guarding him to a more secure location to continue the interrogation procedures, he requested that he be allowed to change his clothes. On entering his bedroom, he committed suicide. Unsuccessful attempts were made to resuscitate him ..." Nothing is known of the fate of Abdulkareem Mustapha, only that he was "submitted to court". But we do know where Abu Nidal now lies.

"The corpse of Sabri al-Banna", the final report concludes, "was buried on 29/8/2002 in al-Karakh's Islamic cemetery [in Baghdad]. Until a final resting place is found, a marker designates the place of burial and it was documented on video as well as on still photographs as 'M7'." No "final resting place" for this savage man appears ever to have been found.

Years of terror: A man as feared as Bin Laden

Abu Nidal, was once as feared as Osama bin Laden. His most notorious attacks included:

*1978 His "Black June" movement blamed for murdering PLO members in London, Paris, Madrid, Brussels, Kuwait and Rome.

*1982 Israeli ambassador to Britain, Shlomo Argov, shot in Mayfair, leaving him permanently paralysed.

*1984 Jordanian airliner attacked by rocket on take-off from Athens. Assassinations included the British cultural attaché in Athens and the British deputy high commissioner in Mumbai.

*1985 Egyptian airliner hijacked -- six passengers murdered and 60 killed when the plane is stormed by Egyptian commandos

*1985 Gunmen massacre 18 and wound 120 in attacks on El Al ticket desks at Vienna and Romeairports, bottom left.

*1986 Machine-gun attack kills 22 in a synagogue inIstanbul; at least 20 passengers and crew are killed when Pan Am jet hijacked in Karachi, bottom right.

*1988 Nine killed and 98 wounded when gunmenattack the Greek cruise ship the City of Poros.

Palestinians are Israelites, actually, genuinely

Palestinians are the actual "children of Israel"!

Hermann Ploppa 27.oct.2008

Israeli history professor Shlomo Sand thinks it is probable. Sand demands therefore a constitutional amendment

Hardly another state in this world can refer Israel to such a comprehensive creation history like the straight only sixty years old country. Whether in condition and declaration of independence, whether in the canon for stories instruction, whether at the particularly furnished university specialist areas for Jewish history: everywhere the narration maintained of the homogeneous Jewish people, whom after the excerpt from Egypt the fantastic kingdoms create of David and Salomo have; also banishing after Babylon projected. And after the rebellions in the year 70 after Christ of the Romans into all world one scattered, and in the Diaspora held together, in order to be able to return a daily to the praised country to Palestine. After the Holocaust the homogeneous Jewish people could itself have met finally again in his legitimate homeland to a nation state. Thus the Israeli declaration of independence formulates of 1948: "After the people (Israel) was driven involuntarily from his country in the exile, remained it in the firm faith, also after its scattering, and heard on to never pray and hope on its return and on a re-establishment of its political freedom."

Now however the historian Shlomo Sand ensures of the University of Tel Aviv with its newest book for lively discussions.

Shlomo Sand: "Matai ve'ech humtza ha'am hayehudi?", Resling, Tel Aviv.
French edition "Comment le peuple juif fut inventé -- De la Bible au sionisme", Paris 2008.
English translation not before 2009!

Because the work with the title was invented "as the Jewish people" stands on the best-seller lists in Israel. Sand plucks-to-pieces all national creation stories of Israel specified above and refers it into the realm of the mythology.

The reactions in the Israeli public do not exist always in well-meaning open-mindedness. Roll commands try to blow up Sand's lecture meetings. Threat letters and insults belong to daily bread of the unerschrockenen stories researcher. Sand was born 1946 in the Austrian Linz as a son of Polish Holocaust survivors, and already in the sixties organizations new linking in Israel followed, which face the Zionism critically. As a professor in Tel Aviv and Paris Sand is actually expert for modern European history, with emphasis France. He saved his trip into Israeli history until he became full tenured professor not subject to be fired. Because, so Sand: "One must pay a price in the academic life of Israel, if one represents such opinions."

The more deeply the historian from Tel Aviv into the ancient sources in-worked itself, all the more surprised him, how few creation stories of Israel are to be occupied by documents. That catches on with Biblical history of the excerpt of the enslaved Israeliten under Moses from Egypt in the praised country. This in 13. Century before Christ settled exodus is occupied by no Egyptian chronicles, and the praised country belonged at that time to the administrative territory of Egypt. Also for the existence of the golden kingdoms of David and Salomos are no archaeological proofs.

In the year 70 after Christ rebellions of fundamentalist Jewish sects took place against the Roman occupying power. Alleged following driving and scattering of the Jews out into all directions are likewise free invention, judges Sand. Because around a whole people to drive out, simply the means were missing:

The Romans did not drive peoples in the exile, and they could not do it also at all. They did not order over railways and trucks, in order to deportieren whole populations.

Are the Palestinians the descendants of the Israelites?

With the exception of the ringleaders nobody was abroad created. Most Jews were native farmers, who remained under strange upper rule in the country. Later they would have accepted the Islamic faith and with other peoples would have mixed themselves. The descendants of the native Jews would thus nowadays be the inhabitants, that were pushed of the Israeli new settlers to the edge - thus the Palestinians in Israel, in the Gaza Strip or in the West Jordan territory!

The new settlers, who constitute the population of state modern Israel, do not have to do anything with the ancient Israeliten, says Sand. These people are the descendants of Jewish missionierter peoples. Because between the first century before our time calculation and the fourth century after Christ Jewish mission acres swarmed into all regions of the Mediterranean area out. Beside innumerable Jewish minority communities whole kingdoms were bekehrt to the Judentum. To call the realm is here e.g. Himya in the area today's Yemen. Another Kingdom was in the area of the today's Kurdistan.

In the sixth after-Christian century a Jewish bekehrtes Berberreich in the Maghreb, whose remnants affected the Iberian Khalifate in the following centuries substantially, developed. Approximately to the same time the halfnomad Turk-people of the Khasaren took over the mosaic faith. The Khasar empire extended over the area of the today's Ukraine. When the Mongols extinguished the realm of the Kasars, the Kasars mixed itself with likewise Jewish missionised Slavs and GermanJewish refugees of the Pogrome of Mainz and Worms. The eastJewish "Schtetl" - inhabitants are thus likewise few descendants of a Jewish Diaspora from Palestine like the Iberian Sephardic or the mosaic Yemenites, finds Sand.

These facts were earlier generations of Judaists quite well-known. Even prominent Zionists did not conceal that the Palestinians were the descendants of the Israelites. Yitzhak Ben Zvi, later second president of the Republic of Israel, expressed 1929: ". the overwhelming majority of the small farmers do not have their origin with the Arab conquerers, but rather, before these, in the Jewish farmers, those at number were rich and the majority with the structure of the country placed." One heard something similar at that time of David Ben Gurion.

National state thought led also in zionistist thinking to a re-orientation

And that the Khasars was not in the ethnic sense Jews, it belonged in the nineteenth century to general knowledge. As in Germany still Jewish scholars such as Isaak Markus Jost (1793-1860) or Leopold Zunz (1794-1886) influence exercised, was considered the Judentum still as a purely religious phenomenon. When however in Germany the nationalism at ground won, the accentuation began itself to shift also in the Jewish community. In Germany was formed the national state thought, which should be connected inseparably with a prominent, homogeneous gentleman race. That was the time of the Teuton cult. In the USA the view, the national gentleman race in North America was formed is consisting the Nordic Race, of blond, naive descendants of the Englishmen, Germans and Skandinavier according to. This of Madison Grant formulated view flowed into the immigration, sterilization and marriage prohibitory laws of the USA.

That radicalization of the national state thought, which was not carried out in such a way in France, led also in the zionistischen community to a re-orientation. The Jewish historian Heinrich Graetz (1817-1891) interpreted the Judentum in demarcation to the Prussian historian Heinrich of Treitschke no longer than a purely religious network, but increasingly than nationalistic movement.

Shlomo Sand subordinates the zionistist settlers in Israel first of all the fact that her imperialistic motives of the colonization with the construct of a refugee now returning of people would embellish:

The exposure that the Jews do not originate from Judea, would pull obviously the legal standard away of our Hierseins under our feet. Since beginning of the decolonising settlers could not say simply only: We came, we won, and now we are here, in the way, how the Americans, who announced white ones in South Africa and the Australians.

Procured Sand states one since the sixties more strongly becoming bio logism in the Israeli debate over an alleged Jewish national people: "'The origin of the Peoples' is in the meantime an accepted and popular research field of molecular biology." The officially fixed definition of the Israeli democracy as "Jewish" prevents however at least one fifth of the citizens to identify itself with Israel. Here a tension is pre-programmed, and it is questionable whether the small state can bear these tensions permanently. Therefore Sand demands a reformulation of the Israeli condition:

In the Israeli discourse over the roots a certain measure of Perversion lies. This concerns a ethnozentrischen, biological and genetic discourse. But Israel orders over no existence as Jewish state: if Israel does not become an open, multicultural society, then we experience a Kosovo in Galiläa. Consciousness of the claim on this place must be more flexible and more variant-rich, and if I contributed with my book to the prospect that I and my children able will be, to live with the other groups here in the country in a more equivalent situation together then have I my Scherflein to it contributed.

via babelfish systran robot-translation from www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/28/28975/1.html

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What do you think of Shlomo Sand's "When And How Were the Jewish People Invented?"?
It's a bestseller in Israel and doing well also in France,but no English edition

I have read enough abstracts to be reasonably familiar with the content. It is not really a new theme,except perhaps to "Israelis". Many prominent American Jews denounced the "racial" concept of a "Jewish people" from the very inception of Zionism in the 1890's. Judaism is a religion. There is no such thing as a "jewish people",i.e. an ethnic group associated with the religion.

Same here,only read reviews. One,by Jonathon Cook explains the book's theme,which is not really new; David Ben Gurion wrote a book along the same line way back in 1910 - that the modern Palestinians are direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews. I'm still pleased to see something new appear from a modern qualified scholar; Dr. Sand is a professor of history at Tel Aviv University so you can't hardly accuse him of being antijewish.

This is a book published in Israel by an Israeli publisher and is by an Israeli author who teaches at an Israeli university,but you know what? I bet the zionists will try to get it deleted.

No one is more surprised than Shlomo Sand that his latest academic work has spent 19 weeks on Israel.s bestseller list . and that success has come to the history professor despite his book challenging Israel.s biggest taboo.

Sand argues that the idea of a Jewish nation . whose need for a safe haven was originally used to justify the founding of the state of Israel . is a myth invented little more than a century ago.

An expert on European history at Tel Aviv University, Sand drew on extensive historical and archaeological research to support not only this claim but several more . all equally controversial.

In addition, he argues that the Jews were never exiled from the Holy Land, that most of today.s Jews have no historical connection to the land called Israel and that the only political solution to the country.s conflict with the Palestinians is to abolish the Jewish state.

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Zionist nationalist myth of enforced exile
Israel deliberately forgets its history
An Israeli historian suggests the diaspora was the consequence, not of the expulsion of the Hebrews from Palestine, but of proselytising across north Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East

By Schlomo Sand

Every Israeli knows that he or she is the direct and exclusive descendant of a Jewish people which has existed since it received the Torah (1) in Sinai. According to this myth, the Jews escaped from Egypt and settled in the Promised Land, where they built the glorious kingdom of David and Solomon, which subsequently split into the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. They experienced two exiles: after the destruction of the first temple, in the 6th century BC, and of the second temple, in 70 AD.

