United For 911 Truth

COINTELPRO, HR 1955 Promotion or Fear Mongering? A Ricin Man Update

2008-03-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

By Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a story involving the timeline of the Ricin discovery in a Las Vegas hotel room pointing out all the discrepancies I found in the reporting that had been done on the case. Yesterday a follow up story was released by the Associated Press and featured on Yahoo’s front page as a headline.

The update continues to confuse with its vague language and further muddies the timeline and information reported in the original stories.

When the original story broke we were told the victim who may or may not be responsible for his own exposure to the Ricin was in a coma in a Las Vegas hospital. Yesterday’s updated story however states that the victim’s family members said the victim - 57 year old Roger Bergendorff, was sedated on Feb 23rd – this is before the story broke in the media.

Was Bergendorff just sedated all this time? Why was he so heavily sedated that authorities and the press reported he was in a coma? And why are the authorities only now able to speak with him if he was indeed only sedated?

In a case involving a substance on the list of potential WMD’s that could be used against America what was the hold up on gathering information? We already know by previous accounts that authorities botched the initial investigation by tainting the crime scene, but to not question a victim or potential suspect because he is merely heavily sedated makes little sense.

Additionally the update mentions that “several” vials of Ricin were found. The previous stories all stated there were only two vials of the substance found - two vials that were found by a family member AFTER authorities had supposedly thoroughly searched the hotel room. How many vials of Ricin were really found in the hotel room? Were they all found by the family member? Where more vials found on a different day? Is the family member who found the Ricin a person of interest? Inquiring minds want to know.

But wait, there’s more. The original story stated an anarchist textbook was... LINK

Propaganda & Eggs, Shame on You Johnny Dee’s

2008-03-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

By Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

With the five-year anniversary of the Iraq war approaching we now know the Bush Administration at the very least had everything Dead Wrong about Iraq, WMD’s and the so called evidence used to rally the citizenry in order to invade with American support.

The alleged existence of WMD in Iraq after 9/11 was marketed to the American people by the White House Iraqi Group (WHIG), along with corporate owned media.

The WHIG and the Bush Administration fed the fear and angst caused by the Sept. 11th attacks and the 2001 Anthrax attacks (FBI case name Amerithrax) by creating increased fear of another immanent attack - possibly with small pox, or even a nuclear bomb emphasized by their use of the forged Niger Yellow Cake document as evidence of such.

With Bush’s October 8, 2002 speech to the American people where he said,

“we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud”.

paired with then Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 2003 address to the UN Security Council was enough to garner the support they needed from Congress and the American people to go to war against Iraq.

After all these years one would think American’s would be more aware their government misled them however the propaganda can still be found in unusual places sowing seeds of hate and irresponsibly perpetuating the Iraq lie.

While having dinner last week at Johnny Dee’s - a local high desert CA restaurant, the MTR News crew was more than surprised by a few of the restaurants prominently featured menu items.

They have a hamburger called The Patriot Burger which by itself is not a big deal however on their breakfast menu we can see their patriotism is marred by ignorance and propaganda. They have a featured dish they have named Freedom Flag Wavers (formerly their French toast). A little propaganda with your eggs anyone?

Here is some background Johnny Dee’s should consider along with immediately correcting their menu... LINK

Chilling Thoughts Amid Questionable Circumstances

2008-03-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

By Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

A few days ago authorities found and positively identified the deadly poison Ricin in a Las Vegas hotel room. A man lies silently in a coma in some desert hospital unable to tell anyone how he became ill. He is said to have been at the hospital since Valentines Day when he called an ambulance due to respiratory distress.

With an unconscious witness/victim/homegrown terrorist the police were able to find evidence in the hotel room that is too convenient to be true. Let’s look at the time line of the story first, because it makes no sense, but is told in the style of Rumsfeld so that it isn’t immediately apparent it makes no sense.

Authorities say that on Sat Feb 22 a friend or relative of the rooms occupant reported to the hotel that there are pets left in the sick mans room.

So first off we are to believe that pets had been left unattended and unnoticed in the room for 10 whole days! One of the animals, a dog was found dead. How long had the dog been dead? How many more animals were in the room and what kind were they? How did they survive unheard all that time? A hungry animal would be howling and whining. Surely in a hotel that would have been heard by someone.

Then we are told that on Tues. Feb 26 the hotel’s management notified police they found “weapons” in the room.

Tuesday? If the friend reported the animals Fri the 23rd why is it the “weapons” were not discovered until five days later? A Las Vegas hotel room left untouched over a weekend let alone for 5 whole days? A room whose occupant lay dying in a hospital due to Ricin poison. People in and out of the room to take the dead dog out, to remove the other unknown number of animals and to clean.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but according to Capt. Joseph Lombardo

“Firearms and an anarchist type textbook” were found in the room.

He said at a news conference late Friday Feb 29 that the book was marked where there was information about Ricin. However test results on those items were negative for the substance.

Police also said they “found castor beans possibly used to make the substance (Ricin)”.

An "anarchist type textbook"? What the hell is that? Can someone say “HR1955”?

“Firearms”? Ok, that could be believable enough, but castor beans?

Then on Thurs. Feb 28 the friend goes back to the hotel room to retrieve the sick mans belongings where he finds two vials of a “substance” that tests positive for Ricin. Authorities don’t know if they missed finding the vials when they searched the room two days before or even how long the vials had been in the room. They do not know if the man in the coma has any connection to the Ricin, but they know that Ricin is what has made him ill.

So now we have police allowing a man they can only... LINK

Shot Me Free

2008-02-27T13:28:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

On Monday KCAL - a CA news station, and a local High Desert newspaper - the Victor Valley Daily Press reported Apple Valley Deputies had responded late Sunday evening to a call of a shooting victim who had entered an Apple Valley, CA AM/PM mini mart on Rancherias RD seeking help. Deputies arrived for what had been reported as an alleged robbery that took place while the victim walked along the Apple Valley Golf Curse on his way to the convenience store.

