READER COMMENTS ON

"SIBEL EDMONDS: In Congress We Trust...Not"

(117 Responses so far...)





COMMENT #1 [Permalink]

... Sibel said on 5/4/2009 @ 2:34 pm PT...





The op-ed came to life with these pictures. Thank you for all your support, Brad and the team!

COMMENT #2 [Permalink]

... cann4ing said on 5/4/2009 @ 2:49 pm PT...





The Giraldi quote ["Edmonds's claims have never been pursued, presumably because there are so many skeletons in both parties' closets..."]goes much deeper than the sordid affairs of Hastert and Harmon. It helps to explain a reluctance to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the government's involvement in torture that goes back more than 50 years. There are, indeed, a lot of skeletons to unearth. Thank you so much Sibel for this excellent piece and for the integrity you long-ago displayed in stepping forward when so many others who saw what was happening and knew it was wrong, put career and self first. Ernest A. Canning

COMMENT #3 [Permalink]

... Konstantin said on 5/4/2009 @ 2:56 pm PT...





Obviously it's blackmail. That much we know. But who in Congress will have the courage and the integrity to still speak out despite the blackmail?

COMMENT #4 [Permalink]

... ajeffersonian said on 5/4/2009 @ 2:58 pm PT...





What a great OpEd! It gets right to the heart of so much that is wrong in our government. All we usually hear - depending on whether we are on a "left" leaning or "right" leaning site is that all the ills are directly caused by the other. This piece puts it in perspective. BOTH sides are culpable; BOTH sides have corruption; BOTH sides have those who work for their own selfish interests. It is going to be interesting to see whether this piece is reviewed objectively, as it was obviously written. Good work, Sibel & Brad

COMMENT #5 [Permalink]

... Sibel said on 5/4/2009 @ 3:02 pm PT...





Konstantin,unfortunately even those who are 'clean' tend to choose 'protect your fellow' route, rather than doing the right thing-their job.

COMMENT #6 [Permalink]

... gravel kucinich paul nader said on 5/4/2009 @ 3:33 pm PT...





911 Sham? AIPAC Bankers? Israel-first, dual-national? Extortion, blackmail, & bribery?

COMMENT #7 [Permalink]

... gavbrown said on 5/4/2009 @ 3:38 pm PT...





Sibel, I have been following your case since I first saw it on this blog. Not all of America is unaware of you. This is an important column you've written here, one which should be on the home page of every newspaper website in America. Shout it on the mountaintops. Let's get this puppy on Huffpo and get Arianna to talk about it. Let's get Sibel on Bill Maher.

COMMENT #8 [Permalink]

... lottakatz said on 5/4/2009 @ 3:50 pm PT...





Thank you so much for this op-ed. It gives credence to some of our worst fears but reassures us that we are not all 'just' suspicious and paranoid. There are too many overlapping scandals on the one hand and failures to pursue them for happenstance to be at work. I will go farther- into crazy territory for which I expect only ridicule. If the whole system is a house of cards, predicated on everyone keeping silent for fear any one actual investigation will bring it down because it is so pervasive and, over time intertwined and incestuous; how then is this miasma of corruption protected against the honorable public servant like Paul Wellstone or a 3rd party that blunders into the milieu like the DC Madame, Deborah Jeane Palfrey? Just how far is this criminal enterprise willing to go to protect itself? Is there another dot that needs to be connected?

COMMENT #9 [Permalink]

... hearya said on 5/4/2009 @ 4:04 pm PT...





Sibel, you are a blessed thorn in the side of "crusty charlatans". Keep writing.

Jane Harman's congressional seat must topple, and I hope Marcy Winograd takes another shot at it.

COMMENT #10 [Permalink]

... slapbangwallah said on 5/4/2009 @ 4:29 pm PT...





...absolutely, LOTTAKATZ. How about John Kennedy, Jr.? In fact, how about his dad? And his uncle? These are criminals, period. But when you have foxes guarding the hen house, what do you expect? I'm afraid the only event in our future will be the criminals doing something so stupid that the place will be wiped out. I think it's time to leave.

COMMENT #11 [Permalink]

... Cheryl said on 5/4/2009 @ 4:31 pm PT...





Thanks so much for this update Sibel and Brad! I was looking for any recent information just yesterday regarding your case. How disappointing to hear about the 2007 discussion with the Waxman staff person and your case going forward. I'm so sorry. Keep up the good work and I will do my part and share this article.

COMMENT #12 [Permalink]

... Konstantin said on 5/4/2009 @ 4:32 pm PT...





Sibel,

yes I understand what you mean by "even those who are 'clean' tend to choose 'protect your fellow' route"

but what I meant is sometimes even the individuals that have skeletons in their closet find the courage to say to themselves enough is enough and do the right thing even if it damages their careers or incriminates them. I was and till am hoping there still are such individuals in Congress who have the decency and courage and respect the American people enough to do the right thing.

COMMENT #13 [Permalink]

... ajeffersonian said on 5/4/2009 @ 5:45 pm PT...





KONSTANTIN: I believe that that there are still those in Congress who are decent enough, but I do think they lack the courage needed to go up against their not-so-clean colleagues. And I agree with Sibel that we need wholesale changes - not just a few here and there. How to make that happen? Wish I knew.

COMMENT #14 [Permalink]

... RH said on 5/4/2009 @ 5:57 pm PT...





I'm always pleased to hear anything from Sibel Edmonds. I only wish she would make a complete disclosure on a public website about her total experience. Mrs. Edmonds is a true American hero, a very rare commodity these days!

COMMENT #15 [Permalink]

... Sibel said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:07 pm PT...





"How to make that happen? Wish I knew" We all do.

Let’s take a look at the recent presidential race: Out of desperation, many bought into words-empty & hollow words, but not the facts right before our eyes. I am not going to even bother mention McCain- just way too obvious. But in case of the then Presidential Candidate Obama: why did many totally disregard his track record? Whether on secrecy, immunity to Telecom, national security whistleblowers, …(I can list many many more issues): he was either on the wrong side, or, cowardly, no side. Why do we expect miracles? A man who never stood up to any of those horrendous abuses of the Bush Administration, not even once, is suddenly makes promises of ‘change’ and sells it. Let’s look at the representatives: while all the polls show the lack of trust/approval, the same people keep getting elected. Years after years after years. We heard all the loud screams on, let’s take, Pelosi, and guess what? She was reelected. The MSM plays a big role in determining the ‘visible’ candidates. They put forth the two sides of the same dirty coin, so no matter how many times we toss we get the same ‘head’ ‘head.’ Any candidate of ‘real change’ gets to be represented by the MSM as either a ‘ga ga’ or an ‘extremist,’ or ‘whatever.’ The safe bet would be: pick a candidate covered least or none by the MSM. I know it sounds outrageous, but this is how I view it;-) I am open to others’ views/suggestions on this…

COMMENT #16 [Permalink]

... Konstantin said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:15 pm PT...





Sibel, ajeffersonian, and others,

An organization called the "Campaign for Liberty", also sometimes called C4L for short, has managed to motivate many people into a grass roots movement that is very active in creating real change. Building on the widespread appeal of Ron Paul during his presidential campaign, they have managed to turn that energy into a grass roots movement. This is from one of their handouts:

"Gain a foothold in political life at every level of government by expanding our precinct

leader program." They are GOP, but not like some of the current corrupt members of Congress. The point I'm trying to make is that C4L has started and is successfully implementing the type of change in government at all levels that Sibel has mentioned. So there is hope for this type of grass roots approach and the C4L demonstrates that people are aware of the corruption and they want change and are getting involved and it can work. If you're curious what they've done so far and how they achieved it their website is: http://www.campaignforliberty.com

COMMENT #17 [Permalink]

... One Fly said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:19 pm PT...





What a nice surprise to see this as it's been such a long time. There are many who know your story well and have not forgotten. You are one of my heros!

COMMENT #18 [Permalink]

... ajeffersonian said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:24 pm PT...





Sibel:

You always make me stop and think. You are of course very correct that by the time we get to the polls, the real choices have already been made, and not by the voters. How do we change that? Again, I really don't know. I think I know what should be done, but expect that the chances are slim to none. Elections should be completely publicly financed; that way a candidate does not have to start out by immediately selling out to the money-men, the AIPACs, those who get their hooks into anyone accepting their "donations". We just had a vivid demonstration in the Harman case of what happens then. KONSTANTIN

I am somewhat familiar with C4L from following Ron Paul's activities, and I applaud what they are trying to do. Time will tell whether they really can go up against entrenched money successfully.

COMMENT #19 [Permalink]

... bb said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:30 pm PT...





Is there a formal organization within Congress that acts like its "Inspector General"? I'll look into this.

COMMENT #20 [Permalink]

... NoOneYouKnow said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:31 pm PT...





Thank you, Sibel. You truly deserve the Medal of Freedom; sad that it's been so debased these past eight and more years.

I'll go farther than Lottakatz: I have no doubt that certain deaths have been far too convenient to be accidental. In fact, Russ Baker's just published a great book, 'Family of Secrets,' that details the Bush family's decades-long involvement with deaths of this kind. Not to mention a lot of other crimes.