Two thousand years of wandering brought the Jews to Yemen, Morocco, Spain, Germany, Poland and deep into Russia. But, the story goes, they always managed to preserve blood links between their scattered communities. Their uniqueness was never compromised.

At the end of the 19th century conditions began to favour their return to their ancient homeland. If it had not been for the Nazi genocide, millions of Jews would have fulfilled the dream of 20 centuries and repopulated Eretz Israel, the biblical land of Israel. Palestine, a virgin land, had been waiting for its original inhabitants to return and awaken it. It belonged to the Jews, rather than to an Arab minority that had no history and had arrived there by chance. The wars in which the wandering people reconquered their land were just; the violent opposition of the local population was criminal.

This interpretation of Jewish history was developed as talented, imaginative historians built on surviving fragments of Jewish and Christian religious memory to construct a continuous genealogy for the Jewish people. Judaism.s abundant historiography encompasses many different approaches.

But none have ever questioned the basic concepts developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Discoveries that might threaten this picture of a linear past were marginalised. The national imperative rejected any contradiction of or deviation from the dominant story. University departments exclusively devoted to .the history of the Jewish people., as distinct from those teaching what is known in Israel as general history, made a significant contribution to this selective vision. The debate on what constitutes Jewishness has obvious legal implications, but historians ignored it: as far as they are concerned, any descendant of the people forced into exile 2,000 years ago is a Jew.

Nor did these official investigators of the past join the controversy provoked by the .new historians. from the late 1980s. Most of the limited number of participants in this public debate were from other disciplines or non-academic circles: sociologists, orientalists, linguists, geographers, political scientists, literary academics and archaeologists developed new perspectives on the Jewish and Zionist past. Departments of Jewish history remained defensive and conservative, basing themselves on received ideas. While there have been few significant developments in national history over the past 60 years (a situation unlikely to change in the short term), the facts that have emerged face any honest historian with fundamental questions.
Founding myths shaken

Is the Bible a historical text? Writing during the early half of the 19th century, the first modern Jewish historians, such as Isaak Markus Jost (1793-1860) and Leopold Zunz (1794-1886), did not think so. They regarded the Old Testament as a theological work reflecting the beliefs of Jewish religious communities after the destruction of the first temple. It was not until the second half of the century that Heinrich Graetz (1817-91) and others developed a .national. vision of the Bible and transformed Abraham.s journey to Canaan, the flight from Egypt and the united kingdom of David and Solomon into an authentic national past. By constant repetition, Zionist historians have subsequently turned these Biblical .truths. into the basis of national education.

But during the 1980s an earthquake shook these founding myths. The discoveries made by the .new archaeology. discredited a great exodus in the 13th century BC. Moses could not have led the Hebrews out of Egypt into the Promised Land, for the good reason that the latter was Egyptian territory at the time. And there is no trace of either a slave revolt against the pharaonic empire or of a sudden conquest of Canaan by outsiders.

Nor is there any trace or memory of the magnificent kingdom of David and Solomon. Recent discoveries point to the existence, at the time, of two small kingdoms: Israel, the more powerful, and Judah, the future Judea. The general population of Judah did not go into 6th century BC exile: only its political and intellectual elite were forced to settle in Babylon. This decisive encounter with Persian religion gave birth to Jewish monotheism.

Then there is the question of the exile of 70 AD. There has been no real research into this turning point in Jewish history, the cause of the diaspora. And for a simple reason: the Romans never exiled any nation from anywhere on the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean. Apart from enslaved prisoners, the population of Judea continued to live on their lands, even after the destruction of the second temple. Some converted to Christianity in the 4th century, while the majority embraced Islam during the 7th century Arab conquest.

Most Zionist thinkers were aware of this: Yitzhak Ben Zvi, later president of Israel, and David Ben Gurion, its first prime minister, accepted it as late as 1929, the year of the great Palestinian revolt. Both stated on several occasions that the peasants of Palestine were the descendants of the inhabitants of ancient Judea (2).
Proselytising zeal

But if there was no exile after 70 AD, where did all the Jews who have populated the Mediterranean since antiquity come from? The smokescreen of national historiography hides an astonishing reality. From the Maccabean revolt of the mid-2nd century BC to the Bar Kokhba revolt of the 2nd century AD, Judaism was the most actively proselytising religion. The Judeo-Hellenic Hasmoneans forcibly converted the Idumeans of southern Judea and the Itureans of Galilee and incorporated them into the people of Israel. Judaism spread across the Middle East and round the Mediterranean. The 1st century AD saw the emergence in modern Kurdistan of the Jewish kingdom of Adiabene, just one of many that converted.

The writings of Flavius Josephus are not the only evidence of the proselytising zeal of the Jews. Horace, Seneca, Juvenal and Tacitus were among the Roman writers who feared it. The Mishnah and the Talmud (3) authorised conversion, even if the wise men of the Talmudic tradition expressed reservations in the face of the mounting pressure from Christianity.

Although the early 4th century triumph of Christianity did not mark the end of Jewish expansion, it relegated Jewish proselytism to the margins of the Christian cultural world. During the 5th century, in modern Yemen, a vigorous Jewish kingdom emerged in Himyar, whose descendants preserved their faith through the Islamic conquest and down to the present day. Arab chronicles tell of the existence, during the 7th century, of Judaised Berber tribes; and at the end of the century the legendary Jewish queen Dihya contested the Arab advance into northwest Africa. Jewish Berbers participated in the conquest of the Iberian peninsula and helped establish the unique symbiosis between Jews and Muslims that characterised Hispano-Arabic culture.

The most significant mass conversion occurred in the 8th century, in the massive Khazar kingdom between the Black and Caspian seas. The expansion of Judaism from the Caucasus into modern Ukraine created a multiplicity of communities, many of which retreated from the 13th century Mongol invasions into eastern Europe. There, with Jews from the Slavic lands to the south and from what is now modern Germany, they formed the basis of Yiddish culture (4).
Prism of Zionism

Until about 1960 the complex origins of the Jewish people were more or less reluctantly acknowledged by Zionist historiography. But thereafter they were marginalised and finally erased from Israeli public memory. The Israeli forces who seized Jerusalem in 1967 believed themselves to be the direct descendents of the mythic kingdom of David rather than . God forbid . of Berber warriors or Khazar horsemen. The Jews claimed to constitute a specific ethnic group that had returned to Jerusalem, its capital, from 2,000 years of exile and wandering.

This monolithic, linear edifice is supposed to be supported by biology as well as history. Since the 1970s supposedly scientific research, carried out in Israel, has desperately striven to demonstrate that Jews throughout the world are closely genetically related.

Research into the origins of populations now constitutes a legitimate and popular field in molecular biology and the male Y chromosome has been accorded honoured status in the frenzied search for the unique origin of the .chosen people.. The problem is that this historical fantasy has come to underpin the politics of identity of the state .of Israel. By validating an essentialist, .ethnocentric definition of Judaism it encourages a segregation that separates Jews from non-Jews . whether Arabs, Russian immigrants or foreign workers.

Sixty years after its foundation, Israel refuses to accept that it should exist for the sake of its citizens. For almost a quarter of the population, who are not regarded as Jews, this is not their state legally. At the same time, Israel presents itself as the homeland of Jews throughout the world, even if these are no longer persecuted refugees, but the full and equal citizens of other countries.

A global ethnocracy invokes the myth of the eternal nation, reconstituted on the land of its ancestors, to justify internal discrimination against its own citizens. It will remain difficult to imagine a new Jewish history while the prism of Zionism continues to fragment everything into an ethnocentric spectrum. But Jews worldwide have always tended to form religious communities, usually by conversion; they cannot be said to share an ethnicity derived from a unique origin and displaced over 20 centuries of wandering.

The development of historiography and the evolution of modernity were consequences of the invention of the nation state, which preoccupied millions during the 19th and 20th centuries. The new millennium has seen these dreams begin to shatter.

And more and more academics are analysing, dissecting and deconstructing the great national stories, especially the myths of common origin so dear to chroniclers of the past.

Shlomo Sand is professor of history at Tel Aviv university and the author of Comment le people juif fut inventé (Fayard, Paris, 2008)

(1) The Torah, from the Hebrew root yara (to teach) is the founding text of Judaism. It consists of the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

(2) See David Ben Gurion and Yitzhak Ben Zvi, Eretz Israel in the past and present, 1918 (in Yiddish), and Jerusalem, 1980 (in Hebrew); Yitzhak Ben Zvi, Our population in the country, Executive Committee of the Union for Youth and the Jewish National Fund, Warsaw, 1929 (in Hebrew).

(3) The Mishnah, regarded as the first work of rabbinic literature, was drawn up around 200 AD. The Talmud is a synthesis of rabbinic discussions on the law, customs and history of the Jews. The Palestinian Talmud was written between the 3rd and 5th centuries; the Babylonian Talmud was compiled at the end of the 5th century.

(4) Yiddish, spoken by the Jews of eastern Europe, was a Germano-Slavic language incorporating Hebrew words.

Confessions of a Conspiracy Theorist

Confessions of a Conspiracy Theorist

by Sheila Casey / October 24th, 2008

Over the past few decades, the CIA controlled mainstream media in America has achieved a significant PR objective: they have made it socially unacceptable to believe that there is a conspiracy operating at the highest levels of our government. This puts those of us who do know about the plot at high levels in an awkward position: either we pretend that we don.t know what we know, or we risk being ridiculed and marginalized as a pathetic joke.

He who defines the language defines the parameters of the debate, and so far the conspirators are winning. They have succeeded in imbuing the moniker .conspiracy theorist. with such intensely negative connotations that even most conspiracy theorists.such as 9/11 truth activists.tie themselves in knots to avoid earning that label.

Is there anything wrong with having theories? Of course not. Knowledge progresses through scientists proposing a certain hypothesis (or theory) and then testing to see if it holds up. It doesn.t mean they are flying blind, untethered by facts. They use the facts they already know to create theories about things that are still unknown.

Is there anything wrong with having theories about a conspiracy? Is it akin to having theories about leprechauns, poltergeists or Bigfoot? Do conspiracies exist only in the realm of fantasy or the occult?

Definitely not. There are dozens of vast conspiracies that have been validated by historians. Wikipedia lists 27 .proven conspiracies, some of which were not the subject of any widespread speculation until they were exposed..

That is, they used to. The list of 27 proven conspiracies is in my article on the back page of the June issue of the Rock Creek Free Press, exactly as copied from Wikipedia in May 2008. That list of .proven historical conspiracies. was removed from Wikipedia on June 7, 2008, just a few days after the June issue of the Creek hit the streets of DC.

But I digress.

High level government conspiracies definitely happen. So what exactly is wrong with having a theory about a vast plot to deceive us?

From the point of view of the conspirators, plenty. They cannot succeed unless their under-handed dealings remain well out of sight. If the details of Operation Mockingbird became widely known, no one would read or watch any news from the mainstream media anymore, and their effort to control public opinion would fail.

