Posts tagged “Iraq war”

The biggest story you’ve never heard

First, a brief introduction:

Sibel Edmonds has a story to tell. She went to work as a Turkish and Farsi translator for the FBI five days after 9/11. Part of her job was to translate and transcribe recordings of conversations between suspected Turkish intelligence agents and their American contacts. She was fired from the FBI in April 2002 after she raised concerns that one of the translators in her section was a member of a Turkish organization that was under investigation for bribing senior government officials and members of Congress, drug trafficking, illegal weapons sales, money laundering, and nuclear proliferation. She appealed her termination, but was more alarmed that no effort was being made to address the corruption that she had been monitoring.Sibel Edmonds and Philip Giraldi
The American Conservative

[Edit: 6:3410:21 PM CDT] Sibel posted her response to Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s attack on her character. Pretty good, in my opinion. I’ve integrated some of Sibel’s links into this post and details to the names on the list of members of Congress.

[audio:NicoleSandler_BradFriedman_092209.mp3]

Nicole Sandler Show - Brad Friedman talks about Sibel Edmonds - 09-22-09 (37:36)

Sibel (pronounced suh-bell) took her case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, who refused to hear the case. At each turn, she and her ACLU attorneys were barred from the courtroom while Justice Department officials discussed the matter with the judge(s) and decided her fate thanks to the “State Secrets Privilege“, a draconian executive order that is the extra-judicial legal equivalent of “no, because I said so.”

Sibel Edmonds primer
1) Read this
2) Listen to Brad Friedman (above)
3) Read this
4) Read these 1, 2, 3
5) Read this
6) Read this
7) Watch “Kill the Messenger” – The Sibel Edmonds documentary (below)

There was almost no mainstream media coverage in the United States (one 60 Minutes segment and a Vanity Fair article) and that was the way it was for Sibel Edmonds…until August 8, 2009. Finally, after years of having her right to free speech surreptitiously squashed, the Obama administration opted not to invoke the state secrets privilege and she was allowed to speak under oath in a deposition in Ohio (entire deposition video after jump).

Sibel has been trying to tell her story to the authorities and the media since 2001 and now that the gag has come off, she is telling it from the mountain top. Who can blame her? The American Conservative (Pat Buchanan’s magazine) ran an interview that she did with former CIA operative Philip Giraldi on their cover on Tuesday. Sibel finally named names.
Read the rest of this entry »

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New feature: Mantras

Those of you that have the unique pleasure of knowing me personally have, in all likelihood, heard me ranting and raving about the ineffective state of modern, mainstream journalism. During the days after the initial invasion and occupation of Iraq, I was heard saying, “Why doesn’t the New York Times just print, as a banner headline, every single day, ‘Where are the WMDs?’ What about ‘George Bush lied about WMD’ or ‘Colin Powell lied about WMD’?”

The argument from the msm and associated apologists is that it is biased to call the Bushies (or any politico) liars; it is assumed that politicians will lie. That is a load of crap. If you have a man saying something that you know to be patently false, anyone is within their logical rights (and if you are a member of the fourth estate, you have a responsibility) to call that person a liar. To this day, mine is a valid question, but this is not what is drilled into the American public’s collective consciousness. It occurred to me today that I wasn’t putting my 0’s and 1’s where my mouth is. That changes, starting now.

You will notice a new addition to the top of the sidebar: Mantras.

A mantra (or mantram) is a religious or mystical syllable or poem, typically from the Sanskrit language. Their use varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee. Other purposes have included religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or eliminate enemies.Wikipedia: Mantra

These are key questions or comments, pertinent to American society, that until remedied should not leave the collective conscience. They aren’t all going to be political, but I’m feeling a bit feisty right now, so that’s where I will start, righting my old wrongs. If you have suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

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