At this point, I feel like it's not a case of everyone knowing where everyone else has buried their skeletons. I feel like the representative and executive branches, and much of the judicial branch, now rest on nothing but skeletons, and the whole mausoleum is creaking and swaying.

Sibel's right. The kind of change necessary to recover our country will have to come from without, because our government is too systemically corrupt to do anything but keep gorging itself until nothing's left but ruination and pig sh*t.

All that's left is to take action.

COMMENT #21 [Permalink]

... bb said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:33 pm PT...





I know of a former senior staff person at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, who had been the top staff person dedicated to money laundering issues. His name left the masthead of the Fed's monthly 'Federal Reserve Bulletin" in August 2001, having left the Fed for Citigroup in mid-2001. I had seen him give a talk on money laundering issues a few years earlier, and I remembered his talk for being curious a bit becuase his first slide listed a number of crimes and the number of times there were convictions or arrests for a group of people, and then he asked the audience, a group of bankers, who they thought the group was. It was Congress. I wondered why he did that at the outset of the talk, and over time wondered if he was trying to show how he had the goods on people.

COMMENT #22 [Permalink]

... Agent 99 said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:39 pm PT...





...kind of change necessary to recover our country will have to come from without... An invasion by China? Space aliens?

COMMENT #23 [Permalink]

... ajeffersonian said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:45 pm PT...





BB:

Maybe he was trying to tell the bankers that they didn't have to worry about their own illegal activities, since Congress's record was worse. After all, he went to CitiGroup.

COMMENT #24 [Permalink]

... bb said on 5/4/2009 @ 6:57 pm PT...





AJEFFERSONIAN --- it could be nothing; spurious correlations. Or not.

COMMENT #25 [Permalink]

... Archie1954 said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:16 pm PT...





Sibel could do her adopted country a very good deed by becoming an expatriot and living elsewhere thereby freeing herself up to tell everything from a to z. Spill the beans, let the fallout be spread around the world. The traitors in the US government have to be stopped no matter who they are or who they know and she may be the one to stop them.

COMMENT #26 [Permalink]

... blubonnet said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:20 pm PT...





Too bad there wasn't total nationwide refusal to pay them. WE are paying them to screw us over. Hmmm. Could they arrest millions of people? When the truth about 9-11-01 comes out, and after the recent push by Richard Gage with Architects and Engineers, and other such organizations, there IS going to be another investigation. There are enough signatures now. New York will have it on the ballot. Most people already know the 911Commission Report was not only absurd, and at least 2/3 (old poll concluded that, and there are more aware now even) of NYC knows it, which is why there will be another investigation, but when this breaks, who knows what will happen? How can we continue to pay these people, this government?

COMMENT #27 [Permalink]

... karen said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:25 pm PT...





Sibel: Thanks so much for your op ed. I already knew what you are saying, but somehow it gets lost and drowned out by MSM, thanks for reminding us. While people intuitively sense they are being screwed by their politicians, they really don't have mainstream, common knowledge, concrete corruption examples, just policy failures. So it seems we usually blame it on the other party. Having more facts on the actual corruption on both sides is the only way for us to make any progress in addressing this rather than just flopping from hte "left" to "right", election after election. I believe real change can happen when people are conscious of what is happening. Your courage, persistance, and reporting go a long way towards helping with that. Thank you so much for all you have done and all you are doing.

COMMENT #28 [Permalink]

... TrustKeeper said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:28 pm PT...





The evidence before us argues for a full investigation that allows Sibel Edmonds finally to tell the whole story, in all of the details.

COMMENT #29 [Permalink]

... ArchiCoot said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:49 pm PT...





I've been hoping to hear from Sibel Edmonds again for some time.

When part 3 in the London Times never happened I wondered if she was disappeared. Congress is broken and has been for some time.

What really needs to happen to begin to clean up Congress is to take the need to raise money for campaigning away from elected officials.

We also need to teach and impart ethics throughout our educational system and through community discussions.

COMMENT #30 [Permalink]

... Ken said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:54 pm PT...





One of the big problems in all this is the rank partisanship, from both sides, that prevent people from seeing though the facade of our 'two party' regime. Congress has been controlled mostly by Democrats and the Presidency has been controlled mostly by Republicans for the past 50 years, but barring a few minor differences, both sides have essentially the same policies. I think part of the problem now is that many of the 'Progressives' who latched on to Sibel Edmonds back during the Bush years are so sure that this was just more Evil Republican Tricks that they can't get their head around why everything didn't turn up roses as soon as Obama was elected. The answer is that Obama is one of them. Indeed, most of Washington D.C.,of either party, is "one of them." "Progressives," who spend their lives pining for new and bigger government programs, have never understood what Lord Acton wrote in 1887, that "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." And yes, that includes "Progressives." Ken

COMMENT #31 [Permalink]

... Cascadiance said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:54 pm PT...





Sibel, Once again you are the voice more Americans need to hear, which is why the powers that be keep trying to find ways to confine it. Obama champions himself as a leader that will do what the people want, and that is how change will happen. I think what he needs to realize though, that for this to effectively happen that one thing that he really needs to do unilaterally and not wait for us to tell him, is to fix the media situation. We currently have a media so broken, as you point out, that communication between Obama and the people is uselessly corrupted. We have to find a better way of communicating the REAL issues to the people, so we can have a more informed populace that is capable of offering opinions in an informed fashion of what should be done. AND we need a better way for Obama to hear what the people themselves want. The polling, etc. that the media runs today is so lame in terms of really getting to the bottom of how people really feel about what's needed. Otherwise, we'd have things like single payer health care, to someone else besides Timothy Geitner in his cabinet. As AJeffersonian pointed out, we also need public campaign financing too as a root of a lot of the other problems of influence peddling that is so cancerous right now. Perhaps one thing we can do now is lobby HEAVILY for a candidate to replace Souter that is a constitutionalizt in the sense of not going after abortion, but to go after the real "judicial activist" ruling (er make that court clerk activist ruling of "corporate personhood". WE definitely need to get Russell Feingold or others on the Judicial Committee to ask questions regarding this. Someone I think that might make a good nominee to campaign for might be Erwin Chemerinsky, who's a great constitutional scholar, and also has a ruling in the Nike case with an opinion against the legitimacy of "corporate free speech". If we can find some way to get Chemerinsky and more like him later when other nominations re made to replace folk like Ruth Bader Ginsberg, then perhaps that would be a good start towards invalidating corporate "free speech rights" which stand in the way towards comprehensive public campaign financing, etc. Folks on SCOTUS would be harder for the likes of AIPAC lobbies to buy off.

COMMENT #32 [Permalink]

... Julie said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:56 pm PT...





I had been thinking about you a lot when the Harman story hit and then disappeared along with the Aipac investigation. Yes, I had no great faith in Obama given his record, but what was the alternative? McCain, Palin? The media totally marginalized Kucinich and Paul. We have to back Common Cause to have public-funded elections, there is no other way. The rot is intractible.

COMMENT #33 [Permalink]

... Ogmios said on 5/4/2009 @ 7:58 pm PT...





So we are all watching the great rape of our worlds as all lean on each other. None can escape. What thing is it that gives this evil mindset to men and women.

It can all be summed up by one question. Why do I as a human with my life/god given rights have to pay for land? This is where it starts and builds from there. Yeah sure pay for the building, but who owns the land? A. We do. So why am I paying someone else for my land? A. You are being raped from birth. When people take it on themselves to understand just what money really is then we may get somewhere. So to all the idiots, this. Money is a measure of your claim on society. It is where the spiritual and physical worlds collide, for it requires trust. Unless the money itself is of value ie Gold Vs Paper ( Fiat ) currency. Then no trust is needed. When you run a paper currency supposedly backed by a countries industrial and populaced strength with interest then you are open to missrepresentation of the real value of said wealth, I use todays world as evidence of this. You are able to be swindled that little more easily and that is what has happened. We do not need reserve banks to print our money and we do not need interest. Without interest I put it to you that the money lords will lose all their power, power that you ignorantly give them as atested by your granparents submission, now laying at your feet. Now making their lives and deaths insignificant as to will yours be unless you smarten up.

COMMENT #34 [Permalink]

... SJPerdue said on 5/4/2009 @ 8:07 pm PT...





Sibel,

I am an optimist at heart. The corruption we see in our congress is outrageous. This country and this government are on the brink of a major upheaval. The very medium that brought your article to me will make the status quo in Washington very hard to maintain. The internet is scaring the hell out of our elected officials. Keep up the good work. I appreciated reading you piece.

COMMENT #35 [Permalink]

... ExposeTheIsraelLobby said on 5/4/2009 @ 8:12 pm PT...





Thank you Sibel! It's about time to shine a little sunlight on AIPAC and their bought-and-paid-for mouthpieces in both parties. Philip Weiss is a self described anti-Zionist covering the current AIPAC conference, check out his blog @ philipweiss.org Listen to Phil discuss the War for Israel agenda:

antiwar.com/radio/2008/07/12/philip-weiss/

antiwar.com/radio/2009/03/18/philip-weiss-2/

antiwar.com/radio/2009/04/30/philip-weiss-3/

COMMENT #36 [Permalink]

... FreedomOfInformationAct said on 5/4/2009 @ 8:12 pm PT...





