Protesters Blow the Whistle in Palo Alto

Protesters Blow the Whistle in Palo Alto! (Firsthand Report by Organizer)


For almost three years, Listening for a Change, a listening project in downtown Palo Alto, has quietly been asking the public questions, writing down the public’s response and creating a place for public dialogue on critical issues. Colorful banners attract attention and the effort has been supported by the public, the press, a tolerant police force, and a friendly Parking Monitor. Today was exceptional as music, speakers, whistles loudly blasted out a public message- “No, to the 9-11 Cover-Up! No to a Global Police State!”

Outraged by an email from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Co-Sponsor of H.R. 4104- The Intelligence Transformation Act, which would greatly expand the CIA, or create a monster Intelligence Agency to command all the alphabet soup, I began organizing protests a few weeks ago. We had previously marched on our Senators and Congresswoman to demand a Congressional Investigation of 9-11, and later to Demand a Repeal of the PATRIOT Act, to Stop the 9-11 Cover-Up, and to Demand the Pre-Emptive Impeachment of George Bush and Co. for their aggressive threats to invade Iraq.

Today, music was provided by Annie and a Vet (usually Annie and the Vets, but Phil was working, so we just had Annie and George Johnson from Veteran’s for Peace). The speakers included- Willie Mukassa Ricks, leader in the 1960’s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) who coined the term “Black Power,” and Wendy Snyder of the African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC) who both spoke about the hidden truths of US history, and their efforts to build the “March for Social Justice to Stop America’s Other War!” on October 23, 2004 in Oakland, California and other cities, Dennis "Galen" Mitrzyk, a write in candidate, running for office against Anna Eshoo also spoke, challenging Eshoo’s positions on a range of issues and calling for a progressive, populist, people’s movement to reclaim government, end war, repeal the PATRIOT Act, and actually serve humanity and life rather than the oligarchic corporate interests, W.C. Moore and Josh Salans, 9-11 Truth activists spoke briefly, and I spoke at greater length about why we had gathered and why we were marching.

A Chinese Newspaper Reporter, Don Kazak from the Palo Alto Weekly, Take Back the Media, and independent photo-journalists covered the rally and march. I passed out press packets and copies of the New Pearl Harbor-Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11, which highlights many of the key questions that the official 9-11 Commission failed to address.

My own activism began after I saw the film, JFK, and began doing research on the CIA. I was horrified to discover that “my government” was responsible for overthrowing democratically elected leaders, installing military dictatorships, and launching campaigns of terror against innocent women and children in Third World countries. Later, I learned that within the US, oppressive campaigns have been launched against black communities, Native Americans, political dissidents, and, generally, non-white communities.

In the wake of 9-11, I went to DC to protest an impending war against Afghanistan and realized the war had nothing to do with “fighting terrorists,” but a lot to do with oil and controlling the lucrative drug trade.

The “smoking guns of 9-11-” the failure of the military that day to follow standard operating procedures to protect the most restricted airspace in the country, and the meetings between top US officials and the “money man behind 9-11,” head of Pakistani Intelligence-(the I.S.I.) Lt. General Mahmoud Ahmad from September 3rd through the 13th , prompted the first marches to Demand a Congressional Investigation. Subsequently, Bush and Cheney asked Daschle to limit the investigation and have it overseen by the very men who should have been investigated for their role in 9-11!!!

Senator Bob Graham and Congressman Porter Goss headed the official House/Senate Joint Intelligence Committee which conducted the Inquiry. Needless to say, they neglected to investigate their role, nor the role of Pakistan’s I.S.I. which funneled the 8 billion to create Al Qaeda.

Fighting tooth and nail, the White House finally gave in to pressure to create the “Independent Commission” to be headed by none other than “Henry Kissinger,” another person who deserves to be investigated for his role in 9-11. That should have raised a few red flags that the Commission was to be a Whitewash Commission and fail to address the serious questions we raised about 9-11. A cursory look at the mandate of both Inquiry and Commission reveals that they are supposed to “support the official narrative and justify Homeland Security” and the sweeping changes called for in the Project for a New American Century’s imperial plan to seize the world’s resources and secure an unchallenged dominant position in world affairs. At the International Inquiries into 9-11, journalist Joyce Lynn, articulated beautifully who the Commissioners were, whose interests they served- see a transcript of her talk- THE 9/11 COVER-UP COMMISSION: How the Foxes are Guarding the Chicken Coop (at http://www.communitycurrency.org/joycelynn.html).