As Deputies questioned the victim and examined footprint evidence left behind it became apparent there was more to the story then Myers was telling and thought Myers was covering for an accidental shooting.

As Deputies unraveled the case they discovered Ft Campbell KY Soldier Matthew John Myers was home in CA on emergency leave from his deployment in Iraq and had decided he did not want to return to the war. Myers conspired with friend Daniel Dotterrer who shot him in the front right thigh before fleeing the scene and Myers continuing on to report the supposed crime from the mini mart.

Both CA news outlets report that... link

A Sliver of the Sibel Story touches the MSM

2008-02-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

Today the Dallas Morning News reprinted a near three-week old story originally published in the American Conservative by Philip Giraldi called Found in Translation, FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds spills her secrets.

The story was not reprinted in its entirety, but the idea of the Sibel story touching American minds is something. Will it open a door for more American journalists to start talking too?

MTR News

An Operation of False Flags

2008-02-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

September 11th, 2001 could prove, in the end, to have been another in the long list of False Flag Operations for the history books, the jury is still out. However, there is precedent for more False Flags to come since the events of that horrible day…

False Flag Operations have played into world politics for decades if not centuries, igniting fear upon a citizenry to create a fervent patriotism among its countrymen in order to incite nations to war. The Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, the Reichstag Fire and the unexecuted Operation Northwoods, are just a few broadly known, factual, and well-documented False Flag Operations in our History.

Those examples, to most, are familiar, but what is a False Flag Operation exactly?

“False flag Operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities”.

And “False Flag Operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and have been used in peace-time”.

Also, “Political or religious ideologies will sometimes use false flag tactics. This can be done to discredit or implicate rival groups, create the appearance of enemies when none exist, or create the illusion of organized and directed opposition”.

Many of you have heard of False Flag attacks before and have come to some conclusions and realizations of your own based on the undeniable facts of their existence. False Flag attacks are used as just another weapon in a government’s arsenal and it is easy to look the other way when our eyes see things they don’t wish to see. With the well-oiled (pun intended) machine - of the corporations, pumping (intended also) their slick (and again) talking points over and over on our cities’ Nightly News it’s even easier. Because, if we give our minds enough time to absorb, if we don’t look away, if we allow ourselves to see what is truly in front of our eyes, then we must then do something about what we see.

It is also easy - when we’re talking about the past, to distance it from any possibility of being connected to the present, but the truth is ‘ the past’ isn’t that far behind us. In fact, something even more deliberate - pertaining directly to False Flag Operations, began to take place after our country was attacked on that fateful morning of 9/11.

Less than a year after the mass murders in America on Sept. 11th, 2001 a founding member of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sought more ways to harm Americans. More ways in which to shed their blood in sacrifice to an ideology of power and greed; a gluttony of evil to feed off our fears – the seeds of which that had already been steadily sown. Rumsfeld was planning on the United States government funding your and/or others deaths by way of a new program.

Rumsfeld’s 2002 plan to provoke terrorist attacks in order to... LINK

Our Vote, Their Voice

2008-02-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper, MTR News

American headlines rarely give voice to an opposing message even when it comes from outside of the United States. If non-citizens were voting in our place, whom would they vote for in Nov.?

With Super Tuesday over and a handful of primaries left, the candidates are all but officially announced in American media. The run up to the Nov. election leaves little option for American voters looking for something different. Will it come down to the ‘lesser evil’ vote and if so just who is that ‘lesser evil’ of all evils paraded before us?

In p2p and other online circles one name seems to rise above all others. Ron Paul. This may be because the Paul campaign has relied so heavily on Internet grass roots and because of that the awareness of his campaign and ideals have surely taken hold in cyber land. But is there more to it than that?

With outside voices being some of the loudest for Paul’s cause this writer wanted to know why.

I asked Earl Smith in Southwest England, UK why he was watching our election process so intently. He sees promise in Dr Paul as a new leader for America and feels that

“2008 is make or break for the whole of civilization as we know it,” and further claims,

“The (presidential) election in the US plays a MAJOR role for things to come” for the entire world, not just America.

Another man on the outside who is paying close attention to and is in strong support of Dr Paul is Robert Young from Midland Ontario, Canada. I asked him why he cared so much about our election,

“I don’t have to live in the US to see the importance of a Constitutional Republic. This (coming) US election is important to me because we are seeing a clear fight between freedom and enslavement and it’s being seen globally. Voting fraud and mainstream media incompetence is becoming more and more obvious. This election - whether or not Ron Paul wins, is showing the American public that their freedoms are under attack.” He said.

Young went on to… LINK

The Shell Game #31 and Climbing

2008-02-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

There has been a lot of controversy within the 9/11 Truth movement about this bold new novel, The Shell Game by, Steve Alten. Some people passionately support it while others chastise the author for not including or coming to the conclusion of Inside Job. While the Author sources and presents evidence of vast criminal activity by the US government in relation to the attacks on September 11th, 2001 he does seem more inclined towards the let it happen theory. This has some within the Truth movement questioning Alten’s agenda for writing the book and why they should support it.

To those that are disappointed or suspicious of this book I can only ask that you set aside your bias for a few hours and read the book with different eyes. Of course this book cannot stack up to the full story some would like to tell, but that is because the eyes of those storytellers are already open. To new eyes, this story and its easy delivery has the potential to raise many questions in many minds that had never questioned before. Imagine the blinds slowly opening upon a darkened room on a bright sunny morning. Rays of truths that splinter behind the minds awakening eye – an undeniable new and unstoppable day has arrived. That's Powerful.