Dick Cheney, karl Rove and the neocon NSA/DOJ are behind the blatant blackmailing of the congress to prevent impeachment and indictments for war crimes of the treasonous bush administration. Time for Dennis Kucinich to again stand before congress and call for hearings against bush and cheney!

COMMENT #37 [Permalink]

... molecule said on 5/4/2009 @ 8:49 pm PT...





At the deepest level, Congress is controlled by Zionist-run pedophile rings. Look underneath the crisscrossing flows of illusory monies, and claims of dual citizenship (lol), and you will see a network for trafficking in children (and secondarily drugs). The kidnapped children are used as sex slaves for Zionist blackmail operations. Gay Edgar Hoover was doubtless blackmailed as well, though he tried to return the favor. I believe Mark Glenn and Mike Rivero got the Harmon schmozzle right, when they proposed that the release of the Harman tapes was done to prevent prosecution of the arrested AIPAC spies, and prevent embarrassment of Israel. They argue that the release of the Harman-AIPAC tape was orchestrated by AIPAC (the accused). It was designed as a shot across the bow of the FBI agents who were prosecuting the two high level officers of AIPAC ... for espionage. The Harmon "sample" was "put out there," as an example of the kind of "blowback" that one should expect to see, if the AIPAC officers were prosecuted. This was all just weeks before Netahyahoo (sp?) is scheduled to come DC, doubtless to blackmail President Obama, who probably needs no more blackmailing than Bush or Clinton did.

COMMENT #38 [Permalink]

... Truer Wordscouldntbesaid said on 5/4/2009 @ 9:01 pm PT...





{Ed Note: Vile racist garbage deleted at the discretion of the owner of this blog. Knock it off, grow up, or stay the hell away. Thanks. - BF}

COMMENT #39 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/4/2009 @ 9:44 pm PT...





I thought Sibel Edmonds situation would be buried forever, I should have known Brad will never let it go. As far as what to do to fix the "Situation In America 2009?" 1. All electronic vote tabulation devices, and electronic voter registration devices got to be outlawed from the top down nationally. A much more serious punishment for election crimes and fraud, "like death." (because your choice to commit crimes to place leaders who cause our son's and daughters death--it's that serious.) 2.

a.) The Corporate media be stripped of their press passes when dealing with elections. (You want to make a profit, don't do it with our elections. No more of this Whitehouse press corps crap. Get a bigger place than that stupid ass 200+ year old building, that only has seating for the same pieces of crap. We need new faces, real questions and answers. You want to cover our elections, do it non-profit, you don't need a press pass, your no better than I am even though your ego tells you you are elite. I ought to be able to fly to Washington DC and attend every press conference coming from my government, no lottery for spots, punishment for uncomfortable questions, and no pre-screened questions!)

b.) Force them to make their public file available online and accessible to all US Citizens and Citizens of all it's districts and territories. (Sick of town hall meetings? Lies? Spin? Blacklisted stories? Revoke their station license, and frequency renewal.)

c.) FCC needs to be run by engineers, not politics and fascism. No longer allow this position to be an appointed position with no public oversight. 3. The United States Constitution must be restored. Those who violated their oath of office jailed. Unconstitutional laws rescinded. 4. The "Federal Reserve" must be re-worked with only upstanding people running it. Or it must be deactivated altogether. You wear two hats, or revolving doors and your gone for life! 5. No more bailouts. PERIOD. And those bailed out, should now be owned by we the people --- not the government, not the treasury! WE pay for it, we own it. Or cram down.

COMMENT #40 [Permalink]

... blubonnet said on 5/4/2009 @ 9:47 pm PT...





Sibel Edmonds, the one with the spirit and guts of what representation of real genuine Character is with a capital C, just look at her strength and defiance of the ugliest side of traditionalisms. Roses should be thrown! Sibel Edmonds, you are ahead of your time. On the scale of the finest in humanity's evolution, you are in the highest percentile. You represent humanity in its most radiant. Many thanks.

COMMENT #41 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/4/2009 @ 9:49 pm PT...





Israeli Wiretappers, the NSA, and 9/11: Are Members of the U.S. Govt Being Blackmailed by Israel and Others via Wiretaps? http://bigdanblogger.blo...ers-nsa-and-911-are.html

COMMENT #42 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/4/2009 @ 9:55 pm PT...





...everything above, and we torture people, too. Americans don't want to face it, but we are torturers. As bad as rape, etc...how bad is torture? Neither party will pursue prosecuting torture, for all the above reasons given why neither party will pursue wiretapping and blackmail. Blackmail explains a lot of congress' actions that are otherwise unexplainable. The media is totally complicit.

COMMENT #43 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/4/2009 @ 9:57 pm PT...





Does that Israeli wiretapping link I put above, explain why we seem to care more about Israel than about us? Because our govt is being blackmailed? So, it's OK security wise, that YOUR calls are going to companies in Israel?

COMMENT #44 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/4/2009 @ 10:10 pm PT...





A new law that specifically targets a special kind of domestic terrorism. Using state secrets to cover up political, financial, economic, or power moves be considered treason. A new law that specifically targets security clearances, network access, lobbying, contracting. Specifically ridding the system by lifetime ban (including proxy) of the negroponte's, the oliver norths's, the kissinger's of our highest agencies. Part b, a new security clearance for everyone not falling into the above. In short this country needs new founders, and to toss out all of this corruption.

COMMENT #45 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/4/2009 @ 10:14 pm PT...





Also I support Naomi Wolf in the plan of deactivating the DHS, which has done nothing for our security, cost us plenty, and screwed civil rights. (perhaps lump this in with restore the constitution above) Alright- I'm done this time.

COMMENT #46 [Permalink]

... molly said on 5/4/2009 @ 11:31 pm PT...





Sibel ...Brad Thank you for your courage, intelligence and stamina. #23 agent 99..solution? Invasion by China or space aliens. Here is another. We are a nation of followers. Michelle Obama is doing a good thing planting an organic garden. Bet they are sprouting up all over. Obama is evidently being blackmailed by the Clintons. We have a Clinton administration with Obama as the figure head. He should lead US in confessing his sins/whatever so he cannot be blackmailed. Then as a country, we could all confess to something. The apostle Paul believed in it...Bill Wilson believed in it...took it a step further than Paul and said make ammends for wrong doing. Then we could apologize and make ammends to Native Americans , descendants of slaves, Vietnamese, Iraquis...we just need Obama to get the ball rolling ..It would keep us busy and most of all the black mailers would have to regroup and write a whole new play book. I can just see the Sunday morning political shows starting out with confessions. How they over came addictions like shopping , gambling and what not as they made ammends. Then we would have more concise and clear commentary on MSM as an added advantage. Howard Dean and a few others who are clear would not be such stand outs. They would be welcome for their ideas ...no more risk of showing everybody up.

COMMENT #47 [Permalink]

... Meremark said on 5/5/2009 @ 12:00 am PT...





GREATNESS, Brad, Sibel.

COMMENT #48 [Permalink]

... Agent 99 said on 5/5/2009 @ 12:12 am PT...





No, no, Molly, everybody... the point is being missed. My point was that it is preposterous to think outside forces will salvage the situation. The gardens are great, but they are those little dot Band-Aids being applied to dismemberment. Everyone is too busy to save our country, to save the world. It is not going to happen. None the less, somehow, make two hours to listen to this lecture by my neighbor, Derrick Jensen: Part One and Part Two. It will give you the proper perspective, I think.

COMMENT #49 [Permalink]

... Jack Kelly said on 5/5/2009 @ 12:15 am PT...





This is an exceptionally depressing editorial as it rings true about how corrupt our Government is. I do not believe that anyone in Washington has the courage or honesty to tackle the web of crimes that is so well laid out by Ms. Edmonds. Watch yourself and make sure that you keep safe.

COMMENT #50 [Permalink]

... mick said on 5/5/2009 @ 5:03 am PT...





SIBEL EDMONDS you are a legend amongst mortals, your courage exceeds the best American soldier on any battlefield in the world. They rely on "the state of the art" weapons and support to "do their duty" .Where you have only two things on your side , personal courage and determination. I wish I live to see the day that the world hears your whole story and you get the recognition you surely deserve.I live in awe of your strength and honesty.

mick in nz

COMMENT #51 [Permalink]

... Marzi said on 5/5/2009 @ 6:43 am PT...





It may be politically incorrect to criticize Sibel, but I find it strange that she quotes John Kerry, the enabler of the Bush administration and fellow Skull and Bones member who refused to challenge Ohio. Also, Sibel's story is about warning gov officials about drug deals and Middle East terror threats but that wasn't what 9/11 was about and Sibel never makes any mention that the so called terrorists were in the end just patsies. It's been proven scientifically now that the WTC was a demolition job with military grade explosives. I'd appreciate it if Sibel updated her story.

COMMENT #52 [Permalink]

... rick said on 5/5/2009 @ 6:45 am PT...





On the bright side, the MSM is folding; one newspaper at a time. The network news programs are losing share. CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc. will/are also seeing fewer 'eyeballs'. So, I think the question is, "What 'news' system will replace the MSM?" The Daily Show needs the others for material, so that won't do. How will people find credible news sources? How will they be able to determine the credibility of any single source? In sum: The MSM/propaganda machine is dying. What will rplace it? As to the blackmail of congress, I have long suspected that the Bush administration, at a minimum, took advantage of the anthrax investigations to 'bug' congress. It's just would fit their modus operandi.o96F6

COMMENT #53 [Permalink]

... Perry Logan said on 5/5/2009 @ 6:58 am PT...