While we don’t know precisely what happened on 9-11, the evidence points to complicity at the highest levels of government; we do know with absolute certainty that the government has been lying, destroying evidence and engaged in a massive cover-up (with the assistance of the media). In July when the Commission published its report (which reads like a novel and has become a bestseller!), they also decided to sell it publicly and lobby for the “reforms” they wished to make in the Intelligence Agencies.

Just as Pearl Harbor was used as a pretext for creating the CIA, 9-11 is being used for the military transformation of the US.

Most disturbing is that Porter Goss, who breakfasted with “the money man behind 9-11” on the morning of September 11th has been nominated to head the CIA and possibly become the new “Intelligence Czar” overseeing all the agencies. Goss, an old CIA operative introduced to political life by Bob Graham, wrote big chunks of PATRIOT Acts I and II; he has crafted much of the new legislation for “The Intelligence Transformation Act;” he also wrote the legislation which requires Congress to take an oath of secrecy, so that they cannot publicly discuss their CIA briefings. (I wonder where his loyalty lies- serving the CIA or the people he is supposed to represent). One Congressman, in the drama of September 11th, must have forgotten his oath, an NPR reporter said (after he evacuated the Capitol with Congress) - “I spoke with Congressman Ike Skelton—a Democrat from Missouri and a member of the Armed Services Committee—who said that just recently the Director of the CIA warned that there could be an attack—an imminent attack—on the United States of this nature. So this is not entirely unexpected.”

A critique of the 9-11 “Omission Report” to be released publicly in New York on August 27th by NY 9-11 activists (see http://911truth.org for details) notes the most glaring omissions of the report which bluntly states that “how the attacks were financed is of little importance.” The report ignores who profited from foreknowledge, the multiple warnings from foreign Intelligence Agencies, the warnings to Mayor Willie Brown, generals in the Pentagon… It fails to question why the chain of command was AWOL on the morning of the attacks, even though it was running multiple wargames, involving scenarios crashing hijacked planes into buildings! The official timeline has continually changed over time, as the lies fall apart, and new lies are fabricated; they simply can’t tell the truth, which would condemn those in the most powerful positions in the government.

We were fortunate that we could speak openly and publicly without police harassment and we discussed what we could do to show our solidarity for the protesters in NY who were being terrorized, followed, discouraged, and prevented from exercising their freedom of speech, the right to assemble peacefully, and safely. We passed out whistles, for our march, but also to encourage people to blow their whistles wherever they were to show solidarity for the RNC protesters in NY during the major days of protest.

We marched for truth, for justice, against the lies, the crimes, the wars; against the expansion of power of the most malevolent agency ever spawned by our country. We blew whistles, carried banners and signs, passed out flyers and Deception Dollars, chanted, sang, and made as much noise as we could to draw attention to the 9-11 Cover-Up, to the legislation which Bush, Kerry and Congress are trying to rush through in the manner of the PATRIOT Act and Homeland Security- before people have a clue what it means, and are able to mobilize against it.

We marched to “Wake Up America” to a scam being carried out with the assistance of our Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Co-Sponsor of H.R. 4104- The Intelligence Transformation Act, or the Global Police State Legislation, as it would expand the “National Security State” to encompass the planet and unleash the CIA upon “domestic terrorists”- loosely defined as anyone who opposes corporate or government policies.

When we reached Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s office, many of us squeezed inside to hear her response to my letter and the questions we had raised publicly (A full page ad appeared in last week’s Guardian http://www.deceptiondollar.com/news/WhitleBlow.htm ). “No response” was all we got from the staff who manned the front desk. I hope we can make H.R. 4104 a campaign issue and oust her for someone who is not beholden to powerful interests. I hope our action will have a ripple effect and encourage others to oppose the 9-11 Cover-Up and the Global Police State. I hope that our action will inspire protesters to “Blow the whistle!” in New York and in solidarity throughout the country with the vast majority who object to the lies, the crimes, the wars that the current regime has committed and will continue to commit, if we do not stop them.