Steve Alten effectively interjects solid facts that relate to many 9/11 crimes (and other crimes) within this administration – as well as other levels of government, while telling what he calls a ‘cautionary tale’. Not only are these facts interspersed in the story, there are also multiple blistering quotes blatantly and heroically featured at the beginning of each chapter. The references to September 11th, 2001 are used as a foundation of ‘background precedents’ to help weave and move the story being told – which is the story of a coming Inside Job by way of a US government manufactured nuclear holocaust in LA. The attack needed in order to begin an attack against Iran as the presented perpetrator of the attack. . Sound familiar?

The Shell Game is an excellent book. Where I would normally describe a book this well formatted as an ‘easy read’, the gravity of the subject and the implications in the story are not easy. With three Heroines and a Hero this important political thriller is laid out in digestible chapters that quickly pull the reader deeper down the rabbit hole leading him/her to some potentially gut wrenching conclusions about what we don’t know.

*Well done Steve Alten. Congratulations on making the list, #31 and climbing.

Ray McGovern and Cynthia McKinney, the Power of Conversation

2008-02-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

In times of eloquence some can often hear meaning inside those moments much more then when listening to hard facts from someone’s well meaning and informative PowerPoint presentation. By sometimes paring down the speech and preach we have grown accustomed to, we can begin talking ‘to’ - instead of talking ‘at’, one another. An effective new way of reaching people may simply be the old way of ‘one on one’.

I was reminded of this last week while attending the Publicizing Truths with Consequence media summit in Santa Cruz, CA. Amidst a backdrop of high energy frustrations MTR News was able to find some down time to reflect on the issues that brought us there to begin with. Joining us in this quiet reflection– 2008 Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, and CIA Veteran Ray McGovern were gracious enough to lend their time and their concerns in a relaxed and powerful format too often forgotten, real conversation.

MTR had an exclusive front row seat to what may be a humbling and impromptu call to action by two of the leading voices of truth, integrity, and justice in our times. With current and past events as their topics, McKinney and McGovern offered up an inspiring dialog between two long time friends who by sharing their grave and honest concern for our country with each other, they in turn share those concerns with us.

We invite you to watch and listen as we hope, that from their message, you may find renewed strength and knowledge that We the People have not lost our voice at all, we merely need to find more creative ways to present it so that it can be heard by more people in ways that will reach them.

-See Interview Here-

*MTR News would like to thank Cynthia McKinney and Ray McGovern for their kindness and for all of their hard work speaking truth to power. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity and the message they bestowed upon us. To David Kubiak of 911truth.org and John Bertucci of Project Censored we extend our genuine thanks for their help in facilitating this interview.

Meet Cynthia McKinney

2008-02-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

In the article The Radical Alternative (Cynthia McKinney), Mumia Abu-Jamal puts forth a serious question, why not Cynthia McKinney?

-Photo by Tommy Sullivan, Project Censored-

Cynthia McKinney takes speaking truth to power to a whole new level. She has time and again stood against and spoken out about the very things we all complain about. She has taken the lashes with a grace the media never allowed you to see.

While speaking at a conference McKinney said,

“Warriors don’t have medals, they have scars. The corporate media has emblazoned for all the world to see…my scars”.

Scars. That’s all the American public knows of Cynthia McKinney.

MTR News had a chance to sit down with this presidential candidate and talk about the many scars on our nation. The woman we met was nothing like the corporate media has portrayed her to be. The woman we met was a warm, vibrant, intelligent, and articulate leader.

Meet Cynthia McKinney.

Video Interview Here

*Cynthia McKinney is running as the 2008 Green Party presidential candidate.

**Coming soon: Cynthia McKinney & Ray McGovern Interview

Truther?

2008-02-02T23:42:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

Truthers seek more than the just the truth of the Sept. 11th crimes, we seek truth in all the crimes of this Administration - and the administrations before it, so that we may, as a country, protect ourselves from the crimes of future administrations before it is too late. It is already to late for many as American lives have been lost by the thousands and we will never know the true number of innocents we have killed ‘over there’. They are still dying…over there…and they are still dying here.

Truthers believe Americans need to connect the dots. Not just some of the dots but connect all of the dots. From the rapidly receding economy to the ugly truths of the Iraq war; from the premeditated outing of Valerie Plame to criminally fraudulent elections; from a growing 9/11 movement asking hard questions to the deafening slap of media silence. The list goes on.

There have been eye-opening revelations with their implications from Whistleblowers Sibel Edmonds, Coleen Rowley, Russ Tice and Kevin Ryan. Why does our government and media wish to silence them? Why do they wish to silence us? With laws and legislation in place - like the Patriot Act, HR 1955, and domestic spying it is hard to come to any conclusion but that of our government’s wish to silence and control it’s population. That’s freaky stuff.

We don’t see these things as separate issues. These problems are pieces of the whole. To a 9/11 Truther all these current crises root in the events of September 11th, 2001. If you do the maze backward, i.e. take the problem as it is now and work your way back to when it really began, you will always land in the footprint of that day.

For instance the flailing economy. Immediately on 9/11 millions of dollars were being lost in advertising revenue alone. Advertisers pulled their ads out of respect for the gravity of what occurred and also as to not have their service/product branded in such sorrow. Those dollars didn’t return in abundance any time soon. It took years to get back on track. That alone affected many of lives and the businesses of those they did business with. And that’s just one tiny category of the trickle down financial collapses that have brought us to where we are. I know it’s much bigger than that. It’s just an example.