Unfortunately for the blackmail theory, Rep. Harmon is not playing the role of the blackmail victim. On the contrary, she is insisting that the tapes of her be released in full. There's also the fact that the blackmail scenario reads like a bad movie script.

COMMENT #54 [Permalink]

... Savantster said on 5/5/2009 @ 6:58 am PT...





Sticking your head up too far gets it blown off. Most in Congress, even those that are 'clean', know this to be true. No one wants to be a martyr. The only way this changes is if a few are willing to die to make the change; once "they" kill a few people that poke their heads up, the stakes become high enough for those living cushy lives in the halls of power to "wake up".. until then, they will just keep their heads down and live a pampered life and do "what they can". Hell, even talking about this kind of thing, in this day and age, could be twisted into "domestic terrorism" and people disappeared. Truly dark times we're living in. Times when the wealth gap is growing faster than ever before, times when the poor are dying in the streets (globally), times when everyone is scared enough to "shut up and do what you're told". Our Founding Fathers were lucky; they had a country (physically separated) they could stake a claim to, rally people to defend, and make something of. We, today, are stuck trying to clean up the entrenched mess.. a far more daunting task. And the kicker is, most Americans today simply don't care, so long as they keep their supply of iTunes and internet porn flowing while taking a break from Facebooking. none the less, thanks for this, Sibel

COMMENT #55 [Permalink]

... plunger said on 5/5/2009 @ 7:22 am PT...





Sibel is of course correct. I've been stating repeatedly for years that Israel is blackmailing the shadow government leadership of the US, their co-conspirators in 9/11, drug running, torture, etc. Read this: http://plungerspeaks.blogspot.com/ Then this: http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/3820 Connect all the dots - it's time to call them all out by name, and reveal Israel's total control. The conspiracy theorists have been proven correct.

COMMENT #56 [Permalink]

... I remember Dr. David Kelly said on 5/5/2009 @ 7:29 am PT...





Good article, horrible situation. Keep on writing!

COMMENT #57 [Permalink]

... karen from illinois said on 5/5/2009 @ 8:06 am PT...





i am no nancy harmon fan but i find it laughable that her saying"i could make a call" is evil on the same level with hassert selling nuclear secrets i feel the prob is we never finish the investigation,look at the az rta ballots,the explaination for the difference in ballots per box is "dif paper",the authorities brought different ballots than the printer says he printed for that election and no one questions it i am used to the justice department being corrupt but i do not understand the ei peops being quiet on this obvious physical evidence that a crime has been committed

COMMENT #58 [Permalink]

... TrustKeeper said on 5/5/2009 @ 8:22 am PT...





An important detail about Dennis Hastert's knowledge of the Harman wiretap was provided by Congressional Quarterly. According to CQ, Hastert learned of the wiretap from a "CIA-connected 'whistleblower' in 2006." He did not learn of it in the expected way. Under a decades-old agreement between Congress and the CIA, the head of U.S. intelligence was supposed to brief the top House Republican and Democrat if one of their members became ensnared in a national security investigation. Why not? Because John Negroponte, then head of ODNI "blocked then CIA Director Porter J. Goss from briefing Hastert," according to the account the whistleblower gave the former Republican House speaker. Goss's successor, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, "also had not informed Hastert about the wiretap." Hastert's attempts to get answers from Alberto Gonzales also went nowhere. It sounds like top intelligence officials, who presumably had access to the complete file on Hastert, didn't trust him with the information. This supports the credibility of Sibel Edmonds' claims. But, then, why was no further action taken against a security threat? Once again, we are left with troubling questions that can only be answered through a formal investigation.

COMMENT #59 [Permalink]

... justinT said on 5/5/2009 @ 8:35 am PT...





I don't now if there is a god. I dont know if I love my wife. I dont know if the sky is blue. I dont know if I love my children. I dont know if food is enjoyable. I dont know if movies are fun to watch. I dont if there is any meaning to life. Though the ONLY thing I DO know....is that there were NO COMMERCIAL PLANES on 911. It was all a lie. Sibel...you've come to realize just how sick and depraved our leadership is...take it a step farther and understand that there were no commercial planes. Understand and explain what else that would mean and how many within media, military, and government it would expose. No planes on 911 is the ultimate "truth blackmail" to remove these criminal leaders.

COMMENT #60 [Permalink]

... greydog said on 5/5/2009 @ 8:39 am PT...





SIBEL, Thank you for your continued perseverance. I read everything you write and admire your courage. I too, had hoped things would change after the 2006 elections. I knew better in 2008. Very disappointed in Obama's failure to end the violence in Iraq. Also, very disappointed in the Geithner appointment. It seems the last Pres was a tool of the Military Industrial Complex and the present Pres is a tool of the banking industry.

We are not the USA, we are the US of Goldman Sachs. There is no representation for the average American. With the exception of only a few REAL STATESMAN, like Dennis Kucinich and Dick Durbin. And since Dennis' brothers death, we haven't seen or heard much from him. I think he has been threatened to keep quiet. Congress is as bad and corrupt as the mob. We Americans sit on our hands at our own peril. Best to you, Sibel and again, thank you for continuing to fight the good fight.

COMMENT #61 [Permalink]

... Warren Raftshol said on 5/5/2009 @ 9:08 am PT...





Please let fly with the truth. Defy all courts.

COMMENT #62 [Permalink]

... Sienna said on 5/5/2009 @ 9:18 am PT...





Your post truly outlines the depth of corruption that permeates every inch of Washington. This information will surely never be published in this country. Is there a paper in Britain or elsewhere that is interested? A substantial story from an outside source would force at least some of this out into the open but, to repeat, the decadent, corporate-run media here will never touch it. Blogs such as this (good as it is) will not be sufficient to get through to the broader public.

COMMENT #63 [Permalink]

... plunger said on 5/5/2009 @ 9:38 am PT...





IT’S ALL ABOUT BLACKMAIL… Hastert’s first response to the Foley scandal was that it was a "CONSPIRACY by the Democrats.” That's the right word, Mr. Hastert, but the wrong attribution. The CONSPIRACY has been among the Republican Leadership, the Republican National Committee, and even the Justice Department, all the way up the chain to the Oval Office. ALL OF THEM KNEW. ALL OF THEM. Bush, Cheney, Fibby, Feith, Rove, Gonzales…ALL OF THEM. This was not supposed to come out. They thought they had the lid on this. All of them are crooks in one form or another, clearly all of them have been AND REMAIN subject to blackmail - all of which endangers the national security of our country. Their ONLY recourse at this point is to take down the Democrats too - all of who are guilty of other crimes - all of which are known to Mr. CIA himself, the REAL President of the Shadow Government, GHW BUSH - W's old man. AIPAC has always strived to ensure that only men of low moral character enter into the political arena. This ensures that through Comverse Wiretaps and other means at their disposal, Israel is always able to get its way on the Hill. Remember when Israel invaded Lebanon and the United States inexplicable had nothing to say about it? Many of these co-conspirators knew about 9/11 in advance too. With the revelation that Rice knew all about it, and LET IT HAPPEN, combined with the fact that Rumsfeld advised against pursuing the leads, and Cheney actually ran the command bunker on 9/11, ordering that nothing be done to stop the aircraft approaching the Pentagon, which they tracked on radar for the final fifty miles (at least). Now you know why everything that didn't make sense before, makes total sense now. This is not just a matter of ethics and morality. This is a matter of national security. BLACKMAIL has been rampant throughout our Government. BLACKMAIL – Rove style: 10.12.06 HOW ROVE TWISTED FOLEY'S ARM: It seems increasingly clear that the GOP congressional leadership, eager for every safe incumbent in the House to run for re-election, looked the other way as evidence accumulated that Mark Foley had a thing for pages. Holding onto his seat became more important than confronting him over his extracurricular activities. But there's more to the story of why Foley stood for re-election this year. Yesterday, a source close to Foley explained to THE NEW REPUBLIC that in early 2006 the congressman had all but decided to retire from the House and set up shop on K Street. "Mark's a friend of mine," says this source. "He told me, 'I'm thinking about getting out of it and becoming a lobbyist.'" But when Foley's friend saw the Congressman again this spring, something had changed. To the source's surprise, Foley told him he would indeed be standing for re-election. What happened? Karl Rove intervened. According to the source, Foley said he was being pressured by "the White House and Rove gang," who insisted that Foley run. If he didn't, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career. "He said, 'The White House made it very clear I have to run,'" explains Foley's friend, adding that Foley told him that the White House promised that if Foley served for two more years it would "enhance his success" as a lobbyist. "I said, 'I thought you wanted out of this?' And he said, 'I do, but they're scared of losing the House and the thought of two years of Congressional hearings, so I have two more years of duty.'" http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=47854

COMMENT #64 [Permalink]

... gene kalmes said on 5/5/2009 @ 9:57 am PT...





Sherman Skolnick a court reformer from Chicago, now deceased, listed their blackmailable crimes in his articles. If you want to feel your chin hit the floor see... www.skolnicksreport.com

COMMENT #65 [Permalink]

... nikto said on 5/5/2009 @ 10:27 am PT...