Those in charge of the cover-ups had very good reasons for launching an all out attack on conspiracy theorists, and due to Operation Mockingbird, they are able to insert their memes into TV shows, news articles, books, movies, songs, greeting cards and comic books. Without quite realizing how it happened, the population adopts the belief desired by the conspirators: that those who suspect conspiracies are deficient human beings in every respect. Based on my own exposure to the MSM, I could easily conclude that conspiracy theorists are:

* lonely, socially inept losers
* intellectually bankrupt, oblivious to evidence
* immature, still living at home with their parents
* unattractive to the opposite sex, unable to find love or sex
* don.t bathe or change clothes regularly
* have a tenuous grip on sanity, may be mentally ill
* paranoid

No wonder no one wants to be considered a conspiracy theorist!

Many truth activists have reacted to this demonization by avoiding discussing theories, and insisting they are just asking questions. Fomer Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura gave a lengthy news conference in Arizona on 9/11/08 about the anomalies in the government.s story about 9/11, and he used this tactic. When asked his opinion about what was going on, he insisted he was just asking questions.

This approach is dishonest and ultimately unproductive. It is disingenuous to pretend you don.t have any theories just to avoid the dreaded .CT. label. It is also nearly impossible not to have theories about something you have studied extensively; I don.t know a single 9/11 truth activist who doesn.t.

It is also unproductive because we hold back from saying the things we know to be true. Why should we only ask questions when we know some of the answers? Questions require a lot of our audience. They require listeners to come up with the answers themselves, something not everyone has the time or inclination to do. We should state what we know with confidence.

Another defensive measure employed by some in the truth movement (such as author David Ray Griffin) is to point out that the government.s story is also a conspiracy theory. But that dog won.t hunt.

For although it is technically true that any crime involving more than one person is a conspiracy, in general vernacular a .conspiracy theorist. is someone who has a theory about a very specific kind of conspiracy: one operating at the highest levels of our government, or above and outside our government. No one would use the term about someone who suspects their neighbors of planning a bank heist. For all the symmetry and beauty of Griffin.s arguments, they are not persuasive to the man on the street.

The more destructive effect of Griffin.s efforts is that it gives tacit assent to the meme that to be a conspiracy theorist is a bad thing, something we want to paint our enemies as being. By trying to squirm away from the label, we only create the perception that we agree that it is a shameful thing to be, and can be hurt by that label.

Let.s look at how two other groups, who were victims of vicious stereotypes, reclaimed the words used to attack them. Those words are .nigger. and .queer,. and today those words no longer carry the punch they once did. African Americans reclaimed .nigger. by using it to refer to each other, as did homosexuals, who took back the epithet .queer..

Borrowing from their example, I hereby announce: I AM A CONSPIRACY THEORIST! I.m proud to be one of the clear-eyed Americans who have woken up and see how badly we.ve been lied to. I.m part of a group that includes the smartest, most courageous, selfless, free-thinking and hard working people I.ve ever met. I reject those CIA engineered stereotypes that say that I and my fellow truthers are not the bold, brave, cutting edge change agents that we are.

Put it on a bumper sticker and shout it from the rooftops. Say it loud and say it proud.

There is a conspiracy and I have a theory about it!

#

Hassan A. said on October 24th, 2008 at 8:29am #

I have no problem with Conspiracy Theorists in general. But the people that I know that come up with the theories are typically lazy, fatalistic people that won.t get off their duff and do something to change it. That is why I don.t want that label. I would much rather be known as an activist.

If you want to change the image of conspiracy theorists, then an effort to educate the theorists on how to induce change and proclaim the truth is required. A united effort.

#

Eric said on October 24th, 2008 at 10:49am #

People shout the mantra .conspiracy theory. in the same manner they shout invectives when angry. It.s a gut reaction, in this case a reaction to having one.s belief in the system and faith in one.s heroes challenged. But if one asks enough of the right questions, just as Socrates did, then people . especially young people . will turn the questions inward to to doubt their beliefs and their heroes.

That being said, bear in mind the fate of Socrates. Will you drink the poison hemlock . forced on you by the very people whom you seek to enlighten . merely to gain the benefit of the doubt from those who will be powerless to save you? Socrates became a martyr, but is the world any better for it? Modern democracy, just as its ancient forebears in Athens and Rome, has been corrupted from within.

I am a cynical Cynic. I see neither honor nor sensible purpose in martyring myself to serve as an example for future generations of martyrs. Let the tyrants have their warrior legions, titles, luxuries, and toadies. My life is but a finite series of moments, but those moments are completely mine. I would take my life . having enjoyed each moment up to the last . before surrendering unto Caesar or sacrificing myself for the world.

# Excellent Article Sheila

I submitted it to blogger a few hours ago, but yours was accepted as it should be.
It is great to see more and more TRUTH be reported at Dissident Voice. The number of "Conspiracy Theorists" are growing exponentially because, in part, of your Dissident Voice.
Thank you

North Texans for 911 Truth
http://www.northtexas911truth.com/
North Texans for 911 Truth Meetup Site
http://9-11.meetup.com/249/

# thank you Joe

I certainly hope I am having an effect.

I think that if we could break the back of this particular meme, it would help us enormously. Now, when someone throws the word "conspiracy" in my face like a slur, I calmly and confidently agree that yes, there is a conspiracy and yes, I am a conspiracy theorist. It's amazing how that takes the wind out of their sails, cause they were hoping to hurt me or put me on the defensive, and they haven't.

Seems like, without thinking about it, many in the truth movement have been affected by the same propaganda, and want desperately not to be called a CT. Our enemies sense our vulnerability and go for the jugular.

The change that needs to happen is really in our own heads. Once we are proud of the label, which marks us as a step ahead of everyone else, it loses its capacity to wound us.

This is because the CIA driven propaganda to discredit conspiracy theorists falls apart under examination. It is based on nothing but advertising (the same stuff that convinced everyone for years that smoking made you cool.)

Submitted by Sheila on Sat, 10/25/2008 - 12:51am

# The Conspiracy Theory section of Wikipedia undergoes constant and HEAVY editing. When I wrote this article in mid-Sept, (for publication in the Oct. Rock Creek Free Press) the section was very short, with the list of proven conspiracies removed. The history showed VERY heavy editing, at least one edit a day for many months, with some days containing a dozen edits. The section is essentially a battleground, and now has lots of new material making the case that conspiracy theorists are losers and crackpots.

Although someone saw fit to add back the list of proven conspiracies (for now, at least) there are two changes worth noting:

-The MK Ultra mind control program is now listed as ending in the 60s, as opposed to being "ongoing."

-Operation Mockingbird is no longer listed as "ongoing," and this sentence has been added: "In 1976, then CIA director George H.W. Bush ordered that paid media recruiting would be prohibited."

I am sure, that were I to add "9/11 was a false flag terror attack," to the list of proven conspiracies, it would be promptly removed.

I'm sure there is a black-op team devoted to keeping incriminating information out of Wikipedia.

Historical conspiracies include:

* The Catiline conspiracies in the first century BC.
* The Pisonian conspiracy AD 65.
* The Pazzi conspiracy, which included the Pope, of the late 1400s.
* The Main Plot of 1603
* The Bye Plot of 1603
* The Gunpowder Plot of 1605
* The Anjala conspiracy
* The conspiracy of 1865 to assassinate U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and members of his cabinet
* The French government's attempted cover-up following Emile Zola's accusations in the Dreyfus Affair, starting in 1894.
* The 1903 efforts by the Tsar's secret police to foment anti-Semitism by presenting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as an authentic text.[19]
* The 1939 Operation Himmler and its Gleiwitz incident
* Operation Mockingbird, from 1948. In 1976, then CIA director George H.W. Bush ordered that paid media recruiting would be prohibited.
* The 1945 Operation Paperclip, the extraction of top Nazi scientists.
* The MKULTRA mind control program, from 1953 to late 1960s
* The 1954 Lavon affair
* The 1962 Operation Northwoods
* The 1969 Manson Family murders
* The 1972 Watergate burglary and cover-up
* The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
* The 1987 Iran-Contra Affair
* The 1995 Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

Some theorists, like Charles Pigden argue that the reality of such conspiracies should caution against any casual dismissal of conspiracy theory. Pigden, in his article "Conspiracy Theories and the Conventional Wisdom" argues that not only do conspiracies occur but that any educated member of society will believe in at least one of them; we are all, in fact, Conspiracy Theorists. Authors and publishers, such as Robert Anton Wilson and Disinfo, use proven conspiracies as evidence of what a secret plot can accomplish. In doing so, they demonstrate that the label "conspiracy theory" does not necessarily indicate that a theory is false. Theories cited in making this case include those listed above as well as:

* the Mafia
* the Business Plot to overthrow the U.S. government led at the time by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933
* various CIA involvements in overseas coups d'état
* the 1991 Testimony of Nayirah before the U.S. Congress to rally the support of the U.S. public to launch the Gulf War
* the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male
* the General Motors streetcar conspiracy
* the plot by the British Secret Service to destabilize Prime Minister Harold Wilson, among others.[citation needed]
* the plot by some gaullists of the French Secret Service to destabilize future president Georges Pompidou, known as the Markovic affair
* the series of incidents in Italy connected to the so called "strategy of tension"
* Operation Gladio

These arguments also suggest that interested readers do their own research to come to their own conclusions.

The argument is often advanced there cannot be a conspiracy without leakers or whistle blowers.
Given the success of the British government in getting thousands of people to keep the ULTRA secret -- and thereby ensuring that no reliable history of World War II could be published until the 1970s -- it is apparent that this is not necessarily a reliable indicator.

############

If you made a list of things that the MSM (Main Stream Media) virtually never talks about, it would be the facts that:

1. No one was fired or reprimanded and many got promotions following the 9/11 attacks
2. War Game Scenarios that NORAD held on 9/11 involving Hijacked airliners
3. NORAD gave three contradictory timelines for their actions on 9/11. They gave no explanation for why false timelines were given.

I wonder why the MSM will not discuss these issues? I wonder why they call anyone who questions the official story of 9/11 "theorists", when there are plenty of facts about 9/11 that obviously show that people in the U.S. government are lying and no one is getting ANY significant scrutiny or trouble for any of this.

#############

#

John Hatch said on October 24th, 2008 at 1:49pm #

Nietzsche said that in order to deceive onself, one first needs to know which truth to conceal.

I think a lot of people need to attempt to conceal the truth about 9/11 (and other things) because they don.t know how to live in a world in which their illusions are shattered.

Regarding 9/11 I have noticed that people just ignore evidence and logical argument and instead revert to meaningless put-downs and name-calling. Examine the evidence, that will be sufficient.

It.s like a form of grief. You know that poor old sweet Aund Esmerelda has died, but you can.t quite take it in.

To many Americans (the rest of the world has much less of a problem with the truth regarding 9/11) regard government, and especially the Presidency as somewhat deified. So the notion that 9/11 was concocted at high levels (PNAC and VP offices) is akin to saying that Jesus can.t walk on water. I prefer to think that the laws of physics apply to everyone, and that they were suspended neither for Jesus nor for 9/11.

Maybe the truth will out, but then there is still the odd fool who thinks Oswald killed Kennedy.

#########

Download Naomi Klein END OF AMERICA here.