Ok so that’s the economy, what else? What about the CIA leak? We are only now hearing mention of Brewster Jennings in Sibel Edmonds’ story out of the UK, but before all that VP Dick Cheney and his team maliciously leaked the identity of covert Agent Valerie Plame. They leaked her name because they needed to control Valerie’s husband Joe Wilson, who emphatically denied the Bush administration claim of Iraq buying yellowcake from Niger. Why did they lie and use forged documents about Niger? They lied because with those forged documents they could terrify a country by alluding to an impending mushroom cloud delivered to us from Iraq. But, why did they need to lie about Iraq? They needed to lie further because the American people were struggling with the idea of a link between Usama bin Laden and Sadam Hussein. The American people felt justified going to war with Afghanistan because they were worked up with a fervor bent on an eye for an eye, they were raw and still bleeding. The Taliban was the enemy. The powers that be needed that extra ace to push a nation over the edge, they needed George Tenet’s proclaimed “Slam dunk”.

I can walk you through each one forward or backward, but I think you get it.

The 9/11 Truth movement is made up of an intelligent and diverse group of everyday people many of which you probably interact with unknowingly each day. Being a Truther simply means we have questions about the official conspiracy theory. You don’t have to believe 9/11 was an inside job to be a Truther. Polls reflect a country with questions about what really happened on Sept. 11th, 2001. It’s ok to ask questions. IF you want to know what happened on 9/11, you’re a Truther by default. Just accept it.

Publicizing Truths with Consequence, When Great Minds Think Alike

2008-01-29T21:02:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts - Piper MTR News

This weekend I attended the Publicizing Truths with Consequence media summit in Santa Cruz, CA representing MTR News Network; an event sponsored by Project Censored, 911Truth.org, and Be The Media. Turnout surpassed projected expectations 3 hours into the first day of this three day conference despite a winter storm that produced relentless rain and wind. At it’s high point there were upwards of 250+ people. The organizers adapted to the overflow and hosted a great event.

A pow-wow of sorts to brainstorm and put into action a more effective means of communicating to a public in desperate need of truth and substance. The event brought together an eclectic mix of concerned citizens, activists, and community writers as well as breaking news Bloggers like Brad Friedman of The BRAD BLOG. Award winning investigative journalists David Ray Griffin, Ray McGovern, and Bob Fritrakis mingled the room with Whistleblowers like Barbara Honegger and retired FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley. Doug Abort - a representative for the Kucinich campaign, Congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan, and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney also attended. All speakers, sponsors and organizers made themselves accessible in order to network, creating - maybe for the first time, a chain of media professionals that run from small town USA all the way to the influentials of DC. Speaking truth to power could get a little easier.

Fellow attendees Matt Sullivan, Editor of the Rock Creek Free Press in DC and Lenny Charles of the I.N.N. World Report said it best the first day of the summit.

Matt points out that,

“We control the web, but we are not powerful in the street”.

While Lenny brings it home with,

“It’s time to think outside the browser”.

With a participant list that reads like a virtual who’s who of today’s alternative media, this summit produced an inspired new army of motivated individuals ready to take on the challenge and rise above the corporate media. The theme seemed to be we are the new mainstream media and although workshop style gatherings were a bit disorganized most seemed to understand the theme and the need to find ways to apply it in their everyday lives.

OH-D Congressman Dennis Kucinich rallied the audience via a piped in conference call the first night emphasizing that,

“Independent media is critical” and the “Last best defense our Nation has” reminding us it is our civic duty as citizens of this democracy.

Coleen Rowley, retired FBI Special Agent stressed,

“I have heard every excuse in the book” for not trying.

She concluded that train of thought with a powerful call to action voiced by two little words when she said,

“Do something!”

Breaking off into affinity groups we learned the deeper meaning of communicating by listening and the importance of real news versus mere opinion. We were coached on identifying the propaganda and told by 25 yr CIA Veteran Ray McGovern that,

“We need to sensitize our co-ctizens” and “we have to speak truth to power” and that in order to do that, we need to,

“get them to identify” with our issues “by identifying theirs”.

Other tools were offered by David Mathison of Be The Media - who spoke on building community media, providing resource ideas and tips for doing so.

As invited guests MTR News Network was privileged to conduct many on and off camera interviews from this event, including a one- on - one with Cynthia McKinney, later pairing her with her long time friend and true Patriot Ray McGovern - who we learned is being treated for lymphoma and will be beginning chemo therapy soon. Stay tuned...

Inside Info on Inside Job?

2008-01-29T00:59:00.000-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News

For more than five years the US Government has kept former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds silent, feeding the flames of imagination and suspicion by many within the 911 Truth movement - particularly those who believe in the MIHOP or Made It Happen On Purpose theory. Gagged since Oct. of 2002 - by then Attorney General John Ashcroft, Sibel indeed has information this administration does not want us to know – as we are slowly discovering by ongoing reports from BRADBLOG and the UK Times. However, what remains to be seen is this; does Edmonds have any information that points to 911 being an Inside Job?

The secrecy surrounding her story has made it more secretive making many question whether the government had foreknowledge of the 911 attacks. This is sparked in part by what is known as the Phoenix Memo in addition to the suppression of her sworn deposition in the Burnett v. Al Baraka Investment & Dev. Corp. suit - filed by 600 families of victims of the September 11, 2001 crimes. These questions are further fueled by testimony of another 911 Whistleblower, retired FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley who in June of 2002 testified before the 911 Commission asserting the FBI mishandled information related to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Some activists believe Sibel’s information could give evidence to government foreknowledge and potentially point to direct government involvement and planning in the attacks.

I asked 911 Truth activist Nick Bakken from St. Paul, MN what has made him such a supporter of her gag being lifted,

“Well, I never expected her to say anything about 911 Truth, but the States Secret thing is a big deal to me” he explained and went on to say,

“I’m supportive of the gag being lifted because being gagged to protect criminals in our own country is not something anyone should support. The fact that we are infiltrated by moles makes me believe it would have been even easier for an Inside Job theory to be more fact than fiction”.