I would love to see Sibel Edmonds and Bunnatine Greenhouse go on a coast-to-coast speaking tour about gov't corruption and the need for reform. What a great pair of boat-rocking speakers they would make!

COMMENT #66 [Permalink]

... donkeyotay said on 5/5/2009 @ 10:57 am PT...





Thanks for proving what I long suspected that Waxman is just another fake liberal. Technically, treason is only aiding an enemy in time of war. I don't know what you call it when our own government enriches itself at our expense, lends its powers to foreign interests, and does not follow the oath to defend the Constitution. If that isn't treason, I don't know what to call it.

COMMENT #67 [Permalink]

... Robin Head said on 5/5/2009 @ 11:08 am PT...





CIA PIMPS Prostitution, Blackmail, and Political Corruption

By Agents of the United States Sex Slavery, Forced Prostitution, Human Trafficking, extortion, blackmail―of the most egregious kind―of U.S. Citizens by the U.S. Government Brothel of Bureaucrats My name is Robin Head, previous owner of Playboy Escorts in Houston, Texas. I was approached by various law enforcement agency's, FBI, ATF, etc... who wanted me to abet them in entrapping "State and political officials" having sex so they could extort, control and blackmail them, not to charge them with misdemeanor prostitution. At the same time, women at my service were being tricked and trafficked overseas to Bangkok and called me collect from a jail in Vienna. A madam from Alabama was found hanging in a federal jail cell in nearby Brazoria County. When I refused to abet in the extortion, I was thrown in jail, no bond, a 'Life' sentence filed on me, and then my son and family were harassed and attacked endlessly in some kind of gang like Mafia style. I went to the FBI, but it was like reporting the devil to the witch, they said they would help me but only if I would help them, again, to set up officials. They had no interest in the corruption aspect. Some very high profile names were involved, people seen on TV news commentary. Who are these agents with this monstrous agenda and what do they want? This is not a left/right wing thing it is a most vicious entity in this country. This country has become as fearful as any other 3rd world country when it comes to reporting crime to officials just exactly like in Russia, Iraq, Africa, Mexico, etc... where it is the officials that are the perpetrators of the crimes, kidnapping, ransom, drugs, and it is dangerous to report to them. http://fbicorruption.250free.com

COMMENT #68 [Permalink]

... hANOVER fIST said on 5/5/2009 @ 12:51 pm PT...





It's simple: Remove dual-citizenship from anyone in public office; you CANNOT trust anyone to perform the will of WE THE PEOPLE if they are beholden to a foreign nation; Register AIPAC, AZC, and any non-AMERICAN political action committees as FOREIGN ENTITIES. Period.

COMMENT #69 [Permalink]

... Michael Monk said on 5/5/2009 @ 12:51 pm PT...





I wonder if there are any freshmen Congressional members or Senate members willing to look into things? Probably not, but it seems there would be some point early that they could be appealed to. Anyway, thanks Sibel and Brad. A domestic spy operation could easily quell members of Congress from moving outside their comfort zone as far as aggressiveness on certain issues goes.

COMMENT #70 [Permalink]

... Bobby said on 5/5/2009 @ 2:04 pm PT...





I almost cried when I read this piece, though I don't do that easily. The brilliant essay that Sibel wrote, shows so clearly how "unrepresented" the American citizenry is. We have no leaders that care for this nations wellbeing or the wellbeing of its citizens. Since this miracle of the internet, many Americans have seen,clearly, the actual truth about these treasonous representatives. As Sibel points out, we sure as hell can't get the truth from the Main Stream Media, which is, as almost everyone now realizes, nothing more than the equivalent of the old Soviet News Agency TASS. Yes, Harman, Pelosi, Hastert, and hundreds of other so called "Americans" who represent Americans, should be investigated. But who will do it? We know what the problem is. It is the American citizenries own apathy, arrogance, and possibly even cowardice, that makes it possible for the above mentioned criminals to get away with what they do. Americans have no say in their nation or its fate. Time to wake up.

COMMENT #71 [Permalink]

... hANOVER fIST said on 5/5/2009 @ 2:09 pm PT...





Remember Conspiracy Of Silence? This is just the tip of the bloody iceberg. So...Blagojevich can be impeached, but Harman need not worry? There's something very wrong, indeed.

COMMENT #72 [Permalink]

... Magnes said on 5/5/2009 @ 3:02 pm PT...





Ms. Sibel Edmonds, God bless you. Don't give up. I have been following your

story for a long time, and

Fitzgerald as well, both key

figures that touches many

many issues, scandals and

crimes. My Best Regards

COMMENT #73 [Permalink]

... Eric Baker said on 5/5/2009 @ 3:17 pm PT...





Sibel, don't you know there is only one party in power? Private interests, big bucks, the banking cartel, the oil cartel, the Israeli lobby. JFK was shot for a reason, because he decided to not go along with the puppet masters. Obama knows this and he will not clean up the mess, he will not hold into account the past atrocities of the previous administration. Is motto is: Looking forward, never backwards! He knows that he would never have the support he had from the press if he didn't promise in advance he would not press charges. Obama got skeletons in his closet they could eject him if his seat the minute he wouldn't follow orders, think about his past. So the people have no voice anymore and are held hostage, the same thing would have happened with McCain, the two are not natural citizens. And if you look past in 2004 both Kerry and Bush were Skull & Bones brothers! WAKE UP, THE WOLVES ARE IN CHARGE since the beginning of the 20th century. We need to clean the whole damn thing, everybody in both parties, all the congress and governors, as well as the legislative, we need to disband the CIA, FBI, NSA, FEMA and Homeland Security, we need to restore the constitution and the republic, we need to outlaw the Federal Reserve and pull Wall Street into tha hands of main street. The public servants need to work for our benefit and not them. The more we tolerate this horror movie the gorier it will get for all of us.

COMMENT #74 [Permalink]

... Steve said on 5/5/2009 @ 3:53 pm PT...





Thanks, Sibel. You hit so many nails on the head that the coffin of those people will be shut forever.

COMMENT #75 [Permalink]

... Nicolae said on 5/5/2009 @ 4:29 pm PT...





Ex-Italy Pres - 9-11 Was

CIA/Mossad Operation

By the Staff of American Free Press

4-15-9 Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio, has told Italy's oldest and most widely read newspaper that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad, and that this was common knowledge among global intelligence agencies. In what translates awkwardly into English, Cossiga told the newspaper Corriere della Sera: "All the (intelligence services) of America and Europeknow well that the disastrous attack has been planned and realized from the Mossad, with the aid of the Zionist world in order to put under accusation the Arabic countries and in order to induce the western powers to take part in Iraq and Afghanistan." Cossiga was elected president of the Italian Senate in July 1983 before winning a landslide election to become president of the country in 1985, and he remained until 1992. Cossiga's tendency to be outspoken upset the Italian political establishment, and he was forced to resign after revealing the existence of, and his part in setting up, Operation Gladio. This was a rogue intelligence network under NATO auspices that carried out bombings across Europe in the 1960s, 1970s and '80s. Gladio's specialty was to carry out what they termed "false flag" operations-terror attacks that were blamed on their domestic and geopolitical opposition. In March 2001, Gladio agent Vincenzo Vinciguerra stated, in sworn testimony, "You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple: to force the public to turn to the state to ask for greater security." Cossiga first expressed his doubts about 9-11 in 2001, and is quoted by 9-11 researcher Webster Tarpley saying "The mastermind of the attack must have been a sophisticated mind, provided with ample means not only to recruit fanatic kamikazes, but also highly specialized personnel. I add one thing: it could not be accomplished without infiltrations in the radar and flight security personnel." Coming from a widely respected former head of state, Cossiga's assertion that the 9-11 attacks were an inside job and that this is common knowledge among global intelligence agencies is illuminating. It is one more eye-opening confirmation that has not been mentioned by America's propaganda machine in print or on TV. Nevertheless, because of his experience and status in the world, Cossiga cannot be discounted as a crackpot. http://www.americanfreep...html/9-11_solved118.html

COMMENT #76 [Permalink]

... Cascadiance said on 5/5/2009 @ 5:31 pm PT...





Post #75: I can't speak for "knowing" what happened with 9/11. It still is a burning question for me, but I'm open still to many explanations, except that the official explanation is hard to accept at face value. I know many of us here have beaten up the show 24 for it's unrealistic treatment of torture and how that might have affected our policies towards torture. I've been told that there are new writers, and of course this year Janeane Garafalo is in the show too. This season's plot focuses on deep, deep, corruption and subterfuge in our government and other high places in this country. I think there was a scene last night that was beautiful and symbolic at so many levels at what's wrong with our country now. SPOILERS ahead, scroll down this space if you want to still watch later... Towards the end of the episode, Jack Bauer is riding along with FBI agent Renee Walker en-route to what appears to be a Muslim suspect's house to arrest/question him about an upcoming terrorist attack. On the way Jack finds out that this Muslim suspect is being set up by Chloe on the cell phone to LOOK like he's the culprit when it is others domestically that are making it appear as if it is a Muslim-centric act. They have the Muslim cleric of this suspect riding in the car with them who they have in handcuffs, thinking he's part of the terrorist cell. Jack (on the now found to be innocent suspect) to Renee:

"An innocent man is so easy to control. All they needed was a Muslim. They could create whatever background they wanted." Jack (to cleric as he moves to uncuff him):

"Give me your hands." Cleric:

"I'm surprised." Jack:

"Well, you were right." Cleric:

"What about Jabran (the terrorist suspect)? My experience with the authorities and police is that they will go to any lengths not to admit they were wrong. Even at the expense of an innocent man's life. At least you didn't do that! Please know that I forgive you!" Jack:

"I'm not asking for your forgiveness." Cleric:

"Then I hope that you can at least forgive yourself." Jack:

"I gave up on that a long time ago." Cleric:

"It's never too late to turn towards God, Mr. Bauer." Even though I'm an agnostic, it so shows who the real evil people are, and who's being made to look evil in this one scene. You need to watch the show up to this point. But it had me saying that 24 finally turned a corner for me.

