Is the Oregon Truth Alliance Grassroots or Astroturf?

from Jenny's diary~

We're going to play "connect the dots". Whether it's fair or not, we are judged by our allies and supporters. Unless we go out of our way to qualify the relationship, people will make assumptions by association, whether explicit or implicit.

Below is a rough chart of associations cobbled together from the events of the past three weeks. It is by no means complete--just a beginning[EDIT--underscores show horizontal connections--the dashes are just to keep spacing. Sorry for any confusion!]:

Team Larouche

-------Vermont Greens____?_____Lyndon Larouch
----------------------|-----------------------------------|

-----------------Bruce Marshall____Webster Tarpley__Jim Fetzer__NicoHaupt

------------------------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------|
-------------Craig Hill---------------------John Leonard----------Capt. Eric May

----------------------------------------------------------|----------------- --------|(Port. Nuc. Inqt.)

----------------------------------------Leland Lehrman--------------Ginny Ross

----------------------------------------------------------|--------------(Oregon Truth Alliance,

---------------------------------------------"Epimanes"----------PDX 911Truth Alliance)

----------------------------------------------------------|

-------------------------------------------------Dick Eastman

So let's analyze the players:

Vermont Greens--while I'm a green sympathizer, I'm becoming less and less impressed with this lot. Seem to be more brown than green.

Craig Hill- Assistant Treasurer--sent me this lovely email:

http://truthaction.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6158#6158


Bruce Marshall--equally underwhelming --insulted Cosmos on TRR:

http://truthaction.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2159

Both have connections to LaRouche and Tarpley--

Lyndon Larouche--shadowing everyone like an approaching storm. If you haven't already, read more about him here:

http://truthaction.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2143

Webster Tarpley--once highly regarded 911 researcher. Now little more than a joke everyone is eager to forget. But it's hard will the following defending him--

John Leonard- His publisher. 'Kay, that wasn't a surprise.

Leland Lehrman--fellow scholar who believes the protocols of Zion are a historical document.

"Epimanes" a man (or woman?) of many faces, that is "sock puppets". Banned from 911Blogger for linking to Holocaust denial sites to support his arguments.

Dick Eastman a member of the yahoo group We The People United--recently sending some of us email suggesting many of the 911 sites, including 911Blogger and Truthaction.org are run by government agents.

Jim Fetzer--widely discredited 911 scholar, has defended Tarpley and supports Tarpley's assertions that those who exposed the KW hoax are agents. On Tarpley GCN Sept 20th broadcast he shared the contents of an email from-

Captain Eric May--owner of the Portland Nuclear Inquest yahoo group
and the center of the "Nukes are falling" hysteria. Also has written articles about his worries of "Jews in Hollywood". Complains in his email that agents are harrassing his group and the Oregon Truth Alliance run by-

Ginny Ross--does not see Eric May's "Jew" obsession as a hinderence to helping him get media exposure.

Nico Haupt--the less said the better. I include him because of his connections to Fetzer and support of DEW and I know he had registered with the Oregon Truth Alliance soon after Ginny created the site. His roll, if any, is uncertain at this time.


What do all these people have in common? They ALL support and endorse the Kennebunkport Hoax and none of them believe Webster owes an apology for calling four of the alleged signers "Dahliar 4", among other insults.

Now any small local group could get caught up is something larger by accident. But the Ginny Ross' involvement with groups that have a history of "getting caught up" in problems and not learning from their mistakes has been long.

Take the PDX 9/11 Truth Alliance, who had repeated problems, or supported dubious stories, during the year+ she has been a member:

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/01/352052.shtml

http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/ChicagoConferenceJune2006.html

http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3317/8634/

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/08/363883.shtml

http://www.portland-or.net/911truth/TheCuntLetters.html


And now, with her new Oregon Truth Alliance group, we have more of the same--at least as far as dubious stories are concerned:

Anyone Who Ever Had A Heart: The Kennebunkport Warning Revisited

http://www.oregontruthalliance.org/?q=node/233

We can thank our mate Winter Patriot for this bit. (Follow the links to his blog). Mind, he confuses my PM exchanges with my post on his blog, but we can't expect people who are going to excuse the Kennebunkport rubbish to be tracking facts. And he's beside the point--the point is that Ginny Ross and the Oregon Truth Alliance heartily and publicly endorse and support the Kennebunkport Warning as is, and are continuing to spread it far and wide, in direct opposition to the wishes and concerns expressed by Cindy Sheehan, Dahlia Wasfi, Ann Wright and Jamilla El Shafei --who have, without equivocation, stated that they did not endorse such a warning and in defiance of their wishes to have their signatures removed.