Brad Friedman of BRADBLOG was at a media conference I attended recently in Santa Cruz, CA. I had a little time to chat with him about Sibel, 911 Truth and the support truth activists rally around her. Understanding he couldn’t reveal any secrets to me I constructed a question whose answer I hope will solve some of the mystery.

I asked Brad if there was any indication Sibel had any kind of information or knowledge of 911 being an Inside Job based on his many discussions with her. In other words, should the Truth movement hold out hope Sibel can help them prove that theory to be true? His answer was an unequivocal,

“No.”

He said,

“In fact, I don’t think the 911 Truth movement is going to like what she has to say.”

The information that is slowly surfacing from Sibel may help provide more evidence of incompetence regarding the crimes that took place on 9/11. The information may also help build a legal foundation for a new investigation into those crimes later on. But, for now, it seems the gag has been in place because of what she knows about the selling of our countries nuclear secrets by the very people we elect and pay to protect us. Those same people that vote on war in our name against nations with nuclear potential and then sell the need for those wars to the American people.

If our government is selling nuclear secrets to other countries while engaged in a War on Terror with no boundaries and those nuclear secrets are used against us, isn’t that in itself an Inside Job?

Let Sibel Speak. If you haven’t already signed this petition now is the time. http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/LibertyCoalition/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1728&t=Liberty Coalition.dwt

6 Easy Ways to Save Money When You're Worried About a Recession

2008-01-21T22:50:00.002-08:00

By, Cheri Roberts-Piper

Save after the pump
Gas mileage drops as your speed increases. Drive the speed limit and you will save money and possibly lives. Every 5mph over 60mph you drive is like paying an extra dime a gallon, or more.

Bag it
Commit to bringing your lunch to work instead of eating out. Even if you eat lunch off the dollar menu every day chances are you are still spending at least three bucks a day, over a years time that adds up to almost $1,100.

3-way save
Lose that health club membership. You don’t need to go to a gym to exercise or work out. You can get an effective workout in your own home or neighborhood and if necessary, one time purchases on simple equipment will still allow you to save considerably over the years on membership fees not to mention the money you save in gas and time.

Check it out
Instead of buying books or renting movies, borrow them from the library, friends or family.

No charge
Use cash instead of credit. If you don’t have enough cash then you can’t have it. Use credit cards only for emergencies from here on out.

Time for change
Save your change in one place. Don’t lay change here and there around your home or vehicle. Instead have a jar in your entryway, bathroom or bedroom where you can drop your change at the end of the day. Commit to taking the jar and depositing the saved change into your savings acct once a month. It adds up, believe me.

Ava Lowery, Old Enough to Vote

2008-01-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

By Cheri Roberts-Piper

Last week - Seventeen-year-old peace powerhouse Ava Lowery, registered to vote in what will be her first presidential election. Ava has been galvanizing America’s youth for years and the 2008 election just may show how many of our country’s first time voters have been listening. With Ava’s eye and attention on presidential candidates John Edwards and Barak Obama you can be sure her followers are watching as well.

We came to know Ava years ago by her hard hitting, inspiring, and often excruciatingly graphic anti-war videos posted on youtube and other websites across the Internet. Ava’s videos on youtube alone receive many thousands of views from people of all parties and ages and have garnered the attention of media outlets like Mother Jones, Rolling Stone Magazine and CNN.

I asked Ava what she intends her videos to accomplish and who are they targeted at. Her response was simple and to the point,

"All of my videos are directed at educating people about the war. What they do with that information is all up to them. Hopefully my videos will cause some voters to think about the Iraq war and how it will be handled by the candidates they support when voting this year."

Peace Takes Courage - Ava’s main web presence, received 1.45 million hits last month alone while her newly launched Ava’s Army received more than 80,000 hits in its first month. With numbers like these one has to wonder if this young activist realizes the power she potentially wields on a whole new generation of America’s voters.

CA. Congressional Candidate and Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan – who has known Ava for some time, shared her thoughts with me regarding Ava entering the electorate for the first time,

"If young people followed Ava's lead in trying to make the world a better place, and if we have young leaders like her, I feel our world will be in great hands. Voting is only a small part of our part in democracy, but our votes have to be informed and intelligent, I am sure Ava will be an active participant in our democracy."

A Texas father – Steve Mauk, who has a daughter Ava’s age added,

“This election will be the first for my youngest daughter as well and she is eager to understand the platforms of the different candidates instead of just casting a party vote. It is great to see young people like her and Ava caring about our country and its future”.

I asked Ava how her documentary was coming along. She has been immersing herself and her life savings into a one on one approach with Veterans of the Iraq war preserving their thoughts upon returning from Iraq, and comparing those to their thoughts pre-deployment.

I had heard that - although not quite on the shelf, there was some delay in its completion due to dwindling funds. Ava agreed funds were definitely an issue and that she was at a bit of an impasse and needed help,

"Most of the filming for the documentary has been completed but we still have Veterans of the war that would like to be interviewed and to be a part of this film. We don't have the funds at this time though to conduct those interviews so we are trying to find a way to get the funds needed to finish filming."

She added,

"I believe this documentary will be an important piece that people should see”.

And when I asked why she felt it was important, her response once again hit home on how mature this young lady really is,

“Why? Because it is Veterans of the Iraq war talking about the war. No political pundits and no main stream media mouth pieces. Just people who have witnessed the war first hand and are speaking from their own experiences. I think most Americans want to support our troops. What better way to support them than to hear what they have to say?"

My final question was about what her own thoughts were as we begin the primaries and lead into the 2008 election and what being able to legally vote means to her. I couldn’t help but smile at her response,

"I'm excited to be able to vote for the first time because for a long time now I've been involved in politics without being able to vote. Now I think I can call myself a full fledged political junkie and activist."

Like she wasn’t already working for democracy full time?