DOWNLOAD LINK:

(not available yet, but BOOKMARK THIS PAGE, the download link WILL be published here as soon as it becomes available. For now you can try the overloaded streaming video server at snag-films, see below)

The End of America details the ten steps a country takes when it slides toward fascism. It’s not a “lefty” tome, rather a historical look at trends in once-functioning democracies from modern history that are being repeated in our country today. It gives any reader (or viewer of the lecture) a much-needed history lesson and constitutional refresher. Most importantly, it puts the recent gradual loss of civil liberties in the U.S. in a historical context. The average American might not be alarmed at AT&T selling our private information to the Bush administration, but when this action is seen as part of a larger series of erosions and events, a pattern emerges with unfortunate consequences that become disturbingly clear.

Acclaimed and award–winning documentary filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern (The Trials of Darryl Hunt, The Devil Came on Horseback) brings a film with an Inconvenient Truth-style, multi-camera version of Naomi’s incredible lecture with an interactive audience. Interstitial break-away segments, featuring both talking-head and “fly on the wall” interviews with grassroots political leaders, military generals, intelligence community top brass (who are willing to talk on camera about the uselessness of “intelligence” gained through torture), and innocent victims of our gradually eroded civil liberties, will anchor viewers emotionally to both the historical echoes and present-day consequences of the erosion of our Constitution.

http://www.endofamericamovie.com

In a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush years, best-selling author Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth) makes a chilling case that American democracy is under threat. Investigating parallels between our current situation and the rise of dictators and fascism in once-free societies, Wolf uncovers a number of deeply unsettling similarities-from the use of paramilitary groups and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law. With this galvanizing call to arms based on her recent book, she urges regular citizens to take back our legacy of freedom and justice.

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_end_of_america/

Whether you agree with the details presented here or not, I find that I cannot disagree with the conclusion. I hope that through viewing, discussing, and acting as citizens of a free country, we can work through the process of undoing so much of the harm that has been done.

Writers:
Michelle Ngo (collaborating writer)
Patricia Sunshine (collaborating writer)

Previous Film by the same directors:

The Devil Came On Horseback

A documentary that exposes the genocide raging in Darfur, Sudan as seen through the eyes of a former U.S. marine who returns home to make the story public.

Directors Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg
Genres: Documentary
Languages: English
Released: 09/06/2008

It says a great deal about the modern world that the powers that be are more interested in debating the semantics of a word -in this case genocide- than they are in actually doing anything about it. The Devil Came On Horseback proves beyond any doubt that what is happening in the Darfur region of Sudan constitutes genocide but put this evidence before the US government and the U.N. and they procrastinate like Gordon Brown faced with .....well anything. before doing sod all ...there's the Gordon Brown link again.

Former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle worked as a military observer in Sudan on behalf of the African Union-taking photo’s and sending reports- and this documentary is based on his time doing that particular job and the subsequent aftermath when his findings became general knowledge. The film provides a background to the conflict in Darfur which is extremely helpful in placing some context or what the viewer is about to see , rather than just saying these terrible things are happening isn’t it horrible although that is also undoubtedly true.

To quickly surmise the Khartoum based Sudan government have backed an Arab militia called the Janjaweed( which translates as devil on Horse back) to systematically cleanse the Darfur region of it’s indigenous African people because rebel groups the S.L.A. and J.E.M. are based there. This they do by attacking villages , killing , raping and then burning the village to the ground. Not surprisingly the survivors flee. Most have fled into neighbouring Chad ( one of the poorest countries on Earth where they are waiting to return home in huge camps) so what is effectively taking place is ethnic cleansing.

Steidle is the moral centre of this film. His growing outrage at the escalating atrocities is palpable and he frequently laments his inability to intervene… to do something .As he states as he films a gang of Janjaweed moving towards their next target in a jeep. “If only I was looking through a scope instead of a lens I could end all this”. Steidle even at this early stage instinctively knows the only way to stop the slaughter is to deal with the aggressors with extreme force ( A meeting with a Janjaweed leader confirms this further)

His attempts to highlight the Darfur situation in an America dominated by Iraq inexorably gain momentum .He takes on speaking engagements where he is regularly challenged by planted Sudanese officials ( here he shows admirable restraint ) and even gets to meet Condoleezza Rice who has usual looks like she’d rather suck the marrow out of a baby than save one. The Save Darfur rally at the end , where Barack Obama speaks seems to be the moment where the impetus will finally galvanise action. Alas it doesn’t and a final visit to Rwanda too see how a country can recover from acts of genocide highlights more the disgraceful lack of action from the west rather than offer any redemptive glare.

It’s difficult to find fault with this film and if anything in the interests of balance I was looking harder than normal for something to criticise but this is exemplary documentary film making. It informs ( I know much more about Darfur now than I did prior to watching this DVD) but mostly it showcases how derelict the supposed egalitarian nations of the west really are. Steidle states at one point that “If America could see what is happening here (Darfur) there would be troops here within a week.” But you see there is nothing for America in Darfur ..no oil , no potential exploitation (Disaster capitalism see Naomi Klein’s book )..nothing. Just lots of corpses. It’s all summed up best by the meeting between Steidle and an extremely dignified man in one of the refugee camps. “No Muslim countries help us” he says “only America” and shakes Steidles hand who looks hugely embarrassed. The man is referring to aid but Steidle know as do we now that America and the west really should be doing a lot lot more.

Whilst this is an excellent documentary, I would have to give it top marks even if were not.

This is essential viewing on the true nature of the human condition and how those of us who could so easily make a difference, stand by and do nothing. Thus do our democratically elected leaders manipulate us for their own trivial selfish ends.

avi xvid divx real media mp3 audio video film movie down load torrent emule donkey gnutella kazaa p2p sharing network

PS under http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/29735 you can find a fantastic 1 hour talk by Naomi Klein about the movie.


Police Brutality. USA fascist police state.
911 was an inside job, believe it or dream on.

Austrian right-winger killed by Bankers

Anti-immigrant right-wing populist Joerg Haider perished on Saturday when his 3-month-old VW Phaeton hit a concrete pillar in Klagenfort at 88 MPH, on a stretch of road with a 42 MPH speed limit.

VW Volkswagen stated that the car would have protected him, the yellow-press rag THE SUN from England writes:

But the makers of his Volkswagen Phaeton limo insist the motor is one of the safest in the world and should have survived the crash in Klagenfurt.

The car giants yesterday sent its own experts to examine the mangled wreckage and search for signs it may have been SABOTAGED.

VW spokesman Peter Thul claimed that someone with access to Haider’s car key could have manipulated the limo’s electrics which control the engine’s “brain”.

He said: “It is a fact that Haider was going too fast, but such a speed on that curve is not a problem for the car’s physics.

“The Phaeton and Audi A8 are the safest of all. You’d need the key to manipulate the electronics, so someone at a garage would have to tamper with it.

“Many things bring to mind Lady Diana’s death.”

Diana’s death in a 1997 Paris car crash sparked a rash of assassination theories — quashed only after two official investigations and an inquest.

The link between her and a Right Wing extremist will infuriate Prince Charles and sons William and Harry — who all drive VW-made Audis.

strange holes

In one of his last speeches he attacked the Banking Mafia (remember Alfred Herrhausen?)

Despite past Press reports of his homosexuality, he was seemingly happily married - to Claudia - with two daughters, Ulrike and Cornelia, and poised once more to become a power broker after his splinter group Alliance For Austria’s Future won a third of the vote in last month’s general election.


THERE WAS A BOMB, the damage on his car does not seem like a normal accident

The politician died on the way to a local hospital from serious injuries to the head, neck and chest, according to Thomas Koperna, medical chief of the Klagenfurt hospital. His left arm was almost severed, he said.

VW Phaeton, a super safe car!

it doesn't look like it turned over at all. The roof isn't crushed

a bomb flattened the front part (attack from the air?)

The bomb exploded about here.

Do you see any green stuff. His arm was severed, do you see pools of blood?

the next day

A bomb in the motor compartment, what happened to the numberplate?

TAMPERED WITH HIS CAR

Volkswagen: Austria`s Haider Was Killed

The Phaeton is the safest of all. You`d need the key to manipulate the electronics, Volkswagen spokesperson claims.

Although Austrian investigators claimed that right-wing leader Joerg Haider was drunk during the tragic accident, Volkswagen decided to hire their own experts to see if there is a possibility that the politician was killed.

Peter Thul, Volkswagen spokesperson, claims that electronic features could have been tampered with on the car Haider was driving.

The Volkswagen Phaeton was constructed to overcome the curve Haider speeded off and died.

- The Phaeton and Audi A8 are the safest of all. You’d need the key to manipulate the electronics, so someone at a garage would have to tamper with it – Thul said.

The Austrian right-wing leader`s accident was compared to the death of Princess Diana.

Joerg Haider died in a car crash last week after being nearly four times over the legal limit

Austria's far-Right leader Joerg Haider was buried with pomp and circumstance yesterday - but with a seedy gay bar as the backdrop to the official farewell.

It emerged that he spent the last hour of his life polishing off a bottle of vodka in a homosexual haunt in his hometown of Klagenfurt with an unknown young man before dying aged 58 in a car crash.

Yesterday the 30,000 mourners included Saif al-Islam, son of Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi, and SS veterans. Many cabinet members, led by president Heinz Fischer, also attended the funeral.

Guards of honour stand by Joerg Haider's coffin

There was an air of Princess Diana hysteria as the roads were thronged with people and flowers piled high at the cathedral in tribute to Haider, an admirer of Hitler.

Joerg Haider died in a car crash last week after being nearly four times over the legal limit

Despite past Press reports of his homosexuality, he was seemingly happily married - to Claudia - with two daughters, Ulrike and Cornelia, and poised once more to become a power broker after his splinter group Alliance For Austria’s Future won a third of the vote in last month’s general election.

But he seemed to possess the self-destruct gene.

A customer at the bar offered to drive Haider home because he looked worse for wear, but was turned down. Haider went there after going to a nightclub, the public prosecutor in Klagenfurt said.

He arrived at 12.15am on October 11, left 30 minutes later and half an hour after that he was dead.

The official VW Phaeton limousine he was driving skidded out of control after he overtook another vehicle, hit a concrete barrier and flipped over several times.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.

Crowds: Thousands of mourners watch the open air memorial service

Tradition: Mountain men act as pall bearers, carrying Mr Haider's coffin

Haider’s car, which had been in full working order according to experts, was travelling at nearly 90mph - twice the speed limit - and he was three times over the drink-drive maximum.

Yesterday, black flags were flying from public buildings in Austria as his coffin - draped

in a flag and festooned with red roses - was carried through the streets of Klagenfurt in bright sunshine towards the cathedral.

Haider’s ??13million country estate will pass to his widow Claudia.

Tears: Mr Haider's widow Claudia shows her grief by embracing daughter Ulrike

Friends: Lybian dictator Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif Gaddafi, centre, at the service

Militaristic: Soldiers carrying the coffin make their way towards the cathedral

YUGOSLAVIA - Clinton Bombing JCS

Here is a little insight from non-doctrinal "heretic" viewpoint

How the Nobel Peace Prize was Won

by Gregory Elich - October 15, 2008 - Counterpunch

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari has been widely hailed in the West, where there has been an outpouring of praise for the man and his efforts. Generally seen as a tireless promoter of peace and reconciliation, Ahtisaari has another side that has not received sufficient attention.