COMMENT #77 [Permalink]

... Lora said on 5/5/2009 @ 5:54 pm PT...





Sibel's analysis seems very likely. I've long posited that the Democrats are spineless because they are afraid of some form of retaliation. This lays out some reasons why they might be afraid.

COMMENT #78 [Permalink]

... TI said on 5/5/2009 @ 7:44 pm PT...





Sibel way to go! I have another one for you that you may follow up on. Mrs Pelosi's husband was working with a bank in San Francisco, and he had bought we will say $500,000 worth of bank stocks. Now they had NO value before Mr. Obama got elected, the bank lost all of its value. After Obama got the banks support, the money that the Pelosi family made was somewhere around $250,000! because Pelosi had the fix in. Then there is the story: Pelosi paid husband with PAC funds: $99,000 for rent, utilities, accounting fees http://www.washingtontim...-bills-for-spouses-firm/ You go girl. I believe in you!

COMMENT #79 [Permalink]

... Ancient said on 5/5/2009 @ 10:54 pm PT...





Great Spirit, heip us all to be better.

COMMENT #80 [Permalink]

... Ancient said on 5/5/2009 @ 11:04 pm PT...





ALL is a path and gold is a substance.

COMMENT #81 [Permalink]

... alexx said on 5/5/2009 @ 11:48 pm PT...





Great Spirit, heip us all to be better.

COMMENT #82 [Permalink]

... john said on 5/6/2009 @ 4:10 am PT...





thom hartmann has sen. bernie sanders on every friday "brunch with bernie". he takes "unscreened" calls from his listeners and mr sanders gets to sound lie hes doing something. i read sibels previous column and made the call. telling the screener i had a question about electronic ballot fraud, i got through. my question was,"are you familiar with sibel edmonds accusations against our own government..." i gave examples. hartmann stepped up QUICKLY to tell mr sanders he did not have to answer the question. mr sanders admitted not knowing who sibel edmonds was and said he was not familiar with the case. mr hartmann then said something to the effect of im still looking into these myself and they are unsubstantiated allegations. needless to say i was very disappointed by mr hartmanns response.

COMMENT #83 [Permalink]

... sibel said on 5/6/2009 @ 7:47 am PT...





John, Thank you for the info. It's sad, but he is one of many with the same blindness; although, he is known to be better than many others:-)

COMMENT #84 [Permalink]

... CFAmick said on 5/6/2009 @ 9:20 am PT...





This is my theory for why Pelosi and Reid were so impotent from 06 - 08.

COMMENT #85 [Permalink]

... Sibel said on 5/6/2009 @ 10:10 am PT...





If I were to list the names (or the screen names) of everyone, I'd take up several comment boxes on this site. But, I want to thank all of you for your kind words and support, and most importantly for being among the 'informed & vigilant.' I also want to thank those who seem to either disagree with my points in this piece, and or, disapprove of my stand/case.You provided us with an open, healthy and honest discussion.

COMMENT #86 [Permalink]

... DomRat said on 5/6/2009 @ 11:23 am PT...





Dear Sibel, I have for years believed that the anthrax scare after 9-11 was a two part design. First and most important to get house, Senate, and Judicial leaders out of their offices and secondly to implicate Arabs as perpetrators of terrorist acts. The first worked flawlessly and the moon suited bio-technicians went into the offices to search for anthrax if the press is to be believed. Perchance they discovered some offshore accounts, photos, membership in a ‘leather club’, many the mistresses and second families. Links to various questionable organizations dressed up to look bad. In short these people could now be leaned upon to be stalwart citizens and vote for various Patriot bill type things and these signs of indiscretion could be withheld, not leaked or what not.

COMMENT #87 [Permalink]

... Calder Benson said on 5/6/2009 @ 12:15 pm PT...





"The extortions and oppressions of government will come to an end when the victims begin to differentiate clearly between government as a necessary device for maintaining order in the world, and government as a device for maintaining the authority and prosperity of preditory rascals and swindlers. In other words, they will come to an end on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November preceding the resurrection morn."

--- H.L. Mencken, July 1924

COMMENT #88 [Permalink]

... Mark E. Smith said on 5/6/2009 @ 12:26 pm PT...





Recently there was an "election" in Haiti. When all non-corporate candidates were removed from the ballot, only 3% of Haitians voted. In 2008 we had a Presidential election here in the U.S. The choice was between two corporate candidate and some third parties who would have had no power in Congress even if they'd won. Just prior to the election 90% of Americans expressed outrage at the bailouts, so the two corporate candidates, Obama and McCain, cooperated to push through the bailouts leaving voters who opposed the bailouts with a ballot choice between bailouts and bailouts. Americans reacted by saying it wasn't about the bailouts, it was whether we wanted bailouts with somebody whose Veep shoots wolves, or bailouts with somebody whose Veep doesn't shoot wolves. Wars of aggression under the command of somebody whose Veep shoots wolves, or wars of aggression under the command of somebody whose Veep doesn't shoot wolves. Illegal wiretapping by somebody whose Veep shoots wolves or by somebody whose Veep doesn't shoot wolves. In 2000 when the Supreme Court nullified an election, and in both 2000 and 2004 when Congress swore in a President without even bothering to finish counting the popular vote, it was clear to anyone with half a brain that the popular vote was merely symbolic and not the final say. It can be overridden by the Electoral College, by Congress rejecting Electoral votes, by Supreme Court intervention, or by the winning candidate conceding. During eight years of Bush, and during Pelosi's reign, it became clear to anyone with half a brain that we have no way to hold government officials accountable. We can wait until the next rigged election and try to vote for a different corporate candidate, but we cannot control who gets on the ballot, the super-delegates of the political parties do that, and we cannot directly remove anyone from office. The Founders set up the Constitution so that only Congress could remove its own members. When you can't be fired by the people who pay your salary, you are free to act against their interests. I'm an election boycott advocate. The only nonviolent way that I know of to discredit a government is to boycott its elections. Not to get out a micrometer and attempt to determine which corporate candidate is a fraction of a millimeter less evil than the other corporate candidate. Haitians have a long history of being exploited by the United States. They have no illusions. Americans still cherish the illusion of democracy and the illusion of free and fair elections--even those who know better. If you don't like what the system is doing, don't insert new people into a corrupt system, stop delegating your power to a corrupt system. Sibel and Robin Head, you might enjoy Ward Churchill's book, Agents of Repression. He documents fully how the FBI began and still exists for the purpose of perpetuating the status quo and persecuting dissidents. The list of those killed is lengthy and the details soul-shaking, but it is something that everyone with even a passing interest in our government needs to know.

COMMENT #89 [Permalink]

... Agent 99 said on 5/6/2009 @ 12:59 pm PT...





Yes, Mark, and look at Haiti! If ever there were a country that needed a functioning government it is Haiti... and 3% of Haitians voting is not the way to accomplish that. Clearly. Most of them weren't boycotting, per se, but attending to more pressing things, like baking mud cookies to stave off the pain of starvation. People like that just have the worst time getting to the polls. I truly love your point about stop delegating your power to a corrupt system, but, for Haiti, they need precisely to insert new, decent, people into their system to make it functional, to change it. The same thing applies here, except the system keeps coöpting them, making it impossible for them to do anything but try to delude themselves they can still do good while following the, corrupt, system. Do you think the proponents of this corrupt system would object to a boycott of the vote? Do you think they'd be embarrassed by it into suddenly, say, prosecuting torturers? What the hell do you think would be the upshot of a boycotted election? The sudden resignation in humiliation of the pigs at the trough? Do you think the legions of lobbyists running things would all stick out their lower lips and say, oops, we're sorry and we promise never to buy another official? WHAT is the result you expect? They are out there doing everything in their power to prevent people from voting so they can just eliminate the hassle of fair elections altogether with those filthy machines and your proposal is an outright guarantee they will succeed. Do you think it would ever even hit the news that there were too few people at the polls? Are you kidding? They would be leaping for joy and the talking heads would be delivering their election shtick full blast, as though everything were the picture of our vaunted democracy, all being hunky-dory in America. While I can agree that even when our votes work, they still end up failing, there is no chance to change that if we don't make elections as clean and reliable as humanly possible. If we don't like what the system is doing, and all the means open to us to repair that have been rendered ineffectual, we find new ways to repair that, not just hand over all our power by boycotting elections. OUR GOVERNMENT IS WELL AND TRULY BROKEN, BUT IT WILL NEVER BE REPAIRED BY WALKING AWAY FROM IT. A bully menaces you, takes your lunch every day. You say, simple, just give up lunch. I say, no, poke him in the nose and eat your lunch. You've been stumping for this psychedelic "solution" for a long time, without ever making a peep about how you suppose boycotting elections will actually effect positive change. No matter how many lefties you ever cite, it still feels to me just as though you're one of Gingrich's GOPac droids in dreadlocks, that your other job must be bitching about ACORN on Hannity's show.