She went on to add,

"If more young people voted, I believe there would be major change in this country. I hope that I will be in a large crowd of first time voters this year."

Just in the crowd? Somehow this writer thinks it will be Ava Lowery leading the crowd, straight to the polls this November.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_cheri_ro_080115_ava_lowery_2c_old_enou.htm

*If you would like to help Ava Lowery complete her documentary please go to her website where you will find details on her work and on how you can help.

Calling It Like It Is. Lies. Spin. Deception.

2008-01-15T11:31:00.001-08:00

by, Cheri Roberts-Piper

Today’s Yahoo headline says voters are more worried about the economy then the Iraq war http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080115/ts_csm/atalker;_ylt=AnF9LbBcq4MSwwMw9nfz7oOs0NUE and goes on to claim,

“Reduced violence in Baghdad has made Iraq seem a less pressing concern to many US voters.”

“Many US voters”…not most US voters, not the majority of US voters, just “many”. How many is “many”, and where did that come from that it can be stated as fact in a headline news story?

The only source I find in it is this,

“A CNN New Hampshire exit poll found that 97 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of Republicans expressed anxiety about the economy.”

The writer does not say what the poll question is or what the choices are nor does the writer link to the poll for the reader to see for himself or herself what the parameters are. It is a state poll not a US poll, but readers won’t notice beyond the headline that “Many US voters…”

This is exactly the sort of ownership the mainstream media has over the population.

I pose the question,

How does this compute to news? And, why wouldn’t the writer connect the economic dots to show how the economy woes are in direct relation to the war?

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_cheri_ro_080115_calling_it_like_it_i.htm

Attacking Richard Gage, AIA, and why it doesn’t work - Part 1

2008-01-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

by Cheri Roberts-Piper, MTR News
A new website was launched into cyber world aimed at debunking Richard Gage, AIA and the Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth. Voice Writer and Actor Joseph Nobles – better known as blogger Bolo Boffin, has decided to take on facts with his opinion once again and call it truth, this time attacking Richard Gage, AIA.

Prematurely launching his site before its completion, ae911truth.INFO is relatively bare except for some commentary directed at 28 slides from Richard Gage’s PowerPoint presentation on how and why the Towers fell on Sept. 11th, 2001. The site is laid out nicely, however the commentary is just that, opinionated commentary no different then found in an Op Ed . The commentary is presented to the world as if Mr. Bolo is some sort of authority on a parallel with Richard Gage, AIA and his peers. I guess as an Actor he is just playing the part, it makes one wonder though who pays him to take the stage.

Nobles’ rebuttal begins with slide one of Gage’s presentation where he focuses not on the content of slide one so much, but instead tries desperately to find ways in which to convince or warn the reader of Gage’s magical skills of mass hypnosis, or what he calls appeal to authority. Pointing out Gage’s use of the AIA logo and title – which by the way Gage has every right to use, Nobles asserts,

“Richard Gage is not engaging in his professional practice here. He is not dealing with the design or the livability of the World Trade Center complex. He is a part of a team that designs and builds buildings, and not part of a team that tears them down”.

Nobles wants the reader to believe that Gage has no experience with building structure, but that statement makes little sense to support that, and certainly proves no point let alone the one he is trying to make.

Like an attorney getting ready to sum up his case (his character changes often, try to keep up if you can) Nobles goes on to say,

“Therefore, whenever you see the AIA logo, remember that this is an attempt by Gage to enhance his authority to speak about something he has no expertise in. He is propping himself up with this trade association. Don't be fooled”.

He follows that by labeling ae911truth members as conspiracy theorists and says they are not a professional group, but an advocacy group. Maybe he should have said they were advocacy group of professionals? Nah, that would be asking too much of a professional debunker to debunk his own bunk now wouldn’t it?

By using fancy terms like Appeal to Authority, Argument ad Populum, and
Affirming the Consequent Nobles tries to sound authoritative regarding Gage’s credentials, research, evidence and his cause. He even appeals to his readers by complimenting Gage on a personal level by saying,

“Richard Gage is a mild-mannered, likable person. He generates a great deal of sympathy as a speaker because of this. He seems genuine to me in his desire to see justice done for the 9/11 attacks. Therefore, the best I can say for him is that he is terribly misguided”.

Sounds kind of sweet doesn’t it?

Don’t be fooled by the sugar coated venom because what most of his readers don’t or wont know, is on Jan. 1st, 2008 – the day he launched the sight, he also had this to say about his shiny new site, Richard Gage and the ae911truth colleagues,

“This one is my very own. I noticed that Richard Gage and his gang of fruit loops weren't using the domain name ae911truth.info, so I am.

I'm working on it slowly, very slowly. I'm only up to 28 slides out of over 300 hundred in that wretched PowerPoint of his. However, I was contacted by someone who knows Gage. I evidently popped up in a search engine. The gig is up, so the doors are open to the public.

Unlike Gage, I have no plans to plead for your money. Please save it for more worthy causes than myself. Enjoy!”.
*Source: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/boloboffin boloboffin's journal

This self-proclaimed debunker has zero credentials, training, or professional experience on the subject of Richard Gage’s research let alone any authority to pass himself off as if he does by mere expression and conjecture. He is quite simply an Actor on a self-erected stage continuing the monologue people have been ignoring. The only thing he is an authority on is self-promotion like the big bolo, bolo tube, and the best of bolo. If this is the best of bolo, Gage and his crew have nothing to worry about.
*Source: Bolo Boffin Blog http://boloboffin.blogspot.com/ and
Everything in the known universe about boloboffin http://technorati.com/people/technorati/boloboffin

To be continued - this is part 1 in a series…

Truth Squaded!