Although his record is long, Ahtisaari.s role in the diplomatic end to NATO.s 1999 war against Yugoslavia is regarded as the key to his selection. In praising the man, Nobel committee secretary Geir Lundestad noted, "There is no alternative to an independent Kosovo." This baldly political statement indicates why Ahtisaari.s selection is proving so popular among Western leaders, and it is Kosovo that shows just whose interests Ahtisaari has served.

During the 1999 war, NATO.s attacks were having little effect on Yugoslav forces. Through the use of extensive camouflage and decoys, Yugoslav troops had managed to emerge largely unscathed by the end NATO.s bombing campaign. U.S. General Wesley Clark led the NATO campaign, and he pressed military and diplomatic contacts from other NATO countries for agreement to widen the scope of bombing. Clark was a strong advocate of bombing civilian targets, and at one meeting he rose from his chair and banged the table with his fist, bellowing, "I.ve got to get the maximum violence out of this campaign . now!" (1) Under Clark.s direction, the air campaign rapidly took on the character of sustained terror bombing. I saw the effects myself when I was in Yugoslavia in 1999. Every town I visited had been bombed. Purely residential areas had been flattened. Cluster bombs struck civilian areas. Hospitals, schools, apartment buildings, factories, bridges, office buildings . there was no category of civilian targets that NATO had not seen fit to hit. It was impossible to avoid the conclusion that NATO.s strategy was to win its war through terror tactics.

Terror bombing paved the way for final negotiations. It was Yugoslavia.s misfortune that Boris Yeltsin was the president of Russia at the time. He selected former prime minister Victor Chernomyrdin to handle negotiations with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Always anxious to please the U.S., Yeltsin had Chernomyrdin essentially do little more than deliver NATO.s messages to Milosevic. This approach was not yielding fruit, so Chernomyrdin suggested to American officials that it would be helpful to have someone from a non-NATO Western nation join him when he next visited Belgrade. It was Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who offered the name of Martti Ahtisaari. Getting the Russians on board with the American insistence on NATO leading the occupation of Kosovo was the main sticking point. In the end, Yeltsin, as was his habit, gave the U.S. everything it wanted. (2)

Ahtisaari recalls that before departing for Belgrade, through "a major effort we achieved a final communiqué, signed by both the Russians and by the Americans." Russian acquiescence, he correctly felt, would push Milosevic "in a corner." It was the task of Ahtisaari and Chernomyrdin to deliver NATO.s final terms, and they visited President Milosevic on June 2. (3)

Ljubisa Ristic was president of the Yugoslav United Left (JUL), a party formed from 23 smaller communist and left parties. JUL was closely allied with the ruling Socialist Party and a member of the governing coalition. Ristic was also a personal friend of Milosevic.s. He explains what happened at the June 2 meeting. Ahtisaari opened the meeting by declaring, "We are not here to discuss or negotiate," after which Chernomyrdin read aloud the text of the plan. (4) Ahtisaari says that Milosevic asked about the possibility of modifying the plan, to which he replied, "No. This is the best that Viktor and I have managed to do. You have to agree to it in every part." (5) Ristic reports that as Milosevic listened to the reading of the text, he realized that the "Russians and the Europeans had put us in the hands of the British and the Americans." Milosevic took the papers and asked, "What will happen if I do not sign?" In answer, "Ahtisaari made a gesture on the table," and then moved aside the flower centerpiece. Then Ahtisaari said, "Belgrade will be like this table. We will immediately begin carpet-bombing Belgrade." Repeating the gesture of sweeping the table, Ahtisaari threatened, "This is what we will do to Belgrade." A moment of silence passed, and then he added, "There will be half a million dead within a week." Chernomyrdin.s silence confirmed that the Russian government would do nothing to discourage carpet-bombing. (6)

The meaning was clear. To refuse the ultimatum would lead to the deaths of large numbers of civilians and total devastation. President Milosevic summoned the leaders of the parties in the governing coalition and explained the situation to them. "A few things are not logical, but the main thing is, we have no choice. I personally think we should accept.To reject the document means the destruction of our state and nation." (7) For Ristic, acceptance meant one thing: "We had to save the people." (8) Three weeks after Ahtisaari and Chernomyrdin delivered NATO.s ultimatum, Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovich explained to both chambers of the Assembly why the government had accepted terms. "Our country was faced with a threat of total annihilation. Through diplomatic mediators and through the media, the aggressors spoke of the future targets to be bombed, including civilian victims counted in the hundreds of thousands." (9)

It did not take NATO long to violate the peace agreement that Ahtisaari had delivered to Milosevic. While NATO dawdled over entering Kosovo, the secessionist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) went on a rampage, looting and burning homes, murdering and expelling thousands of Serbs, Roma, Turks, Slavic Muslims, Gorans, Egyptians, Croats and pro-Yugoslav Albanians. Milosevic was livid, and shortly after midnight on June 17, he phoned Ahtisaari and complained that NATO.s delay in entering Kosovo had allowed the KLA to threaten the population. "This is not what we agreed," he said. (10) It hardly mattered. Once NATO troops entered Kosovo, they did nothing to deter KLA attacks against the populace. The KLA had unimpeded freedom to carry out a pogrom. That summer in Yugoslavia, I heard many refugees tell how attacks had taken place in the presence of NATO troops, who invariably did nothing. On numerous occasions people were thrown out of their homes, threatened, their possessions looted and homes burned while NATO soldiers stood aside and watched.

Ahtisaari.s mission was a success. He "was sensational," said a senior U.S. official. Chernomyrdin won praise for remaining silent while Ahtisaari threatened Milosevic. "Chernomyrdin did great," an appreciative U.S. official noted. (11)

The final agreement between Yugoslavia and NATO was spelled out in UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which was implemented in a one-sided way. NATO got everything it wanted, but those aspects of the resolution not to its liking were never implemented. The required demilitarization of the KLA was a sham, with its members handing in obsolete weapons while retaining their arsenal. The resolution also called for the return of some Yugoslav forces to maintain "a presence at Serb patrimonial sites" and at "key border crossings," as well as to liaise with international forces. NATO never permitted that. Most importantly, the resolution affirmed that the political process of arriving at an agreement on the status of Kosovo would take full account of the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Yugoslavia. (12) Instead, Western officials did everything possible to undermine that stipulation.

So pleased were Western leaders with Ahtisaari.s performance in 1999, that they called upon the man once again when it came time to negotiate a solution for the province of Kosovo. They saw to it that Ahtisaari was appointed as special envoy to the UN Secretary General to develop a set of recommendations for the final status of Kosovo.

U.S. officials were repeatedly promising secessionist Albanian officials in Kosovo that if negotiations with Serbian officials were to fail, then the province would be granted independence. This ensured that the Albanian delegation was unwilling to compromise or engage in serious negotiations. The Albanians. maximal demands would be met as long as they could avoid a negotiated settlement. Ahtisaari.s role was to develop the plan for Kosovo.s final status that would be implemented if lieu of an agreement. In the end, secessionist Albanian leaders unilaterally declared independence, which was quickly followed by U.S. and Western European recognition. Yet much of Ahtisaari.s plan provided the basis for the agreement that was implemented between the province and the U.S.

Not surprisingly, Ahtisaari.s plan called for independence. This was to be supervised by "the international community," that term that seems always to mean Western leaders and their interests and excludes the vast majority of the world.s population. Interestingly, the Ahtisaari plan required that Kosovo "shall have an open market economy with free competition." (13) Already by this point Western officials in Kosovo had overseen the privatization of much of Kosovo.s socially owned property. Ahtisaari.s inclusion of the phrase "free competition" appears meant to protect the interests of Western investors. U.S. officials are never reluctant to push their own agenda, whatever noble-sounding themes they may trumpet. It may be recalled that the pre-war Rambouillet plan, drawn up by U.S. officials in order to sabotage any possibility of a peaceful outcome, required that "the economy of Kosovo shall function in accordance with free market principles" and allow for the free movement of international capital. (14)

Kosovo.s independence under Ahtisaari.s plan was be supervised and monitored by Western officials. Kosovo would be required to prepare its budget in consultation with the Western-appointed official responsible for managing the province. The plan called for NATO to maintain its military presence. There was to be "close cooperation" with the IMF, and in regard to the privatization of publicly owned entities Kosovo officials were called upon to "take appropriate measures to implement the relevant international principles of corporate governance and liberalization." The governing Western official would be "the final authority in Kosovo regarding interpretation" of the plan, and positions would be filled through appointment by Western officials. (15) Under Ahtisaari-influenced plan as implemented by the Western powers, Kosovo has less control over its affairs then it would have had under the plan for full autonomy offered by the Yugoslav delegation at Rambouillet.

The selection of Martti Ahtisaari for the Nobel Peace Price was a reward for services rendered. This was a purely political statement, meant to underline an important principle in international affairs. The same Western nations that forcibly carved Kosovo from Serbia are vociferously complaining that independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia violates international law and the territorial integrity of Georgia. This year.s Nobel Peace Prize affirms the lofty principle that it is only the West that will draw and redraw borders in the manner of 19th-century imperial powers.

Gregory Elich is on the Board of Directors of the Jasenovac Research Institute and on the Advisory Board of the Korea Truth Commission. He is the author of the book Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem, and the Pursuit of Profit.

NOTES

[1] Dana Priest, "The Battle Inside Headquarters: United NATO Front was Divided Within," Washington Post, September 21, 1999.
[2] "Getting to the Table," Newsweek, June 14, 1999.
[3] Interview with Martti Ahtisaari by Riccardo Chiaberge, "Ahtisaari: This is How I Bent Milosevic," Corriere della Sera (Milan), July 21, 1999.
[4] Interview with Ljubisa Ristic by Renato Farina, "Why We Serbs Have Given In," Il Giornale (Milan), June 7, 1999.
[5] Interview with Martti Ahtisaari by Riccardo Chiaberge, "Ahtisaari: This is How I Bent Milosevic," Corriere della Sera (Milan), July 21, 1999.
[6] Interview with Ljubisa Ristic by Renato Farina, "Why We Serbs Have Given In," Il Giornale (Milan), June 7, 1999.
[7] Michael Dobbs and Daniel Williams, "For Milosevic, Internal Battle Just Starting," Washington Post, June 6, 1999.
[8] Interview with Ljubisa Ristic by Renato Farina, "Why We Serbs Have Given In," Il Giornale (Milan), June 7, 1999.
[9] "Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic Address to Both Chambers of the Assembly of Yugoslavia," Yugoslav Daily Survey (Belgrade), June 24, 1999. [10] Geert-Jan Bogaerts, "If Democracy Returns then Milosevic will be Gone," De Volkskrant (Amsterdam), June 25, 2008.
[11] "Getting to the Table," Newsweek, June 14, 1999.
[12] Resolution 1244 (1999), UN Security Council, June 10, 1999.
[13] "Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement," UN Security Council S/2007/168/Add.1, March 26, 2007. [14] "Interim Agreement for Peace and Self-Government in Kosovo," February 23, 1999.
[15] "Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement," UN Security Council S/2007/168/Add.1, March 26, 2007.http://www.counterpunch.org/elich10142008.html

911 - 4 planes - few CLAIMS for compensation

The 9-11 Passenger List Oddity
by Vincent Sammartino

~

Flight 11: of the 92 people who are listed as dying on this flight, only 20 are listed in the SSDI (22%)

Of these 20 people, only three are on the 9-11 Compensation Fund list:

Judy Larocque
Laurie Neira
Candace Lee Williams

=======================================

Flight 77: of the 64 people who are listed as dying on this flight, only 14 are listed in the SSDI (22%)

Of these 64 people, only five on the 9-11 Compensation Fund list:

William Caswell
Eddie Dillard
Ian Gray
John Sammartino
Leonard Taylor

=======================================

Flight 175: of the 65 people who are listed as dying on this flight, only 18 are listed in the SSDI (28%)

Of these 65 people, only three are on the 9-11 Compensation Fund list:

Michael C. Tarrou
Gloria Debarrera
Timothy Ward

=======================================

Flight 93: of the 45 people who are listed as dying on this flight, only 6 are listed in the SSDI (13%)

Of these 45 people, none are on the 9-11 Compensation Fund list:

No one

=======================================

Have you noticed anything strange yet? Of the passengers and crew of Flight 11, 77, 175 & 93, only 22%, 22%, 28%, 13% respectively are in the SSDI.