COMMENT #90 [Permalink]

... Agent 99 said on 5/6/2009 @ 1:24 pm PT...





No. Really. Why do you keep coming to Brad Blog to say nothing but Lay Down And Die to us? What virtue, what Great American value, is there in that position? You have to be on the side of oligarchy or have unshakable faith in passive aggression. The world is brimming with the fruit of passive aggression, Mark. That's what's making it such a scary, miserable place for most of the people on it.

COMMENT #91 [Permalink]

... Cascadiance said on 5/6/2009 @ 1:41 pm PT...





Comment #88: Perhaps one place where we can "pressure" the system more now is in Obama's selection to replace Souter, and in future court selections like that. Get out and VERY vocally demand that if senators are going to ask a candidate questions about their adherence to the constitution, then they MUST ask if the notion of "corporate personhood" and "corporate free speech" is constitutional, which anyone like Thom Hartmann would be able to point out it isn't from the head note of the court decision that *manufactured* this notion in that "court clerk activist" decision back in the 1800's that supposedly gave corporations these rights. If we can get a judge to commit to follow the constitution and in these cases perhaps overturn this notion of corporate personhood, that might be the first step at least towards paving the way towards meaningful public campaign financing legislation later, if we have the court tearing down these rights. Erwin Chemerinsky has had a history of speaking out against corporate free speech in the Nike court case. I think he'd be a good candidate to champion here. If enough people speak up, it will be that much more either the Senate and Obama have to fall into line with, or get exposed for the corporate slaves they are. Feingold might be a good person to pressure on the Judiciary Committee to ask this question.

COMMENT #92 [Permalink]

... disillusioned said on 5/6/2009 @ 3:28 pm PT...





How about if they just replace Souter with Feingold?

COMMENT #93 [Permalink]

... Cascadiance said on 5/6/2009 @ 3:58 pm PT...





But then we lose Feingold in the Senate... I think we much rather would have Chemerinsky be "lost" to Cal Irvine Law School, who weren't very kind to him when he hired on as their head, since he was held up for a while for being "too liberal" for them.

COMMENT #94 [Permalink]

... Coleen Rowley said on 5/6/2009 @ 4:39 pm PT...





Sibel's indefatigable efforts to expose beltway corruption are to be applauded. If the revolving doors don't stop spinning, it won't only be congresspersons and other government officials who are all bought and sold. Did anyone see that former Lt. Col Karen Kwiatkowsky has chimed in with Sibel, only instead of calling it blackmail, she's calling it "horsetrading": "The recent revelations about Rep. Jane Harman attempting to make secret deals with AIPAC officials and the dropping of the espionage case against its former employees --- which was dropped last week --- reveals the reality of how much of official Washington actually works. It's not about doing what the people want, and it isn't about national security or rule of law. It's about horsetrading and Harman herself is a relative amateur. Instead of these recent events propelling us to really lift the curtain on how this country makes foreign policy in the Middle East, we're being hurried along so that the general establishment consensus on Israel can continue. It would have been good to have a trial, including having Bush administration officials and Congressmen and women testifying in court, and bringing at least some of the real process to light." Whether it's blackmail, horsetrading, or (as I used to call it) "special interest corruption", high treason or just excessive loyalty (which is the trickiest virtue as it changes into a vice at some point), it's one heck of an evil system that needs to be defeated. I disagree with Will Rogers that it can be addressed by just changing the faces. The terrible pay-to-play system is taking otherwise good people and turning them into corrupted Blagovichs. Elections are therefore only changing the deck chairs on the Titanic unless there are fundamental reforms that stop the revolving door.

COMMENT #95 [Permalink]

... Sibel said on 5/6/2009 @ 5:05 pm PT...





"Elections are therefore only changing the deck chairs on the Titanic unless there are fundamental reforms that stop the revolving door." Coleen, as always, well-said. Campaign Finance, sound regulations on foreign lobby, term limit...a 'real' investigative body with 'real power' ...comes to mind. Just take a look at 'FARA' (Foreign Agents Registration Act): what did it really do? Nothing. Entities such as AIPAC found ways to go around it...

COMMENT #96 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/6/2009 @ 7:38 pm PT...





@ COMMENT #52 rick

In sum: The MSM/propaganda machine is dying. What will replace it? I'd have to say your on it right now, this blog and blogs like it. Question is will it be over regulated, already I see a "DIRTY SANCHEZ" bill to make blogs into weapons. Too bad Sanchez doesn't have time to put cops on the banksters who if are allowed to continue down this path could potentially break our government itself. You thought sub prime was bad? Wait until PRIME delinquencies hit. Wait until the bond market crashes. Perhaps the only upside of this is when we all don't have money anymore neither will our corrupt officials in government. Still it will be dark days either way you look at it. @ COMMENT #68... hANOVER fIST

Absolutely! I would go farther questioning anyone holding a current security clearance who is affiliated with these foreign entities. Revoke the clearance, and if you can prove your upstanding then re-instate it. It doesn't have to be a witch hunt, and just having your clearance yanked doesn't mean you've necessarily done something bad. (an excuse could be to re-print and re-issue smart cards) We need to filter the situation and get these people out off our networks, out of positions of power, or lobbying, contracting. and by proxy of the same --- in other words you use someone that passes, by proxy to get a contract, push foreign agenda, or access to our nations secrets. COMMENT #75... Nicolae

Also, note how the popular prime time fictitious series NCIS brought in MOSSAD AGENT (Ziva David) and how she's so dangerous you don't want to be in a room with her, torture, etc. You watch enough of and eventually you begin to believe it's good thing for our nation's security. No personal offense meant to the actor Cote De Pablo who is simply playing the role as directed. She's a great actor, and no harm is meant to her. I know the whole thing is simply fantasy, but it may be closer to reality on closer appearance--which if true (and I don't know), is totally unacceptable. COMMENT #76 ... Cascadiance

Regarding 911, I heard a report on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, where some science publication has said they found nano-technology based thermite in the dust of 911. What good are commissions when they leave things out on purpose? My answer is they use it as a weapon against us. One in the timing. and Time taken, two in problem / solution strategic attacks. It keeps the fascist media busy with nonsense while real crime and it's unconstitutional solutions continue to be rolled out in a logical incremental way. Where are the cops? Where are the cops?

COMMENT #97 [Permalink]

... bb said on 5/6/2009 @ 7:50 pm PT...





Hi Coleen --- good to see/hear/read you again. We've spoken in the past. I remember you on the Congressional seats in the Wright Patman Room in the House Rayburn Building at a whistleblower protection event in 2007 I'm at comment #21, and I'll try to call you soon. BB

COMMENT #98 [Permalink]

... steve sims said on 5/6/2009 @ 8:41 pm PT...





All branches of government have been compromised and corrupted, but it doesn't stop there. It's in the educational system ( a sore subject for the successful), the financial world, entertainment, sports, religion, disease management, medicine, military, and the media - or any other set or subset thereof. That is what they do, being control freaks, is to penetrate and infiltrate any movement which might pose a threat to the scammery. The New World Order comes into view when you remove inhibitions about coincidence - there is none. The thousand points of light blind the core constituency to the insider fraternity of a thousand names, and their agenda for total control. There are secrets that are only held at the highest levels, and these are the most vile and sinister practices, unimaginable to the milk-toasts who never look beyond appearances. Conspiracy theories have proved to be factual; the evidence is overwhelming and can only be understood by assembling the scattered fragments. The rampant denial (that the dots don't, won't, and never will connect) is endemic as well, and any effort to wake the herd is met with necessary and sufficient force to suppress the expose'. There is NO way to look at all the facts if a sacred preconceived notion is left unchallenged. You've heard the language of control a thousand times, and you continue to comply to the code. The big picture is that the corruption is systemic and endemic. It is in control, ergo no accountability. There are intentional gatekeepers, who purposely spread discord and disinformation, and there are plenty of gatekeepers who fail to report the whole truth, out of some unwarranted fear of what might happen if one domino is tipped over. Remember, it is not the Government that is corrupt, but a shadow government of shady deals and misplaced loyalty and lack of faith in what is right. It may be out of some misplaced loyalty to a country that is under increasing threat, but is severely hijacked by, and for, treasonous intent... including, and epecially, the media, and all those private citizens who refuse to resolve the unanswered questions that sprout like dandelions (I like dandelions) in the news field. Incrementalism is the slow stalking of the herd by the predatory few, waiting to pounce when a violent event, staged for maximum psychological impact, is unleashed on the unsuspecting, who are immediately presented with the false trail of nonexistent evidence.

COMMENT #99 [Permalink]

... JEP said on 5/7/2009 @ 7:52 am PT...