2007-12-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

An Encounter with Rep. Henry Waxman
by, Cheri Roberts-Piper, MTR News

Thursday night Rep. Henry Waxman walked into a crowded room of concerned constituents and citizens - after what had reportedly already been a trying day. The longtime and much loved Congressman got a little more than he bargained for. Waxman was met in a small community room at the Westside Pavilion Landmark Theater building in Santa Monica, CA, by more than a hundred people, most of whom appeared to be there to discuss and press for the impeachment of both President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Waxman’s more than 30-minute speech focussed on health care, corrupt charities, rampant steroid use in major league baseball, and he touched lightly with pride on the fact that Congress had just passed the Whistle Blower Protection Act. He clearly stated with regard to any impeachment bill that his opinion differed from those in the room and that he would not support such hearings nor would he entertain a new 911 investigation because it would look bad for the Democratic Party. When the disagreeing crowd interrupted his speech at that point, Waxman, who was clearly agitated and sounding almost childish said,

"Hey this is not right, the way you are treating me".

As We Are Change LA’s Adam Ruff put it,

"He nearly cracked completely a couple times. He apparently wants to continue to ignore the will of the people and wants to be respected for that".

Later, when the audience was allowed to ask questions they lined the center isle for their turn to speak. From the beginning Waxman was bombarded with question after question about Sibel Edmonds – the gagged FBI Whistleblower, WTC7 and other issues related to the crimes of 911. These questions came from We Are Change LA members who had dispersed into the audience and appeared to be coming from everywhere - even the cameraman at the event, Drew Piper, was a founding member of the Change LA group.

Congressman Waxman, you have just been Truth Squaded!

The questions ranged from why the Congressman refuses to have Sibel Edmonds testify under oath in an open session to when will Congress open a new 911 investigation - while also hitting hard on HR 1955. Waxman was obviously caught off guard and cornered with little to say on those issues. Even the forum’s host and moderator, Mickey Oskey - of the Democratic Westside Progressives, tried without luck, to stop the bombardment. No less than six We Are Change LA members were able to get their hard-hitting questions heard before the Congressman had to leave.

At the end of the night I asked core Change LA members Katy Kurtzman - whose question was about the new Thought Crime Bill HR 1955, and Jeremy Rothe-Kushel what they were walking away with from this experience.

Katy was the first to respond,

"What I find most striking is he (Waxman) admitted to not reading HR 1955 at all before signing it. I mean, that just really struck me hard, that and also the fact that he is obviously ok with fascism and treason in our country because according to him it would hurt the Democratic Party if he were to press any line of impeachment".

When Kurtzman asked her question during the Q & A, the Congressman readily admitted to not having read HR 1955 and went on to admonish the audience for not alerting him personally that there was any controversy surrounding the Bill. Anonymously from the audience came the response that Waxman had no right to sign anything pertaining to the American people without first reading and understanding what he was signing.

While as Jeremy, Change member and founder of Jewish Voices for Peace and Justice, said he got what he had expected to get and that,

"He (Waxman) confirmed for me what I was already thinking about the democratic leadership at this point, that they’re just playing politics with peoples lives and with what is right and wrong. The fact that the congress has a lower approval rating then the worst President in US history is proof that this strategy of theirs is neither moral nor politically savvy".

As Waxman exited the community room, Change members were waiting for him on the catwalk, with camera rolling. Followed by his entourage, Waxman walked away only to stop abruptly, arms spread wide in question and turn to this writer with obvious discomfort and ask,

"Why are you following me?"

To which I replied,

"Because the exits that way Sir…"

*Sibel Edmonds - pronounced Si-bell, testified under oath before Congress about foreknowledge of the attacks of Sep. 11th, 2001 by government higher ups as translated while the FBI employed her. Sibel has been gagged from speaking about this and other evidence, by the US Government with threat of incarceration and is a champion to the 911 Truth movement.

Rep. Henry Waxman

2007-12-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

I attended a Town Hall style meeting with Rep. Henry Waxman last night. We got everything on camera. Stay tuned...

Adding By Subtracting

2007-12-26T10:21:00.001-08:00

One thing the other side does most effectively is to frame how they portray the Truth Movement deciding what our soundbyte will be and then they repeat it, over and over. That’s a typical marketing maneuver, frequency sells. The more time someone hear/sees something, the more likely that something will be ingrained in their mind as fact. The other side also takes bits and pieces of still disputable data from our message and highlights it to make us less credible.

For instance, let’s take Larry Silverstien and his controversial “pull it” statement. Of course I and many like myself believe he is indeed saying “Pull it” defined by controlled demolition, but because we cannot - beyond a reasonable doubt, prove that to be true, it can sometimes make our message less credible when we use it. The absolute best and irrefutable evidence we have for an inside job is the fact that no plane – or anything else hit World Trade Center 7. There was no jet fuel, there was minimal fire, and there is still no report as promised by the 911 Commission. Since the official hypothesis for the collapses - of WTC’s 1 & 2, are do to jet fuel fires, let’s run with that regarding WTC7. Why do we need to grasp onto and project the more circumstantial evidence of a statement when we have physical evidence of the crime?

The above is strong enough evidence for a new investigation and that needs to be acknowledged by the American people. The rest of the world understands it, what’s stopping mainstream America from understanding it? I really think it goes back to that marketing maneuver I was talking about.

We need to drop the more controversial and circumstantial aspects of our repertoire in the language we use. In doing so we give them only solid facts to debate us with. Who cares if Silverstien said, “Pull it” when we can’t definitively prove it? They care, and they use it against us as if we are grasping at straws of evidence. We don’t need to grasp at straws. We have Truth and WTC7 on our side. We need to use the same marketing ploys they do. We need to unify the message, trim the fat from the edges and repeat the message over and over. By subtracting the easily debatable stuff, we add to our credibility as a movement.