Remember human greed? Of the 266 people that we were told died on these jets, only 11 relatives applied for compensation. Can you believe that not a single relative from Flight 93 applied for compensation? I can't. Were all the relatives of the victims so rich that they weren't eligible to receive compensation? No, that's not it. (The minimum federal award was $250,000, and the average pay-out was about $1.8 million. The recipients only had to make agreement: they couldn’t sue the airlines.)

You should also know that most lawyers told their clients to take the money and run (which is what most lawyers would do - take the sure money). Ellen Mariani clearly elaborated on this point during her appearance on the radio show mentioned above.

Finally, during the past week, thanks to Lisa Guliani's insatiable quest for the truth, the 9-11 Victims Compensation Final Report has come to light.

9-11 Victims Compensation Final Report (http://www.usdoj.gov/final_report.pdf)

Oddly, but consistent with everything concerning 9-11, the actual complete list of the people who benefited has been omitted from this report. Even without this, it does contain an interesting fact. According to the report, 98% of all the people who suffered a loss on 9-11 took the fund money. The average payment was $1.8 million.

But here's where it gets strange. According to the government, here are the number of people who accepted the compensation fund:

Out of a total of 92 people on Flight 11, only 65 accepted the 9-11 fund (71%)
Out of a total of 65 people on Flight 175, only 46 accepted the 9-11 fund (71%)
Out of a total of 64 people on Flight 77, only 33 accepted the 9-11 fund (52%)
Out of a total of 45 people on Flight 93, only 25 accepted the 9-11 fund (56%)

Does any of this seem a little odd to you? Or is it possible that not only were the jets on 9-11 magical, but their passengers as well?

So there you have it; yet another glaring 9-11 inconsistency - just maybe the biggest of them all?

http://www.wingtv.net/thornarticles/911passengerlist.html




http://www.usdoj.gov/final_report.pdf

he following table contains a snapshot from the Flash presentation for each of the four flights, providing a list of passengers and seat assignments.

American Airlines Flight 11

United Airlines Flight 175

American Airlines Flight 77

United Airlines Flight 93

Faxes of Alleged Flight Manifests

At around the time that the Moussaoui trial exhibits appeared, a seven-page set of faxes purported to be the original flight manifests was published on a weblog claiming that they were from the Moussaoui trial exhibits. If the faxes are in the exhibits, they are not easy to find: the prosecution trial exhibits number 977, and include many huge, uninformatively-described files requiring media players such as Flash to view. ⁸ According to the 911myths.com website the fax images were obtained from the FBI by Terry McDermott while researching his book Perfect Soldiers. ⁹ The faxes, reproduced below, include the names of the alleged hijackers.

American Airlines Flight 11 United Airlines Flight 175

American Airlines Flight 77 United Airlines Flight 93

** Holograms/Projections ** - This 1999 Washington Post article reveals the military’s psychological operation hologram project.


[I downloaded this graphic from a governmental website detailing the Holographic Projector mentioned in the Washington Post link. The government has since removed the article.]

Smoking Gun: There are no witness reports of hearing damage. No witnesses reported the deafening sound of wide-body commercial airliners at full throttle hitting the Twin Towers. From this analysis of WTC Task Force Interviews we learn that the sounds reported by First Responders were inconsistent with what one would expect.
Commercial airliners are LOUD!


Here’s a few witness accounts (source information in “Debunking the 9/11 *Anti-No-Plane-Theory* Myths”):


• Stephen Gregory, Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Communications

Q. Where were you when the second plane hit?
A. We were down at the command post between Liberty and Albany on the west side of West Street. …

Q. Did you see or hear the second plane before it hit the World Trade Center?

A. I never actually saw the plane, but l heard it. You could hear it coming in and then we heard the explosion and you could hear the roar of the plane coming in. At first I didn't realize it was a plane. I thought it was like the roar of fire, like something had just incinerated, like a gas tank or an oil tank. It sounded like a tremendous roar and then you heard boom and then there was a big fire, a lot of fire, a big fireball. I never actually saw a plane hit the building. I never saw that. I saw it on television, but I never saw it while I was standing there.

• Gary Smiley, FDNY paramedic, was carrying an injured woman across Church Street who kept yelling "plane" and Smiley recalled, "I looked up at that point, and that's when the second plane hit the South Tower. The explosion was unbelievable. It was right over my head. You didn't hear anything. People ask me sometimes, 'What did you hear?' I heard nothing."

• Steven Bienkowski, NYPD Harbor Unit Scuba Team: "I happened to be sitting in the back left side of the (helicopter) ship. … We were on the southwest side of the South Tower, and I glanced over my shoulder and there came a United Airlines aircraft right at us, a little bit underneath where we were. And I do mean a little bit underneath us. It probably missed us by about three hundred feet, and it proceeded to fly right through the building, right in front of us. …. I don't remember hearing an explosion, although it must have been extremely loud. … When that second plane went into the building, it just looked like an evil magician's trick. It looked nothing like what I would have imagined a plane crashing into a building would look like. The plane just completely disappeared and turned into a giant fireball. Being there was surreal."


Okay, New Yorkers saw holograms. But what about the live footage shown on TV?



** Computer Generated Images (CGI) / Animations ** - We know the media broadcasted cartoons because the “airplane strike” videos violate Newton’s Laws of Motion. Retired aerospace engineer Joseph Keith says it best: "The video is phony because airliners don’t meld into steel and concrete buildings, they crash against them!" Not one scientist, not even Steven Jones, has explained this violation of Physical Laws.





We know the military and TV Networks have this technology and use it to alter world politics as that was reported in the July/August 2000 edition of Technology Review Magazine. “Debunking the 9/11 *Anti-No-Plane-Theory* Myths” linked in the previous section contains full analysis.

Smoking Gun: These cartoons violate physical laws. They directly implicate the media for scaring America into invading Afghanistan and Iraq.

Okay, there were no plane crashes at any of the 9/11 “crash sites”. Exotic technologies were used instead. Were exotic technologies also used to destroy the towers?

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 11

American Airlines Flight 11, from Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles, California, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center with 92 people on board.

CREW

John Ogonowski, 52, of Dracut, Massachusetts, was the pilot of Flight 11. He lived on a 150-acre farm north of Boston. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and three daughters, Laura, 16; Caroline, 14; and Mary, 11. A lifelong aviation buff, he joined the Air Force after graduating from college and flew planes at the close of the Vietnam War. He joined American Airlines in 1979.

First Officer Thomas McGuinness, 42, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was Flight 11's co-pilot. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, and a 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. He was active in Bethany Church in Greenland, New Hampshire, friends and neighbors told The Boston Globe. Rick DeKoven, a church administrator, described him as "a devoted family man."

Barbara Arestegui, 38, was a flight attendant from Marstons Mills, Massachusetts.

Jeffrey Collman was a flight attendant.

Sara Low, 28, was a flight attendant from Batesville, Arkansas.

Karen Martin was a flight attendant.

Kathleen Nicosia was a flight attendant.

Betty Ong, 45, was a flight attendant from Andover, Massachusetts.

Jean Roger, 24, was a flight attendant from Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

Dianne Snyder, 42, was a flight attendant from Westport, Massachusetts.

Madeline Sweeney, 35, was a flight attendant from Acton, Massachusetts.

PASSENGERS

Anna Williams Allison, 48, of Stoneham, Massachusetts, was the founder of A2 Software Solutions, a firm that assists companies in software development. Allison had more than 19 years' experience in the software development industry and was a frequent speaker and trainer at national and local conferences.

David Angell, 54, of Pasadena, California, was the creator and executive producer of the hit NBC sitcom "Frasier." A native of West Barrington, Rhode Island, Angell entered the Army after graduating from college and served at the Pentagon until 1972. He worked in insurance and engineering before selling a script for a TV series in 1977. In 1983, he joined the TV series "Cheers" as a staff writer and began working with co-supervising producers Peter Casey and David Lee. This team formed a production company, creating and producing "Wings" in 1990 and "Frasier" in 1993. The trio won 24 Emmys.

Lynn Angell, 45, of Pasadena, California, was the wife of "Frasier" creator and executive producer David Angell. The Angells were returning from a wedding on the East Coast to attend the Emmy Awards.

Seima Aoyama

Myra Aronson, 52, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, was a press and analyst relations manager for Compuware Corp.

Christine Barbuto, 32, of Brookline, Massachusetts, was a buyer for TJX Cos., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. She was on her way to California on a buying trip. Barbuto is survived her father and two sisters. She had worked for TJX for five years.

Berry Berenson, 53, of Los Angeles, California, was an actress and photographer. She was the widow of actor Anthony Perkins, who died in 1992, and sister of actress and model Marisa Berenson. She is survived by two sons, Osgood, an actor, and Elvis. Born into an aristocratic family, Berenson appeared in the movies "Cat People" (1982), "Winter Kills" (1979) and "Remember My Name" (1978).

Carolyn Beug, 48, of Los Angeles, California, was traveling with her mother, Mary Wahlstrom. They had gone to Boston to drop off relatives at a nearby college and were returning home.

Carol Bouchard, 43, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was a Kent County Hospital emergency room secretary.

Robin Caplin was from Natick, Massachusetts.

Neilie Casey, 32, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, was a merchandise planning manager for TJX Cos., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. She worked for TJX for eight years. Casey is survived by her husband and a 7-month-old daughter.

Jeffrey Coombs, 42, of Abington, Massachusetts, was a security analyst for Compaq Computer. He is survived by his wife, Christie, and three children, Meagan, 10; Julia, 7; and Matt, 12.

Tara Creamer, 30, of Worcester, Massachusetts, was a merchandise planning manager for TJX Cos., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. She had worked for TJX for eight years. Creamer is survived by her husband, John, and two children, Colin, 4, and Nora, 1.

Thelma Cuccinello, 71, was a Wilmot, New Hampshire, resident with 10 grandchildren. She was on her way to visit a sister in California. Daughter Cheryl O'Brien gave her mom a ride to catch a bus to Logan International Airport in Boston. "I was the last one to see her," O'Brien said. "I got to kiss her and say 'I love you' and 'Have a nice trip.' "

Patrick Currivan

Andrew Curry Green was from Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Brian Dale, 43, of Warren, New Jersey, was an accountant and attorney with Blue Capital Management. He was married and the father of three.

