9/11 survivors lawsuit against united airlines given go-ahead

9/11 mother to make legal history suing over son's 21 minutes of terror before his doomed flight hit world trade center
from allgov: In the 10 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, thousands of survivors have settled their lawsuits against the airlines and other parties, and collected awards totaling billions of dollars. But one family has held out so it can have its day in court, and that time is finally approaching.

The plaintiff is the mother of Mark Bavis, one of the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to strike the World Trade Center. She is suing United and Huntleigh USA, the security company that screened passengers at Logan International in Boston, where the flight originated.

Bavis’ family contends that he and the other passengers would not have died had United and Huntleigh done their jobs and thus thwarted the hijackers who flew the airliner into the South Tower.

They blame United for ignoring government warnings about terrorist threats and Huntleigh for inadequate screening of passengers.

Her attorneys intend to portray the last minutes of the flight as sheer terror, based on phone calls made by other passengers. In a pretrial motion United’s legal team tried to keep Bavis from pursuing pain-and-suffering damages for the last moments of her son’s life. But a federal judge, Alvin Hellerstein, ruled this week that he is inclined to allow the trial’s jury to formulate an amount for such damages.

The wrongful-death case is expected to go to trial in November.

related 9/11 updates:
video: bushobama plan visit to new york on 9/11*
9/11 ceremony won't include presidential speeches*
robert de niro to host cbs 9/11 update*
calls to drop name 'ground zero' ahead of tenth anniversary of 9/11 attacks*
cancer-stricken ground zero worker edgar galvis gets settlement check for zero dollars*
mystery surrounds loss of records, art on 9/11*
flight 93 pennsylvania crash site marked by huge boulder*
9/11 inside job 'impossible to conceal,' says putin*
more insight into artist rick veitch and 'the big lie' comic book*
video: huckabee releases cartoon video on 9/11*

antiwar republican ron paul declares presidential candidacy

from dpa: Texas Congressman Ron Paul announced Friday his bid to gain the Republican Party nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. Paul, 75, made the announcement on ABC Television's Good Morning America. A radical free-market libertarian, Paul was a fringe presidential candidate in 2008 whose small but loyal following raised unexpected millions of dollars for his campaign, though he fell well short of the conservative party's nomination. Opposed to nearly all foreign military deployments, Paul was one of the few members of Congress among the hawkish Republicans who voted against the 2003 Iraq invasion, and he has called for a US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Paul, a medical doctor by training, had already formed a presidential exploratory committee last month. Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, declared himself a candidate on Wednesday. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, another failed 2008 candidate, and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty have formed exploratory committees for their expected presidential runs.

related updates:
trump won't run for president*
huckabee rules out 2012 white house run*
re-election no joking matter for obama*

pnac, un, nra, ocp, at&t, apra & bg

pnac site goes down
from thinkprogress: Eleven years ago, the neoconservative Project for a New American Century (PNAC) set out its statement of principles advocating the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, putting the country on the road to a preventative invasion of Iraq. Signatories included future Iraq war architects Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Elliott Abrams, as well as neoconservatives like Bill Kristol and Robert Kagan... But just as the neocons are attempting to run from responsibility for the Iraq war, it appears PNAC may be abandoning its own website.

un racism investigator to visit US
from reuters: A special U.N. human rights investigator will visit the United States this month to probe racism, an issue that has forced its way into the race to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit. "The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.

huckabee jokes about obama ducking gunman
from cnn: During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee - who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain - joked that an unexpected offstage noise was Democrat Barack Obama looking to avoid a gunman.