And that's what the Oregon Truth Alliance is up to lately--helping Webster's lame attempt to drive a wedge between 9/11 Truth and the Peace Movement. Thanks, Ginny, thanks alot. You are not helping, and the longer you keep at it, luv, the more it looks deliberate.

Recently, on Webster Tarpley's GCN comedy program--sorry, radio program,-- who of all people came on to defend Ginny Ross and the Oregon Truth Alliance, but Jim Fetzer:

http://nw0.info/files/Radio/The%20Genesis%20World%20Report/2007/September/gwr32k_2007-09-20.mp3


(between 1:19:58 and 1:28:36)

Quote:

FETZER: You'll like this Webster. I got an email from Captain Eric May--who's a retired Army intelligence officer--and one of the best and most astute critics of what is going on in relation to 9/11--who sent the following--" I believe that you"--he sent this to you, but I know you may not have seen it yet--"are right that the more prolific of our antagonists in the Kennebunkport Warning matter were professional agitators. Take one example: Col. Jenny Sparks who was harrassing the Oregon Truth Alliance, led by Ginny Ross, and the Portland Nuclear Inquest, which I lead, in the weeks before the Kennebunkport meeting. In typical agitator fashion, she claimed to do so in order to defend the 911 Truth Movement and debunk our alarmist alerting Portland to the dangers--alerting Portland to the dangers of a nuclear simulation, Noble Resolve. She and cohorts infiltrated both group lists and threw monkey wrenches in every direction before getting the boot. As a lasting memorial of the encounter, they then set up their own user group made of a mixed set of a dozen agitators and useful idiots, largely dedicated to damning me and brow beating Ms. Ross. Every once in a while I read it for amusement." Now, I think that those of 911Blogger need to wake up and smell the roses--the movement has been massively infiltrated, and they maybe unable to sort things out. One of the reasons being that is a closely closed operation on Blogger. They operate with a kind of group think, Webster, where anyone who veers outside of a certain narrowly defined channel of researches is assulted savagely, verbally on the list.

Ah Fetzer, always good value. He might want to pass on some corrections to Captain Mayday's complaints:

I was only able to "harrass" them once, and, as I predicted, I was banned immediately after posted "Has Noble Resolve been turned into a psyop?"

http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/Portland-Nuclear-Inquest/message/490

This was my first--and last--post there. So, I don't know what he's on about with "monkey wrenches". Guess that one post of mine made more of an impression than I thought.

As for "cohorts", off again, chums--I'm not part of any local group--though I do have my own people who keep me informed. What's a superhero without her team?

But that's nothing beside Ginny Ross and the Oregon Truth Alliance being defended by the most discredited scholar of the 9/11 Truth Movement, Jim Fetzer. How does that happen?

Granted Captain Eric May was the one who sent the email, but it would not surprise me if he did so at Ginny Ross' request. Ginny is a member of his Portland Nuclear Inquest group, and continues to be so despite objections raised about this:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/911truthportland/message/145

These are based on this article he wrote originally here, before they deleted the URL:

http://www.thewatcherfiles.com/ burning.htm


Fortunately it was copied in full in the yahoo group message.

Now who else claims to have problems with "the Jews"? Why our Mr. Lehrman! Another defender of Tarpley's actions. He's also a defender of "The Protocols of Zion":

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/bestauthenticationsofprotocolszion06jan06.shtml

Soon after imgstake found this(Thank you, imgstake!), Mr. Lehrman got himself banned from Truthaction.org. And he's not the first to be banned over trying to mix Holocaust shite with 9/11. "Ephimanes" was banned from 9/11 Blogger soon after linking to this site:

http://www.codoh.com/revision.html

Now three people defending the KW hoax, who are also willing to associate themselves with various forms of anti-semitism, and try to mix it up with 9/11 Truth, sounds less like a coincidence and more like a strategy. But what could that be?