EXCELLENT! Particularly the parable "my Justice Department is looking into certain activities you've been engaged in." There is certainly no lack of "activities" to look into. Let me count the ways... The hubris that permeated the Bush/Cheney administration during Rove's heady "permanent Republican majority" created a brittle shell of imaginary immunity. Feeling empowered by 9-11 and unfettered by the fear that the future would catch up to them so quickly, they engaged in all sorts of certifiable chicanery. The chronology of events, in retrospect, is awfully hard history to revise. And that chronology alone is evidence enough to set any respectable tin-foil hat a-tingling. And now, the transparencies of "cui bono" from that wild-west-in-Washington-era are well illustrated in the words "Hastert will now be "principally involved" on a $35,000-a-month contract providing representation for Turkish interests. That seems to be the current arrangement for those serving foreign interests while on the job in Congress --- to be paid at a later date" This is the sleazy process proving itself before our very eyes. Hastert's current professional progress will be something to watch closely as it unfolds. Lott, too. We can watch the term "payback" in action, live, before our very eyes. Sibel, you are slicing the bone from the marrow here, keep after em'.

COMMENT #100 [Permalink]

... Me said on 5/7/2009 @ 2:50 pm PT...





@ Comment #61 Please let fly with the truth. Defy all courts. Are you serious? Recommending her to go against an international system of blackmail and corruption after being gagged by the courts (and hre own intelligence agency)? I rather see her live to write another day.

COMMENT #101 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/7/2009 @ 4:46 pm PT...





Did you see how the media worked on "testing us" whether a Bush administration official who participated in FAKE terror alerts (he admitted it) and told us to duct tape our homes because the terrorists were going to get us? I'm talking about Tom "terror alert/duct tape" Ridge. The media is controlled. They hit us with a one week onslaught of "Ridge is running", not even a mention of the duct tape or the fake terror alerts! Google Ridge + Pennsylvania + senate, and see if any mainstream ANBCBSNNX that wrote about Ridge running, mentioned the duct tape or fake terror alerts. (don't count people in comments mentioning it). Then, as soon as the onslaught appeared, today it disappeared, Ridge pulled out. This was a test of the media broadcasting system...and it's still working!!!

COMMENT #102 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/7/2009 @ 4:49 pm PT...





Ridge was never going to run. They wanted to see if they could push the story...leaving out the duct tape and fake terror alerts...and see what happens. You think he was seriously going to run? And then pull out in one week? I have a bridge to sell you...a BRIDGE TO NOWHERE!!!

COMMENT #103 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/7/2009 @ 4:51 pm PT...





What changed in ONE WEEK? NOTHING! The controlled media can push anything they want. They pushed the AIG bonuses which were one fraction of the bonuses of other companies under scrutiny. I forget which company, but one of the bailout companies had Billions in bonuses, and AIG had Millions. And they pushed the AIG pitchfork story.

COMMENT #104 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/7/2009 @ 4:58 pm PT...





And the Blajojevich thing was all misdirection by the media. Why'd they pick HIM? Look at the lack of frying these people in the media on torture, and you forget how it was 24×7 on Blagojevich for WEEKS! I knew that was happening. Blagojevich was the biggest story in the news over the last few months, it was non-stop Blago. Now nothing. It was just to get other things off the headlines.

COMMENT #105 [Permalink]

... Balu said on 5/7/2009 @ 7:50 pm PT...





Sibel, about your comment ( # 5 ) ---

couldn't agree more ... and I have for a long time wondered ( and out loud ) if everybody should vote for THE ONE WHO RAISES / SPENDS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY "CAMPAIGNING" ... that's one way to get the money out of the "representation" ... I think part of the problem is that americans are lazy, depend on tv and feel like they have to be on the "winning" side and will vote for whoever the msm tells them is ahead in the "polls". ...

and the rest of them will always either vote "democrat" or "republican" and enjoy the bipartisan screw-over ... Also, on the blackmail stuff ---

I have this theory about the 3 B's ...

bribery, blackmail and bullet ...

first they bribe ... once the bribe is accepted, it opens them up to blackmail ... and if that doesn't work, there's always the bullet ... enough of my rant. ... Thanks, Sibel ... and Brad.

COMMENT #106 [Permalink]

... Big Dan said on 5/7/2009 @ 8:14 pm PT...





Balu: do our votes count?

COMMENT #107 [Permalink]

... West Indian said on 5/7/2009 @ 10:32 pm PT...





Concerning Campaign for Liberty, all I've ever got from them was solicitation for money, including the crassest I've ever received: a chance to sit at a dinner table with Ron Paul for a thousand dollars. I totally lost interest and respect in them after that.

COMMENT #108 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/8/2009 @ 10:35 am PT...





This is probably the most important post and followup thread ever posted on Bradblog and in the United States Of America. It seriously makes me angry it's not taken as such because it's such a deep problem. And so hopeless to resolve. We have to have our Representatives be objective and honest instead of fighting us from the inside using spying, oath breaking and timing against us. Even with voting restored. It won't ever matter if this is the case.

COMMENT #109 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/8/2009 @ 10:40 am PT...





Okay. Search Bradblog for "ELECTRONIC VOTE TABULATION DEVICE" and then get back to me. We been telling you this for years now. And I wasn't the first, but BRAD was damn near the first. IN other words your electronic voting machine is unconstitutional, yet you do nothing about it and smirk at those of us that try to point it out to you!

COMMENT #110 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/8/2009 @ 10:46 am PT...





Oh yeah and after you smirk at us, you allow the same representatives to FUND MORE COPS to lock us up for TELLING YOU while building up their personal security bubbles. Further AIR GAPING you from them and their friends\arguably whores agenda. May 11, 2009 FORTUNE 75 date, magazine, page To stay on topic here. Congress should not be trusted, just like voting officials, just like fascist media, just like everyone carrying a security clearance. Are they using invisibility as a weapon?

COMMENT #111 [Permalink]

... Phil said on 5/8/2009 @ 11:35 am PT...





Essayons

COMMENT #112 [Permalink]

... Robert Lombardi said on 5/8/2009 @ 2:01 pm PT...





The level of corruption in Congress is truly awe-inspiring. There needs to be something like an Annual Atlas of Congressional Corruption just to catalogue it. No human can possibly remember all the scandals and should-be scandals swirling through Congress like an open sewer at any one time. I call upon learned citizens to compile a carefully indexed, annually released atlas to compile the depth and breadth of government corruption in the U.S. The bandwidth costs for a website on this subject would be staggering.

COMMENT #113 [Permalink]

... Grizzly Bear Dancer said on 5/8/2009 @ 4:42 pm PT...





I hold the following truths to be true: 1. Bradblog investigative watchdog journalism be it on the subject of elections, voting machines, or other pertinent points of interest is 1 of the best on the net. 2. The highest levels of Federal government are run by a group of super corrupt super rich few for decades. It is not Repubicans against Democrats and as you have discovered, they are in complete control of their US corporate mass media. 3. Only a complete purging of the Federal government could remove the stranglehold these oil barons and investment bankers have on US government, the military industrial complex, and the Federal Reserve that is not even a government entity although called FEDERAL. I am an environmentalist and have written a new concept record about saving the oceans now in a state of emergency and the world water system. It can do something no other rock recording has accomplished by bringing about social change and give US people the word up since most other US mass media sources are completely controlled. It is also balance record about love and life as well as informing world people through music. There is a song called "United" that makes reference to what happened to you. I posted an extremely rough unmixed demo at www.myspace.com/kabongband. It was made for the band to learn the song but never to be released ever. If you want to check it out, at 3:00 minutes into the song, the lyrics are" 25 high level officials stole the bomb to sell their enemies. A total US media blackout allows these criminals to walk around free - the Sibel Edmonds's story..we're gonna take away this control." The final studio version will be much much better with guitars, bass, and drums. I am not even the lead singer although I'm singing and playing guitar on this track since I penned the song. I need a loan or some financial help to get this record called Treeson recorded. If you know someone - anyone who could help, please let me know. The band is very good and all the material is strong. Thank you so much for your hard work and conviction, Jack Locker

COMMENT #114 [Permalink]

... remoran said on 5/8/2009 @ 5:15 pm PT...





Sibel Edmonds is a class act who has been right all along about the BA, 9/11 and the issue of blackmail and intel. Too bad Obama doesn't have the same qualities as Edmonds.

COMMENT #115 [Permalink]

... Balu said on 5/9/2009 @ 6:16 am PT...





Big Dan : You do have a point ... it's a catch-22. the votes WOULD count if honest people were in the office and the "judiciary" wasn't owned. It's hard to see how to fix the system by staying within it --- I don't know how to drain the tub ... there ain't no baby in the bathwater, but the tub sure is heavy.

COMMENT #116 [Permalink]

... Konstantin said on 5/11/2009 @ 4:26 am PT...





Hi Sibel and Brad, Please have a look at this from the ACLU. https://secure.aclu.org/...e=UserAction&id=1480 "Act now. Ask your representative to co-sponsor the State Secrets Protection Act of 2009. For those who have had their attempts at justice stymied by improper claims of “state secrets,” this bill could prop open the courthouse doors once again and put us on the right path towards restoring justice."

COMMENT #117 [Permalink]

... stan said on 5/18/2009 @ 5:18 pm PT...

