Friday, June 12, 2015

No. 152 – June 11, 2015 – The Families of 9/11 Want to Know. Do you?


by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster


Having lost people they loved to the horrific deaths viewed on television as the Towers fell, the families of those who died demanded to know who was responsible for the attacks. Although the event is now nearly fifteen years in the past the question remains open. But is it?

Andrew Kreig, attorney and independent journalist in Washington DC, today published an article outlining the political use made of the issue, beginning with the sequestering of a report written in 2002 which many believe would, if made available, answer many of the questions still lingering.

outlines the attempts on the part of Paul and his co-sponsors Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon, to achieve passage of a bill which would make the information public. Announcement of the attempt took place at a June 2 press conference on Capitol Hill which was attended by members of the 9/11 families.

The report, which is said to document the role of Saudi Arabia in funding 15 of the 19 terrorists responsible for the attacks is only 28 pages in length, but versions available are so heavily redacted as to render them meaningless.

Former Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) stood with Paul at the news conference on the 2nd. Graham co-chaired the 9/11 Joint Committee, co-authoring the report. At the time, in 2002, the three-term senator was also chairing the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Children of the 9/11 victims, some of whom were babies at the time, are now demanding the release of the 28 page report as well.

Clearly, the identities of those who funded the terrorists remains relevant today, along with the reasons why such information would have been denied to the public for so long. America went to war over the issue of 9/11. Without funding, most believe there would have been no terrorist attacks possible.
Americans were lead into a series of wars based on information which the Bush administration knew to be false at the time the war in Afghanistan and Iraq were sold to the American people as necessary to stop terrorism.
We now know Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein, a former American CIA asset expressed willingness to leave Iraq, if paid. Do Americans want the facts? You bet they do. And they want it now.

Friday, June 5, 2015

No. 151 – June 4, 2015 – The Plains Truth – Santa Barbara Spills 1969 - 2015



by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

In 1968 Union Oil decided they needs a new kind of PR representative so they went into local schools to find boy scouts who would like to learn about the oil business. One young man, named David Lincoln, then fourteen, was useful to them the next year in the wake of the Santa Barbara Spill.

The PR Representative, who also made an unsuccessful run for State Senate from Compton, took Dave and a few other boys up to Santa Barbara to watch the clean-up. Young Dave, who had just turned fifteen, did a series of appearances on radio shows, reading a script he shared with the show host, presenting Union Oil as a responsible company, extremely concerned about the environment.

When Dave spoke those words he believed them. Men he respected had told him they were. A quiet boy, Dave enjoyed what he was learning about the technology of oil drilling. He was encouraged to make working for oil companies his career, which he did, taking the courses they recommended at USC, which was nearby for his degree in Geology.

Over the next 25 years Dave worked for oil companies on seven continents in increasingly responsible and well paid positions. He began to see many things which shocked him, but he continued to believe the industry cared about doing the right thing for people and the environment.

It was working directly with Ken Lay, CEO of Enron which changed his mind.

Dave was in charge of putting a pipeline across the island. Instead of building this through a pristine forest he tried to persuade Ken Lay to take a slightly longer, easier route. Lay's sneering comments about the the damage which would be done to the forest ended in Dave walking away from a six figure salary and returning to the US. There, he joined Green Peace, beginning an intense study of how the oil industry evaded accountability for the shocking damage to life and the environment Dave knew they were doing.

As an insider, Dave was able to expose them. As an expert witness in court Dave's testimony brought clarity to the systemic cover-ups they were carrying out to optimize their profits with no concern for human life. No oil company won when Dave was able to give testimony.

A showdown is finally coming. It will take place on the beach in Santa Barbara County. Get the popcorn ready.