Enter, my best guess, the "tag-team":

------------------------------------------------Ford Foundation
---------------------------------------------------------------|
-------------------------------------------------- Political Research Associates
---------------------------------------------------------------|
---------------------------------John Foster "Chip" Berlet


Now, I've only gotten Berlet on my radar recently. From my research, seems many think he might be single handedly responsible for starting the false "the Jews did it" meme. Even if he didn't start it, he has no problem helping:


http://www.jstandard.com/articles/1546/1/Jews-and-9%7B47%7D11-The-lie-that-won&%2339%3Bt-die

Nasty piece of work, that. Wester is right that Berlet's PRA has received Ford Foundation funding in the past. Whether it still is, is another question. But what Webster is wrong about is any of us "hoax busters" having anything to do with Berlet:

Quote:

TARPLEY: Now the other slander that we've got--and this is now the Berlet Brigade--Micheal Wosley joins in. And remember at this point people who engage in the same work are members of the Berlet Brigade. They're marching with Chip Berlet--they're stooges--foot soldiers--helpers--water carriers for Chip Berlet and the Ford Foundation. The only question is, "are they getting paid?" Are they conscious paid agents or are they dupes?

What poor Webbie misses is, if we were working for Chip Berlet--doing all this research for the Ford Foundation--Berlet would have written his DKos peices THREE WEEKS ago, instead of playing catchup last week. If anything, by timing alone, Berlet should be working for US. Sorry, luv, if anything Berlet is part of "Team Larouche" playing the "Punch" to your "Judy".

First the lame attempt to poison our relations with the Peace movement, then the lame attempt to connect us with Berlet. I'd stop while I was ahead, if I were you, Webbie--the odds don't seem to be favoring you.


But back to Ginny Ross and the Oregon Truth Alliance. I know she'd been warned about how the alliances she made might hurt her group's credibility. She acts as if she thinks her group is exempt from the responsibilities the rest of us take for granted. And now, Jim Fezter of all people is defending her. Here's what Ginny's newest friend has to say about most of us sane people in the 911 Truth movement:

Quote:

FETZER: That these people don't know anything about directed energy weapons or video fakery because they won't even allow it to be discussed on their websites--I mean it's hardly surprising that they're ignorant and not up to speed if they won't review the evidence, for example at Doctor Judy Wood.com. Or come over to scholars and review the discussion on Steven Jones research, under the science of 911, which you can access from the home page. There's a huge amount of evidence here--my concern has been much of Steve's position appears to be based on fake or phony evidence or evidence subject to alternative interpretation. They need to get a grip on reality

"They need to get a grip on reality" How ironically appropriate. Words that the Oregon Truth Alliance, and any other group consorting with these wankers, should take to heart. That sound you hear, Ms. Ross, is your credibility being crushed. Continuing to push the Kennebunkport Warning Hoax, followed up by a defense by Jim Fetzer, tells anyone who is paying attention that neither you, nor your group are to be taken seriously.

Grassroots activism? We doubt it. The Oregon Truth Alliance has done nothing so far to benefit grassroots activism. And now the OTA is actively helping to hurt our peace activist allies.


That tells us all we need to know.

How we broke the Kennebunkport Hoax Story

Posted at Daily Kos here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/21/143911/917

by Jenny Sparks

Fri Sep 21, 2007 at 01:28:52 PM PDT

After seeing the response to cberlet's extraordinary piece here:

http://www.dailykos.com/...

It ocured to me that Dkos readers might want to know more about the behind the scenes action of this hoax exposure.

This is a brief acccount of how a group of activists at TruthAction.org exposed an attempt to drive a wedge between the Peace movement and the Truth movement. For a more detailed account, go to Arabesque's blog:

http://arabesque911.blogspot.com/...