1-child policy decimates china after quake
from wufu: After their daughter was born, Bi Kaiwei and his wife, Meilin, decided to adhere to China's one-child policy and its slogan, "Have fewer kids, live better lives." For them and other couples who lost an only child in this week's massive earthquake, the tragedy has been doubly cruel. Robbed of their sole progeny and a hope for the future, they find it even harder to restart their shattered lives, haunted by added guilt, regret and gnawing loss.

illegally spy on americans ... win fabulous prizes!
from global research: Fingered by whistleblower's Mark Klein and Babak Pasdar (450kb PDF) for their role in illegally spying on Americans, AT&T and Verizon were awarded a major contract by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Washington Technology reports: "Verizon Business will perform the lion's share of the work on the Homeland Security Department's OneNet telecommunications contract with support from AT&T Government Solutions."

'operation terminal stinger' set for penn airport
from pittsburgh tribune-review: Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity will be the site of an emergency response training exercise. “Operation Terminal Stinger” is scheduled for June 6 and 7 at the facility near Latrobe. The exercise is required by the Federal Aviation Administration and will feature a scenario in which a terrorist cell will down an aircraft with a shoulder-fired missile.

bohemian grove to cut tress for cash
from washington post: Immense power and staggering wealth are as deeply imbedded in the traditions of the Bohemian Club as they are in the grove itself, 100 acres of old-growth redwoods spared from timber companies a century ago in the name of preservation. Which only deepens the dismay that has greeted the club's request to the state of California for permission to log as much as 1 million board feet from the place to raise some cash.

fundamentalist preacher wins wv gop convention

ah, my ol' homestate used to be such a levelheaded blue state. but i think the 9/11 production & the phony war on terror have fried their brains...

from ap: Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee won 18 delegates here Tuesday as backers of rival John McCain threw him their support to prevent Mitt Romney from capturing the winner-take-all GOP state convention vote... Huckabee captured 33 percent on the first tally; McCain, 15 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul, 10 percent.

hillary's donors, diebold's failures, cfr's huckabee, obomba & his warmonger cabinet

hillary donor tied to mexican drug trade

from judicial watch: An influential Democratic donor who has given Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign the federal limit and has been indicted for illegally practicing law, had his offices raided by authorities who say he launders money for Mexican drug cartels. Renowned in ritzy Corpus Christi circles, Mauricio Celis has for years been one of Texas’ most generous Democratic donors, but the millionaire businessman has been the center of an ongoing criminal investigation that involves his deep-rooted ties to Mexico’s lucrative drug-smuggling industry.

diebold failures found throughout new hampshire primary
from brad blog: Early research into New Hampshire wards and towns which used Diebold's AccuVote Optical-Scan voting machines during last week's Primary reveals that chronic problems continue with the company's infamous paper-ballot voting machines. As well, the preliminary investigation reveals a great deal of confusion and conflicting information from local election clerks and a high-ranking official in the state Attorney General's office regarding protocols and security procedures for voting systems and memory cards, and how they are to be handled during Election Day failures.

video: the cfr ♥'s huckabee


paul beats rudy & fred, again
from los angeles times: Well, he's hanging in there. Not only that, but Rep. Ron Paul thumped two reputed Republican heavyweights in the Michigan primary - former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani... Paul's website and new campaign blog claim to have quietly organized more than 7,800 precinct captains around the country. Meantime, Giuliani's top staff is going unpaid this month to save dwindling funds. Is there a pattern here?

ron paul: the mysterious US candidate

from russia today: The lack of media coverage has turned Ron Paul into the ghost candidate in this race for the White House. And one can't help but wonder why the Texas Congressman doesn't get much air-time, despite all the hype? ... his supporters say it's not that Paul is not presidential material but that the American system no longer values freedom as much as it used to.

combined primary percentages put paul in 4th place
from lew rockwell: Here are the combined vote totals for IA, NH, and MI:

Romney - 443,139 Total Votes – 36.89%
McCain - 361,546 Total Votes – 30.10%
Huckabee - 207,308 Total Votes – 17.26%
Paul - 84,554 Total Votes – 7.04%
Giuliani - 50,925 Total Votes – 4.24%
Thompson - 49,198 Total Votes - 4.10%
Hunter - 4,567 Total Votes - 0.38%