David DiMeglio was from Wakefield, Massachusetts.

Donald Ditullio, 49, was from Peabody, Massachusetts.

Albert Dominguez, 66, was a baggage handler for Qantas Airways in Sydney, Australia. He was traveling on holiday at the time of his death. He was married with four children.

Alex Filipov, 70, was an electrical engineer from Concord, Massachusetts.

Carol Flyzik, 40, was from Plaistow, New Hampshire.

Paul Friedman, 45, from Belmont, Massachusetts, was a consultant for Emergence Consulting.

Karleton D.B. Fyfe, 31, of Brookline, Massachusetts, was a senior investment analyst for John Hancock.

Peter Gay, 54, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, was a Raytheon Co. vice president of operations for electronic systems based in Andover, Massachusetts. He had worked for Raytheon for more than 28 years.

Linda George, 27, of Westboro, Massachusetts, was a buyer for TJX Cos., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. She was on her way to California on a buying trip. George is survived by her father, mother, sister and brother. She was engaged to be married.

Edmund Glazer, 41, of Los Angeles, California, was the chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration of MRV Communications, a Chatsworth, California, firm that focuses on optical components and network infrastructure systems. Glazer was survived by his wife, Candy, and son, Nathan.

Lisa Fenn Gordenstein, 41, of Needham, Massachusetts, was an assistant vice president, merchandise manager, for TJX Cos., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. She was on her way to California on a buying trip. Gordenstein is survived by her husband and two children.

Paige Farley Hackel, 46, was a spiritual adviser from Newton, Massachusetts.

Peter Hashem, 40, was an engineer from Tewksbury, Massachusetts.

Robert Hayes, 37, from Amesbury, Massachusetts was a sales engineer with Netstal.

Ted Hennessy, 35, was a consultant for Emergence Consulting in Belmont, Massachusetts.

John Hofer

Cora Holland, 52, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, was with Sudbury Food Pantry, an interdenominational program that assisted needy families, at Our Lady of Fatima Church.

Nicholas Humber, 60, of Newton, Massachusetts, was the owner of Brae Burn Management.

John Jenkins

Charles Jones, 48, was a computer programmer from Bedford, Massachusetts.

Robin Kaplan, 33, of Westboro, Massachusetts, was a senior store equipment specialist for TJX Cos., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. She was on her way to California to help prepare for a new T.J. Maxx store opening. Kaplan had returned to work this year after battling Crohn's disease, a life-threatening inflammatory illness of the gastrointestinal tract. She is survived by her father, Edward Kaplan, and mother, Francine.

Barbara Keating, 72, was from Palm Springs, California.

David Kovalcin, 42, of Hudson, New Hampshire, was a Raytheon Co. senior mechanical engineer for electronic systems in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. He had worked for Raytheon for 15 years.

Judy Larocque, 50, of Framingham, Massachusetts, was the founder and CEO of Market Perspectives, a research firm that offers online and on-site surveys. Before founding the company in 1993, she was the principal of Emergent Marketing, an executive marketing consulting firm.

Jude Larson, 31, was from Los Angeles, California.

Natalie Larson was from Los Angeles, California.

N. Janis Lasden, 46, of General Electric was from Peabody, Massachusetts.

Daniel John Lee, 34, was from Los Angeles, California.

Daniel C. Lewin, 31, was the co-founder and chief technology officer at Akamai Technologies Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts, company that produces technology equipment to facilitate online content delivery. He is survived by his wife and two sons. He founded Akamai in 1998 with scientist Tom Leighton and a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists and business professionals. Lewin was responsible for the company's research and development strategy.

Susan MacKay, 44, of Westford, Massachusetts, was an employee of TJX Cos., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions.

Chris Mello, 25, was a financial analyst with Alta Communications from Boston. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in psychology. He is survived by his parents, Douglas and Ellen Mello of Rye, New York; a brother, John Douglas Mello of New York City; and his paternal grandmother, Alice Mello, of Barefoot Bay, Florida.

Jeff Mladenik, 43, of Hinsdale, Illinois, was the interim president at E-Logic.

Antonio Montoya

Carlos Montoya

Laura Lee Morabito, 34, was the Qantas Airways area sales manager in Boston. She lived in Framingham, Massachusetts, with her husband. She was traveling on company business at the time of her death.

Mildred Naiman was from Andover, Massachusetts.

Laurie Neira

Renee Newell, 37, of Cranston, Rhode Island, was a customer service agent with American Airlines.

Jacqueline Norton, 60, was a retiree from Lubec, Maine. She was traveling with her husband, Robert Norton.

Robert Norton, 82, was a retiree from Lubec, Maine. He was traveling with his wife, Jacqueline Norton.

Jane Orth, 49, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was retired from Lucent Technology.

Thomas Pecorelli, 31, of Los Angeles, California, was a cameraman for Fox Sports and E! Entertainment Television.

Sonia Morales Puopolo, 58, of Dover, Massachusetts, was a retired ballet dancer.

David Retik was from Needham, Massachusetts. He was a general partner and founding member of Alta Communications, a Boston-based investment firm specializing in communication industries. Retik graduated from Colgate University and received a master's in accounting from New York University. He is survived by his wife, Susan and their two children, Ben and Molly.

Philip Rosenzweig of Acton, Massachusetts, was an executive with Sun Microsystems.

Richard Ross, 58, of Newton, Massachusetts, headed his own management consulting company, the Ross Group.

Jessica Sachs, 22, of Billerica, Massachusetts was an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rahma Salie, 28, was from Boston.

Heather Smith, 30, of Beacon Capital Partners was from Boston.

Douglas Stone, 54, was from Dover, New Hampshire.

Xavier Suarez

Michael Theodoridis, 32, was a consultant from Boston.

James Trentini, 65, was a retired teacher and assistant principal from Everett, Massachusetts.

Mary Trentini, 67, was a retired secretary from Everett, Massachusetts.

Mary Wahlstrom, 75, of Kaysville, Utah, was traveling with her daughter, Carolyn Beug. They had gone to Boston to drop off relatives at a nearby college and were returning home.

Kenneth Waldie, 46, of Methuen, Massachusetts, was a Raytheon Co. senior quality control engineer for electronic systems in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. He had worked for Raytheon for 17 years.

John Wenckus, 46, was a tax consultant from Torrance, California.

Candace Lee Williams, 20, was a student from Danbury, Connecticut.

Christopher Zarba, 47, of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, was a software engineer at Concord Communications. He leaves behind a wife and family. He would have been 48 on September 15.

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 93

United Airlines Flight 93, from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California, crashed in rural southwest Pennsylvania, with 45 people on board.

CREW

Jason Dahl, 43, from Denver, Colorado, was the plane's captain. He had a wife and son. Dahl had a lifelong interest in flying, said his aunt, Maxine Atkinson, of Waterloo, Iowa.

Leroy Homer, 36, from Marlton, New Jersey, was the first officer on board. He was married and had a daughter.

Lorraine Bay was a flight attendant.

Sandra Bradshaw, 38, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was a flight attendant.

Wanda Green was a flight attendant.

CeeCee Lyles of Fort Myers, Florida, was a flight attendant. She reached her husband, Lorne, by cell phone to tell him that she loved him and their children before the plane went down. The couple between them had four children.

Deborah Welsh was a flight attendant.

PASSENGERS

Christian Adams

Todd Beamer, 32, was from Cranbury, New Jersey.

Alan Beaven, 48, of Oakland, California, was an environmental lawyer.

Mark Bingham, 31, of San Francisco owned a public relations firm, the Bingham Group. He called his mother, Alice Hoglan, 15 minutes before the plane crashed and told her that the plane had been taken over by three men who claimed to have a bomb. Hoglan said her son told her that some passengers planned to try to regain control of the plane. "He said, 'I love you very, very much, ' " Hoglan said.

Deora Bodley, 20, of Santa Clara, California, was a university student.

Marion Britton

Thomas E. Burnett Jr., 38, of San Ramon, California, was a senior vice president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corp., a medical research and development company, and the father of three. He made four calls to his wife, Deena, from the plane. Deena Burnett said that her husband told her that one passenger had been stabbed and that "a group of us are going to do something." He also told her that the people on board knew about the attack on the World Trade Center, apparently through other phone calls.

William Cashman

Georgine Corrigan

Joseph Deluca

Patrick Driscoll

Edward Felt, 41, was from Matawan, New Jersey.

Colleen Fraser

Andrew Garcia

Jeremy Glick, 31, from West Milford, New Jersey, called his wife, Liz, and in-laws in New York on a cell phone to tell them the plane had been hijacked, Joanne Makely, Glick's mother-in-law, told CNN. Glick said that one of the hijackers "had a red box he said was a bomb, and one had a knife of some nature," Makely said. Glick asked Makely if the reports about the attacks on the World Trade Center were true, and she told him they were. He left the phone for a while, returning to say, "The men voted to attack the terrorists," Makely said.

Lauren Grandcolas of San Rafael, California, was a sales worker at Good Housekeeping magazine.

Donald F. Green, 52, was from Greenwich, Connecticut.

Linda Gronlund

Richard Guadagno, 38, of Eureka, California, was the manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Toshiya Kuge

Waleska Martinez

Nicole Miller

Mark Rothenberg

Christine Snyder, 32, was from Kailua, Hawaii. She was an arborist for the Outdoor Circle and was returning from a conference in Washington. She had been married less than a year.

John Talignani

Honor Wainio

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 77

American Airlines Flight 77, from Washington to Los Angeles, crashed into the Pentagon with 64 people aboard.

CREW

Charles Burlingame of Herndon, Virginia, was the plane's captain. He is survived by a wife, a daughter and a grandson. He had more than 20 years of experience flying with American Airlines and was a former U.S. Navy pilot.

David Charlebois, who lived in Washington's Dupont Circle neighborhood, was the first officer on the flight. "He was handsome and happy and very centered," his neighbor Travis White, told The Washington Post. "His life was the kind of life I wanted to have some day."

Michele Heidenberger of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was a flight attendant for 30 years. She left behind a husband, a pilot, and a daughter and son.

Flight attendant Jennifer Lewis, 38, of Culpeper, Virginia, was the wife of flight attendant Kenneth Lewis.

Flight attendant Kenneth Lewis, 49, of Culpeper, Virginia, was the husband of flight attendant Jennifer Lewis.

Renee May, 39, of Baltimore, Maryland, was a flight attendant.

PASSENGERS

Paul Ambrose, 32, of Washington, was a physician who worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the surgeon general to address racial and ethnic disparities in health. A 1995 graduate of Marshall University School of Medicine, Ambrose last year was named the Luther Terry Fellow of the Association of Teachers of Preventative Medicine.

Yeneneh Betru, 35, was from Burbank, California.

M.J. Booth

Bernard Brown, 11, was a student at Leckie Elementary School in Washington. He was embarking on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California, as part of a program funded by the National Geographic Society.

Suzanne Calley, 42, of San Martin, California, was an employee of Cisco Systems Inc.