Cowards, Slackers, and Stars; the 911 Truth Collective

2007-12-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

Many years ago I stumbled across something that was so horrific I couldn’t contain my thoughts and feelings on what I had discovered. I was overwhelmed with the need to talk about it. And you know, since then, that feeling hasn’t gone away. The power of a cause is too simple a definition to put on how I feel about 911 because I don’t look at the issues surrounding it as a cause. It’s not a cause, it’s a crime scene in need of protection at the same time in need of exposure. I look at it with urgency, driven by a dire feeling in my gut. Move over Chertoff, my gut talks too and it’s growing louder.

The Truth movement has been a series of battles with little triumph, with most of those battles taking place on the inside, within our own ranks and our own minds. A turf war of sorts maybe? I get the feeling we are unknowingly and sometimes knowingly fighting each other, I have yet to discover what the prize of winning that fight would be. It’s a strange dynamic when you take a bunch of enlightened, astounded, talented, and pissed off people and put them together fighting for some righteous stake in history.

What started as a small number of people openly questioning the events of September 11th, 2001 has grown into countless groups and individuals - not just across the country, but across the world. In fact many of the Truth groups outside of the US began before many if not most of the groups inside the US. The reality of this growth however, is that it has caused us fragmentation not cohesion. Instead of new groups forming due to growth factors and need, new groups have formed over relationships and growing pains within the movement. Ill feelings, misunderstandings, disagreements and starmanship have all played their parts in this fragmental process. It is almost as if we stopped feeding off of our desire to invoke Truth and began to feed off of each other in a frenzy to be the next best thing. The next cool kids for the camera.

I have serious issues with the truth movement, not as a whole, but with different aspects of the whole. Here comes the rant, I won’t apologize though, as I believe what I have to say is long over due in being said. I believe if people would be open to the message I hope to impart, cohesion can come of it and egos and fear can be set aside. I can only hope I say the right things in the right order so that we can move forward in our mission, together.

I have issues with those who desire and strive to make money off of being a Truther. If you sell something for a cause and say the proceeds are going to a charity, they damn well better go to that charity. It should also be made clear how much of the profits actually go to said charity and how much stays in the coffers and what exactly it will be used for. Accountability. We expect it from this Government, we should demand it from ourselves. Understandably, it is fair to recoup our own hard costs, but when we begin making it a business we have failed. Our “business” is Truth, remember? Let us not forget.

Another thing that really rubs me the wrong way is this leeriness amongst us. We have every reason to be wary, but we also need to not cross the lines into outright paranoia. We have become our own worst enemy, who needs to worry about Big Brother watching when the Truth movement is so stalled by our own inability and refusal to work together in an open and cohesive manner? Who are you? Do you have a name and face to the movement? Unlikely as most Truthers hide in the anonymity of the Internet, afraid for whatever reasons to let their names or faces be known. How does that strengthen us? Have we become hundreds of secret societies under the umbrella of the Truth movement? We do not need to disassociate ourselves from each other just because there is no unified agreement on the “how and who” of 911. Instead, we need to combine our strength and associate ourselves with each other under the common message of 911 Truth which in itself merely means that we want answers to our questions.

Do you have any idea how many of us there are? No one does. Do you know why? The answer to that is obvious. Fear. Get over it. There is nothing to fear from each other, nor is there anything to fear from outing yourselves in the public eye. How can we expose 911 Truth if we do not expose ourselves? Visibility keeps us safe. It is a part of our strength. It is also the only way to grow in a fluid manner versus this sluggish piece meal growth we have been experiencing. I am proud to be a 911 Truther. I do not hide. Additionally I have no need to be a star in this effort and if you do then you need to ask yourself why and then ask how you being a star is going to make our world one of Truth, ultimately generating the justice we all wish to see. A collective has no leader. A collective is a team. The movement itself is the coach.

www.unitedfor911truth.com

www.peopleshouse.us

911, Is it something we said?

2007-12-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Not likely, but either way we lost them. Why?

When I was a kid my mom used to say,
“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”.
With that in mind, could we have said it another way? Is there a better way, a better language for some? Do we need to wrap the truth of 911 in a piece of bread so the kids can swallow it without them choking on “911 Was an Inside Job”? Can we break it down to digestible pieces that don’t overwhelm and require little more than absorption by the receiver? I think we can.

Often times I believe we are in such a rush to spread the Truth we don’t take the few seconds involved to discern who it is we are talking to and then gauge how to effectively talk to them.

I have a key chain that says,
“Hurry, your first impression is almost up”.
I live by that so let’s start there.

Many of us encounter people and willingly bring up the subject of 911 – not always receptively, nearly everywhere we go, whether it is an organized action or a trip to the grocery store, we just have to talk about it. If we can acknowledge we have less than sixty seconds to connect with an individual, and engage them, how would we do it?

I look at this like a job interview. You walk into a would be boss’s office and what do you do? If you are like me, you take inventory the minute your eyes can see through the door. You begin categorizing what you see and mentally filing it away. It could be a framed photo of a child, an award, or even clutter on a desk. These to me are clues and tools. I use every appropriate piece of visual information to my advantage in that interview allowing me to quickly weave a thread of common ground that gives me an edge.

We can apply this method to meeting someone on the street, at a store or anywhere and bringing up 911. We all have something in common with one another and in sixty seconds or less we can find that commonality. This can level the playing field because you are not coming at them with dire facts that they weren’t expecting, nor are you hitting them with an aggressive anger they do not understand. Instead, you are commenting on the fact that you too have a 3 yr old, or that you too looked at that magazine rack, but didn’t want to spend the extra money for a copy of the latest Readers Digest. These are conversation starters that put you on the same human level as the person you are engaging. Where the conversation goes from there is up to you. How hard would it be to jump from; not wanting to waste extra money on a magazine, to the outdated/untrue content of the magazine, to using the Internet as a resource and on over to 911? Not very.

By the time they don’t like what you say, they already like you.