Paul is in a solid fourth, increased his percentage lead over Giuliani by 300% in Michigan, and should stay in fourth through SC and NV, where Thompson and Giuliani will close the gap in each state. In other news, the latest CNN/Politico/LA Times California poll has Paul at 8%, with no candidate garnering more than 20% in the poll. The poll had a huge margin of error (6%), which makes Paul and four other candidates technically tied in the Golden State.

who do the kids of america want to be president?
from raw replay: Legendary newsperson Linda Ellerbee takes a closer at what the kids of America think about the 2008 presidential race. The following video is from Nickelodeon’s The Kids Primary, broadcast on January 13, 2008 (jump to the 13m mark for the ron paul segment)


kucinich decries general electric/media conspiracy
from las vegas sun: At 5:25 p.m., shortly after the Nevada Supreme Court (262kb PDF) refused to give Dennis Kucinich a seat at the debate, a small band of his supporters marched to a far corner of a parking lot outside the Cashman Center, where supporters of the three major candidates had gathered. Spectators soon realized that Kucinich was among them. He said: “The fact of the matter is, NBC is owned by General Electric. General Electric makes power plants. General Electric wants to make sure there is a place to dump the waste.”

US elections: just like the movies
from the peoples voice: The United States political process bears an uncanny resemblance to mainstream filmmaking. Elections and speeches are scripted to the letter, politicians put on a tirelessly rehearsed act, catering endlessly to the whims of the target audience. A successful Hollywood filmmaker can't afford to risk raising issues in a way that don't immediately reflect audience sympathies. Good politicians vying for votes are similar in that they speak according to the already existing expectations - and prejudices - of the voting public.

obama, brzezinski & aq khan
from across the aisle: My fellow blogger David Isenberg noted below that Senator Obama should reject the advice of Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter’s national security adviser. The basis for David’s statement is the advice Brzezinski gave Carter in the 1970’s on U.S.-Pakistan relations. Brzezinski urged Carter to prioritize Pakistani assistance for U.S. efforts in Afghanistan over nuclear proliferation concerns.
related: obama & his warmonger cabinet

paul finishes 5th in iowa with 10%

ron paul's backers are incredibly fervent
from mcclatchy: They come from across the country - and the political spectrum - to work in New Hampshire for Rep. Ron Paul, captivated by the philosophy and personality of the man who's become the Republican Pied Piper of the 2008 presidential campaign...

Perhaps none is more dedicated than Vijay Boyapati. He's the founding father of Operation Live Free or Die, an effort to get 1,000 volunteers to come to New Hampshire and live in youth hostel-like conditions to wave Ron Paul signs along highways, canvas neighborhoods and work phone banks...

Kim Wolanyk, 38, a self-professed liberal Democrat, thought her husband had become a tad obsessed with Paul. But the more she heard her husband talk, and the more she realized how angry she was at congressional Democrats for failing to end the Iraq war or kill the Patriot Act, the better Ron Paul sounded...

"When we change everything in New Hampshire, we'll go to South Carolina and Nevada," he said. "This is only the beginning."

ron paul gets some revenge
from la times: An easily overlooked aspect of the Iowa caucuses - Ron Paul not only besting Rudy Giuliani, but doing so by more than 2-to-1 - sparked a trip down memory lane for us. It was mid-May, and the former mayor of New York was riding high following one of the early debates among the Republican presidential candidates... That was then, this is now. In Iowa, Paul, 10%; Giuliani, 4%... Look at the source data as of 10:01 pm PST. Ron Paul may be 5th but 253 votes separate 3rd, 4th and 5th

1. Mike Huckabee 5,635
2. Mitt Romney 3,163
3. John McCain 1,853
4. Fred Thompson 1,842
5. Ron Paul 1,600
6. Rudy Giuliani 418
7. Duncan Hunter 44
8. Alan Keyes 20