William Caswell

Sarah Clark, 65, of Columbia, Maryland, was a sixth-grade teacher at Backus Middle School in Washington. She was accompanying a student on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California, as part of a program funded by the National Geographic Society.

Asia Cottom, 11, was a student at Backus Middle School in Washington. Asia was embarking on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California, as part of a program funded by the National Geographic Society.

James Debeuneure, 58, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was a fifth-grade teacher at Ketcham Elementary School in Washington. He was accompanying a student on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California, as part of a program funded by the National Geographic Society.

Rodney Dickens, 11, was a student at Leckie Elementary School in Washington. He was embarking on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California, as part of a program funded by the National Geographic Society.

Eddie Dillard

Charles Droz

Barbara Edwards, 58, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was a teacher at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas.

Charles S. Falkenberg, 45, of University Park, Maryland, was the director of research at ECOlogic Corp., a software engineering firm. He worked on data systems for NASA and also developed data systems for the study of global and regional environmental issues. Falkenburg was traveling with his wife, Leslie Whittingham, and their two daughters, Zoe, 8, and Dana, 3.

Zoe Falkenberg, 8, of University Park, Maryland, was the daughter of Charles Falkenberg and Leslie Whittingham.

Dana Falkenberg, 3, of University Park, Maryland, was the daughter of Charles Falkenberg and Leslie Whittingham.

Joe Ferguson was the director of the National Geographic Society's geography education outreach program in Washington. He was accompanying a group of students and teachers on an educational trip to the Channel Islands in California. A Mississippi native, he joined the society in 1987. "Joe Feguson's final hours at the Geographic reveal the depth of his commitment to one of the things he really loved," said John Fahey Jr., the society's president. "Joe was here at the office until late Monday evening preparing for this trip. It was his goal to make this trip perfect in every way."

Wilson "Bud" Flagg of Millwood, Virginia, was a retired Navy admiral and retired American Airlines pilot.

Dee Flagg

Richard Gabriel

Ian Gray, 55, of Washington was the president of a health-care consulting firm.

Stanley Hall, 68, was from Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Bryan Jack, 48, of Alexandria, Virginia, was a senior executive at the Defense Department.

Steven D. "Jake" Jacoby, 43, of Alexandria, Virginia, was the chief operating officer of Metrocall Inc., a wireless data and messaging company.

Ann Judge, 49, of Virginia was the travel office manager for the National Geographic Society. She was accompanying a group of students and teachers on an educational trip to the Channel Islands in California. Society President John Fahey Jr. said one of his fondest memories of Judge is a voice mail she and a colleague once left him while they were rafting the Monkey River in Belize. "This was quintessential Ann -- living life to the fullest and wanting to share it with others," he said.

Chandler Keller, 29, was a Boeing propulsion engineer from El Segundo, California.

Yvonne Kennedy

Norma Khan, 45, from Reston, Virginia was a nonprofit organization manager.

Karen A. Kincaid, 40, was a lawyer with the Washington firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding. She joined the firm in 1993 and was part of the its telecommunications practice. She was married to Peter Batacan.

Norma Langsteuerle

Dong Lee

Dora Menchaca, 45, of Santa Monica, California, was the associate director of clinical research for a biotech firm.

Christopher Newton, 38, of Anaheim, California, was president and chief executive officer of Work-Life Benefits, a consultation and referral service. He was married and had two children. Newton was on his way back to Orange County to retrieve his family's yellow Labrador, who had been left behind until they could settle into their new home in Arlington, Virginia.

Barbara Olson, 45, was a conservative commentator who often appeared on CNN and was married to U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson. She twice called her husband as the plane was being hijacked and described some details, including that the attackers were armed with knives. She had planned to take a different flight, but she changed it at the last minute so that she could be with her husband on his birthday. She worked as an investigator for the House Government Reform Committee in the mid-1990s and later worked on the staff of Senate Minority Whip Don Nickles.

Ruben Ornedo, 39, of Los Angeles, California, was a Boeing propulsion engineer.

Robert Penniger, 63, of Poway, California, was an electrical engineer with BAE Systems.

Lisa Raines, 42, was senior vice president for government relations at the Washington office of Genzyme, a biotechnology firm. She was from Great Falls, Virginia, and was married to Stephen Push. She worked with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on developing a new policy governing cellular therapies, announced in 1997. She also worked on other major health-care legislation.

Todd Reuben, 40, of Potomac, Maryland, was a tax and business lawyer.

John Sammartino

Diane Simmons

George Simmons

Mari-Rae Sopper of Santa Barbara, California, was a women's gymnastics coach at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She had just gotten the post August 31 and was making the trip to California to start work.

Bob Speisman, 47, was from Irvington, New York.

Hilda Taylor was a sixth-grade teacher at Leckie Elementary School in Washington. She was accompanying a student on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California, as part of a program funded by the National Geographic Society.

Leonard Taylor was from Reston, Virginia.

Leslie A. Whittington, 45, was from University Park, Maryland. The professor of public policy at Georgetown University in Washington was traveling with her husband, Charles Falkenberg, 45, and their two daughters, Zoe, 8, and Dana, 3. They were traveling to Los Angeles to catch a connection to Australia. Whittington had been named a visiting fellow at Australian National University in Canberra.

John Yamnicky, 71, was from Waldorf, Maryland.

Vicki Yancey

Shuyin Yang

Yuguag Zheng

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 175

United Airlines Flight 175, from Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles, California, was the second hijacked plane to strike the World Trade Center, plowing into the south tower. Two pilots, seven flight attendants and 56 passengers were on board.

CREW

Capt. Victor Saracini, 51, of Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania, was a Navy veteran. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Michael Horrocks was first officer.

Robert J. Fangman was a flight attendant.

Amy N. Jarret, 28, of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, was a flight attendant.

Amy R. King was a flight attendant.

Kathryn L. Laborie was a flight attendant.

Alfred G. Marchand of Alamogordo, New Mexico, was a flight attendant.

Michael C. Tarrou was a flight attendant.

Alicia N. Titus was a flight atteandant.

PASSENGERS

Alona Avraham, 30, was from Ashdot, Israel.

Garnet "Ace" Bailey, 53, of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, was director of pro scouting for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. Bailey was entering his 33rd season as a player or scout in the National Hockey League and his eighth with the Kings. Before joining the Kings, he spent 13 years as a scout for the Edmonton Oilers, a team that won five Stanley Cups during that time. As a player, Bailey spent five years with the Boston Bruins and was a member of Stanley Cup championship teams in 1969-70 and 1971-72. Bailey also spent parts of two seasons each with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, and three years with the Washington Capitals. He is survived by his wife, Katherine, and son, Todd.

Mark Bavis, 31, of West Newton, Massachusetts, was entering his second season as an amateur scout for the Los Angeles Kings. A Boston native, he played four years on Boston University's hockey team, where his twin brother, Michael, is an assistant coach. In addition to his twin brother, Bavis is survived by his mother, Mary; two other brothers, Pat and Johnny; and three sisters, Kelly, Mary Ellen and Kathy. The Bavis family lost a brother 15 years ago, and Bavis' father died 10 years ago.

Graham Berkeley, 37, of Xerox Corp. was from Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Touri Bolourchi, 69, was from Beverly Hills, California.

Klaus Bothe, 31, of Germany was on a business trip with BCT Technology AG's chief executive officer and another executive. Bothe joined the company in 1994 and was its director of development. He is survived by his wife and one child.

Daniel Brandhorst, of Los Angeles, California, was a lawyer for PriceWaterhouse.

David Brandhorst, 3, was from Los Angeles.

John Cahill was from Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Christoffer Carstanjen, 33, of Turner Falls, Massachusetts, was staff assistant in the office of information technology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

John Corcoran "Jay" Corcoran, 44, of Norwell, Massachusetts, was a merchant marine.

Dorothy Dearaujo, 82, was from Long Beach, California.

Gloria Debarrera

Lisa Frost, 22, of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, graduated from Boston University this year, with degrees in communications and business hospitality. She is survived by her father, mother and brother.

Ronald Gamboa, 33, of Los Angeles, California, was a Gap store manager.

Lynn Goodchild, 25, was from Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The Rev. Francis E. Grogan, 76, of Easton, Massachusetts, was a priest at Holy Cross Church in Easton. A veteran of World War II, Grogan served as a parish priest, a chaplain and teacher at Holy Cross schools.

Carl Hammond, 37, was from Boston, Massachusetts.

Peter Hanson, 32, of Groton, Massachusetts, was a software salesman.

Susan Hanson, 35, of Groton, Massachusetts, was a student.

Christine Hanson, 3, was from Groton, Massachusetts.

Gerald Hardacre

Eric Hartono

James E. Hayden, 47, of Westford, Massachusetts, was the chief financial officer of Netegrity Inc. Hayden is survived by his wife, Gail, and their two children.

Herbert Homer,48, of Milford, Massachusetts, worked for Raytheon Co.

Robert Jalbert, 61, of Swampscott, Massachusetts, was a salesman.

Ralph Kershaw, 52, of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, was a marine surveyor.

Heinrich Kimmig, 43, chairman and chief executive officer of BCT Technology Ag, of Germany was on a business trip involving contract negotiations with U.S. partners along with two other BCT execs, the company said in a statement. Kimmig studied mechanical engineering in college. After an internship, he became the design manager at Badische Stahl Engineering, and shortly after, he founded BSE Computer-Technologie GmbH, originally a locally operating software company. In 1999, this company became BCT Technology AG. Kimmig is survived by his wife and two children.

Brian Kinney, 29, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was an auditor for PriceWaterhouse Cooper.

Robert LeBlanc, 70, of Lee, New Hampshire, was a professor emeritus of geography at the University of New Hampshire. After earning his doctorate at the University of Minnesota, LeBlanc joined the University of New Hampshire's faculty in 1963 as a cultural geographer. With a specialty in Canadian studies, he looked at the Franco-American communities in New England's mill towns. He was acting chair and chair of the geography department for nearly 10 years, retiring in 1999.

Maclovio "Joe" Lopez Jr., 41, was from Norwalk, California.

Marianne MacFarlane

Louis Neil Mariani, 59, was from Derry, New Hampshire.

Juliana Valentine McCourt, 4, was from New London, Connecticut.

Ruth McCourt, 24, was from Westford, Massachusetts.

Wolfgang Menzel, 60, of Germany joined BCT Technology AG in 2000 as director of human resources. He is survived by his wife and one child. Menzel had planned to retire in six months.

Shawn Nassaney, 25, was from Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Patrick Quigley, 40, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, was a partner at PriceWaterhouse Cooper.

Frederick Rimmele was a physician from Marblehead, Massachusetts.

James M. Roux, 42, was from Portland, Maine.

Jesus Sanchez, 45, was an off-duty flight attendant from Hudson, Massachusetts.

Kathleen Shearer was from Dover, New Hampshire.

Robert Shearer was from Dover, New Hampshire.

Jane Simpkin, 35, was from Wayland, Massachusetts.

Brian D. Sweeney, 38, was from Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Timothy Ward, 38, of San Diego, California, worked at the Carlsbad, California-based Rubio's Restaurants Inc. A 14-year veteran of the company, he opened its second restaurant in San Diego and most recently worked in the information technology department.

William Weems of Marblehead, Massachusetts, was a commercial producer.