• 
  

It started at the crack of dawn, Monday August 27th, 2007 when Webster Tarpley, a much respected researcher emailed the moderators of 911Blogger with this text document:

THE KENNEBUNKPORT WARNING

To the American people, and to peace loving individuals everywhere:

Massive evidence has come to our attention which shows that the backers, controllers, and allies of Vice President Dick Cheney are determined to orchestrate and manufacture a new 9/11 terror incident, and/or a new Gulf of Tonkin war provocation over the coming weeks and months. Such events would be used by the Bush administration as a pretext for launching an aggressive war against Iran, quite possibly with nuclear weapons, and for imposing a regime of martial law here in the United States. We call on the House of Representatives to proceed immediately to the impeachment of Cheney, as an urgent measure for avoiding a wider and more catastrophic war. Once impeachment has begun, it will be easier for loyal and patriotic military officers to refuse illegal orders coming from the Cheney faction. We solemnly warn the people of the world that any terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction taking place inside the United States or elsewhere in the immediate future must be considered the prima facie responsibility of the Cheney faction. We urge responsible political leaders everywhere to begin at once to inoculate the public opinion of their countries against such a threatened false flag terror operation.

(Signed) A Group of US Opposition Political Leaders Gathered in Protest at the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, August 24-25, 2007

CYNTHIA MCKINNEY, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN, GEORGIA

CINDY SHEEHAN, CANDIDATE FOR U.S. CONGRESS, CALIFORNIA*

ANN WRIGHT, COLONEL US ARMY RESERVE, FORMER US DIPLOMAT*

JAMILLA EL-SHAFEI, ORGANIZER OF KENNEBUNKPORT PEACE DEMONSTRATION , KENNEBUNK PEACE DEPARTMENT*

DAHLIA WASFI, M.D. WWW.LIBERATETHIS.COM*

GEORGE PAZ MARTIN

JOHN KAMINSKI, MAINE LAWYER, IMPEACHMENT ADVOCATE **

WEBSTER G. TARPLEY, AUTHOR, 'UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE H.W. BUSH' & '9/11 SYNTHETIC TERROR: MADE IN THE USA'

CRAIG HILL, GREEN PARTY OF VERMONT, CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE

BRUCE MARSHALL, ORGANIZER OF PHILADELPHIA EMERGENCY ANTIWAR CONVENTION, PHILADELPHIA PLATFORM, WWW.ACTINDEPENDENT.ORG, GREEN PARTY OF VERMONT

This can be seen at:

http://www.911blogger.com/...

This certainly sounded alarming. Many of us know this administration, by it's appalling deceptions to justify the invasion of Iraq, is certainly not above manufacturing further consent to invade Iran, or any other nation that might be ripe for a profit motivated war. Anxiety is high, but, even so, some demand to know what is all this "massive evidence"? Evidence that is, presumably, above and beyond what we already know?

The next day, Tuesday, August 28th, Webster Tarpley emails the following:

Several readers of the Kennebunkport Warning have requested documentation on the evidence referred to in that document. I am enclosing my July 21, 2007 summary entitled "Cheney Determined to Strike in US with WMD this Summer," plus a portfolio of selected news stories covering July and August of 2007. (both items attached below) I have also included an early description of the Cheney doctrine by Philip Giraldi from August, 2005. This evidence could be supplemented, but it is already conclusive.

It would be foolhardy in the extreme for serious antiwar activists to ignore the grave danger of an upcoming attack on Iran, predicated on a new 9/11 and/or a new Gulf of Tonkin. I send this out in the hopes that it will promote a a vigorous open debate on these matters as we approach the sixth anniversary of 9/11.

A well-known Democratic member of the House of Representatives has repeatedly told individual supporters that the top leadership of the Democratic Party has explicitly approved an attack on Iran. Mrs. Clinton is openly offering herself as the politician best qualified to take over in the wake of such an event. It is therefore the task of genuine antiwar activists, together with institutional forces within the government and the military, plus certain international factions, to ward off this looming catastrophe.

Webster G. Tarpley
Washington DC

This can be viewed, along with attachments, at:
http://www.911blogger.com/...

This seems promising. But then it's found out that one of the items in the attachments is dated from 2005!

http://www.911blogger.com/...

Hardly a basis for "massive evidence" of anything imminent. Our doubts grow.

Then, on Wednesday morning, August 29th, we finally get a scanned copy of this alledged warning with signatures seen here:

http://www.911blogger.com/...

It is at this point that Jones Jones is almost certain this document is a hoax and explains why at TruthAction.org:

http://truthaction.org/...

That was the watershed. Together we worked, emailing signatories, researching documents and making calls, to get to the bottom of this. Several problems were apparent, the most disturbing being that Cynthia McKinney's signature was not among the signatures as stated in the text document. Nor were the signatures of Craig Hill or Webster Tarpley. The last is an odd omission, considering it was Mr. Tarpley himself who was so keen to share this document. But the biggest testimony that confirmed the dubious nature of these events came from Dahli Wasfi herself when she issued this joint statement:

"Each of us were approached during the rally at the Kennebunkport event on August 25, 2007, to sign a statement calling for the immediate impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. Since then, the statement has been altered and posted on the internet, making it appear as if we have evidence that this administration will carry out a "false-flag terror operation."
None of us have such evidence, and therefore, none of us signed a statement stating that we do. We wish the authors of the document well in continuing much needed investigations of all aspects of 9/11.

Signed:
Jamilla El-Shafei
Cindy Sheehan
Dahlia Wasfi
Ann Wright"

This confirmed our suspicions and made us wonder what happened to what they did sign. Unfortunately, that was when the attacks started, by none other than Tarpley himself, amply assisted by Brush Marshall and Craig Hill.

First the attacks were directed at the Peace Activists:

By Webster Tarpley:

"Some of the signers, under the obvious threats of totalitarian forces, are lying in appalling fashion about what they signed and if they signed. You can see for yourself from the facsimile who signed. We need to move beyond these wretched individuals.

http://www.911blogger.com/...

by Craig Hill:

"The hoax lies in the lies of the signers, as you will see. "

http://truthaction.org/...

and a low key chiding by Bruce Marshall:

"For your information, I am the one who obtained the signatures and
other forms of support. Everyone read the document as adults and chose to
sign it. Some did not such as Debra Sweet from "World Can't Wait". There
were no tricks, no forgeries, just one person who became scared and
infected others. This is unfortunate.

My colleagues and I have been slandered, but that is not the issue, the
issue is saving this planet and our nation from a grave disaster in
the making. Digital photos of the documents will be online soon. "

http://truthaction.org/...

The Truth community was appalled. Did Webster Tarpley just call Cindy Sheehan a liar? Isn't that supposed to be Karl Rove's job?

The denouncement of Tarpley and his cohorts unacceptable behavior is swift throughout comments on various sites( easily seen for those who bother to look) culminating in this blog by art V:

TARPLY ARE YOU SERIOUS?

http://www.911blogger.com/...

The consensus is Tarpley needs to publicly apologize to Dahlia, Cindy, Jamilla, and Ann, in addition to explaining his actions.

But neither he, nor Bruce Marshall, nor Craig Hill apologize. Instead, they start attacking those who exposed the hoax:

Tarpley calls all here disinfo

http://truthaction.org/...

We are stunned. But then more research reveals what some have known all along: all those pushing the hoax and making the attacks have connections to Lyndon Larouche:

Who is Lyndon H. LaRouche?

http://truthaction.org/...

This can hardly be a coincidence but it's exact meaning has yet to be determined. Our research is ongoing.

Suffice it to say, Webster Tarpley has burned his bridge with the Truth movement. Until such a future time that he apologizes in public and in full for his shabby treatment of brave anti-war activists like Cindy Sheehan and Dahlia Wasfi, he has no place among us. We will not tolerate this behavior from those who claim to be part of the Truth Movement.

I will end with the kind words Dahli Wasfi sent me in an email after I sent a joint apology on behalf of the Truth Movement:

From: info@liberateXXXX
To: col_jennysparks@XXXX
Subject: RE: Our apologies from the 9/11 Truth Movement
Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:01:47 -0400

Dear Col. Sparks--
I thank you for your efforts to find the truth. I've checked the
internet on the "Warning" from time to time and found your honest posts
there; so I'm grateful for your efforts to get information from the
"wretched liars'" mouth, if you will. :)

I've watched several documentaries on 9/11, and I support the honorable
efforts of the 9/11 truth movement. I believe our work is synergistic
in the struggle for justice.

In solidarity,
Dahlia

In solidarity indeed.

Thank you, Dahlia and all Peace activists who share with the Truth Movement the goal of ending wars--forever.