We currently have 1749 Counties/Precincts in our system, with
54.49% of precincts reporting in.
The total number of votes cast thus far: 14,575

ron paul baffles media in iowa
from nolan chart: Ron Paul's modest yet solid primary in Iowa confounds critics and rivals who called him nothing more than a spoiler... Welcome to the big leagues, Dr. Paul... Ron Paul brought in real substantial votes on Jan. 3. The man deserves to be heard in every debate from here on out... Mike Huckabee may have "I want to choke Romney" Chuck Norris. But we have the Ron Paul R[EVOL]ution. And we have only begun to fight. On to the Granite State.

ron paul defeats gop nat'l front-runner in iowa
from what really happpened: Though Paul finished fifth in the Iowa Republican caucuses, the 72-year-old maverick placed far ahead of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is running first in national polls. Proving that the National Mainstream Media Polls do not measure public opinion so much as try to manufacture it!

Now, some things we learn from tonight:

1. All the Ron Paul support on the internet is meaningless if you don't get out to the polls and actually vote. I don't care how cold it is; make the effort.

2. Nobody expected Ron Paul to win tonight, but there is no question he did far better than most commentators were expecting.

3. Scare-mongering as a campaign strategy is SOOOO 20th Century!

obama & huckabee nab iowa victories
from raw story: Among Republicans, Huckabee handily defeated his chief rival in the state, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars. He was winning 34 percent support, compared to 25 percent for Romney. Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) battled for third place, with 13 percent each. Libertarian-leaning GOP candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) notched 10 percent of the Republican vote. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who did not campaign heavily in the state, claimed 4 percent.

december clearinghouse

top economist says america could plunge into recession *

ohio guard call-up said to be largest since wwii *

how to lose your job on your own time *

mexico to microchip central american migrants *

eli lilly knew prozac had 1200% higher suicide rate than other antidepressants *

wtc7: a tale of three broadcasters *

creeping fascism: from nazi germany to post 9/11 america *

underreported attack on a south african nuclear facility *

former bush home burned by arsonist *

police abandoned security posts before bhutto assassination *

giuliani helped sell oxycontin safety *

50 most loathsome people in america 2007 *

vermont town seeks bush arrest *

bhutto conspiracy theories fill the air *

'enhanced' rfid driver’s license soon available in washington *

US & britain: endemic surveillance societies *

'the shell game' aims at 9/11 coverup with both barrels blazing *

video: the great hpv vaccine hoax exposed *

west virginia cop says woman wiped nose on him *

buffett to pay $4.5b for marmon stake *

scientology buying up downtown detroit *

jeb bush in israel for private visit *

white house tour omits rare 1963 jfk christmas card *

ibm building metaverse *

irate shopper tasered in florida best buy *

jerry mazza: 9/11's history of tragic events *

video: ron paul on mad money with jim cramer *

cia torture jet wrecks with 4 tons of cocaine *

video: the truth about the bali bombings *

video: proof that huckabee is bought & paid for *

botched raid terrorizes minnesota family *

'98 defense doc confirms osama's plans to penetrate US biodefense *

un finds fraud & mismanagement in peacekeeping *

blackwater guards shoot new york times' dog *

video: ex-alabama gov says '02 election stolen by white house *

la times: precious metals are for survivalists, conspiracy theorists and flakes *

shrub's secret shredding soars *

the ten best movie destructions of new york city *

did morgan spurlock find osama bin laden? *

muslim man helps jews attacked on new york subway *

why has the US forest service purchased $600k worth of tasers? *

did gunman warn of 2nd attack? *

fbi may have been warned about rampage *

american jews 'oppose war on iran' *

poll: US jews turning against israel *

central banks join forces to avert next credit crunch *

how to control the american population *

elite depopulation agenda gains ground *

hitchens: it's time to abolish the cia *

proof of the war between the establishments *

israeli reactor under toxic fumes *

the fort dix conspiracy *

israel considering attack on iran *

psychotropic drug prescriptions to children skyrocket 400% in ten years *

more than 100 websites blocked in growing wave of online censorship *

invite big brother into your house *

omaha gunman came from treatment centers, group homes & foster care *

travelers love being scanned by the ministry of homeland security *

fbi: gitmo detainee was with bin laden *

iris scans let law enforcement keep eye on criminals *

google trends: ron paul wins presidential election *

chinese dissidents establish transitional mainland government *

now you can get your mercury & formaldehyde flu shot at the airport *

dirty bomb exercise in mobile, alabama *

video: good morning america learns that bin laden is a dead cia agent *

are you !@#$ing kidding me?: US seeks probe after putin's poll victory *

video: we are change colorado confronts john ashcroft *

ron paul wins his 25th straw poll

from nolan chart: Ron Paul has just won his 25th straw poll. The Republican presidential candidate has taken the top honors in Virginia, followed by Fred Thompson in second place and Mike Huckabee in third. Paul got 182 of the 439 votes cast, or 38%.

The Richmond-Times Dispatch reported that there was a visibly discernable turnout for Ron Paul, and went on to say that his vocal supporters packed the place.

The Virginia win makes the 25th straw poll victory for Ron Paul. A month earlier he won the New York State Republican straw poll in New York City, with 43% of the vote. His other 23 straw poll wins can be seen on the official Ron Paul 2008 campaign website.

Update: Watch the voters listen for the results here.

utah turnout wows ron paul

from salt lake tribune: More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday at the Union Pacific Depot in Salt Lake City to rally behind U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Paul, an obstetrician from Texas, was impressed with the turnout.

"Wow. If they only knew you existed over in Washington, they'd change things over there," he said as he greeted the cheering crowd.

Paul spoke fervently of his support of smaller government, including the abolition of agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, and of his support for strictly following the Constitution. He also spoke out against the war in Iraq and any pre-emptive military action.

"Because of our careless attitude about foreign policy and how we go to war, we have allowed our government to build an American world empire," he said. "We are not an empire. We're a republic."

Paul's stances on such topics are "clearly proven" in his voting record, which has earned him the nickname of "Dr. No" in the House of Representatives, said supporter Ronald Levine Saturday.

"I tell people not to listen to what a candidate says before an election or what he does," he said. "I tell them to look at what he has consistently done for the past 20 years."

That voting record is what drives his grass-roots supporters, said Mark Hudson of Syracuse.

"He is the only candidate who attracts everyone from libertarians to constitutional conservatives to true conservatives," Hudson said...


update: ron paul places 2nd at the 'values voter' debate
from paul4prez: At tonight's Values Voter debate, Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee won the post-debate straw poll with 63% of the vote. Ron Paul's debate skills earned him a second place finish at 13%. His strong showing may have surprised some observers, given his steadfast opposition to the Iraq war, and his refusal to use the power of the federal government to force conservative values on everyone...

Although religious conservatives may like Huckabee's doctrinaire agreement on social issues, his record in Arkansas should dampen their enthusiasm: as governor, he increased spending by 65 percent in eight years, and his mixed positions on illegal immigration may account for his slow start in the fundraising race.

Social conservatives should also consider carefully the true limited-government platform of Ron Paul. Even if social conservatives gain enough power at the federal level to force their values on everyone, the gains will be fleeting and subject to reversal at the next election. A federal government constrained to its Constitutional limits, as Ron Paul supports, is the only government that can be trusted to respect all of our freedoms. As Barry Goldwater once said:

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have."

The Values Voter presidential debate invited all of the Republican presidential candidates to speak directly to an organization representing the religious conservatives who formed a large and influential part of the Republican Party's electoral success from 1980 to 2004. So-called front-runners Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and John McCain showed their disdain for social conservative voters by ducking the debate.

Ron Paul's closing statement in the Values Voters debate: