August 29th, 2006
Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago has conducted countless tabletop drills since Sept. 11, 2001 to simulate what would happen if the city was hit with a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

Next week, the simulation will come “off the tabletop and out into the street.”

Emergency preparedness officials will stage a “voluntary evacuation” of fewer than a dozen buildings in a section of the Loop that Chief Emergency Officer Cortez Trotter described as “two square blocks, maybe more.” Sources said the Sears Tower will not be included in the drill, tentatively scheduled for next Thursday.

Building employees who agree to participate — and give up “several hours” of their workday — will be directed to designate “transport centers,” Trotter said. From there, they will presumably be taken by bus to central gathering places like McCormick Place, where they will be given food, water, washclothes, toothbrushes, blankets and other essentials.

McCormick Place got its first evacuation test during a South Side power outage earlier this month.

The goal of the drill is to test in a real-life situation how prepared Chicago is for a mass evacuation nearly five years to the day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“When you do tabletop exercises, that’s one thing. But it becomes real life to people when they can actually see it. Once they see these exercises unfolding and they can understand that, ‘Hey, that could be me tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or next year,’ they start to pay closer attention to it,” Trotter told a news conference at the city’s 911 emergency center.

“The exercise not only demonstrates what we would have people do once they reach ground level. It takes it to the next step. And that is, once you’re evacuated, you can anticipate going to assembly transport centers. You can anticipate being told to go to different locations. Once that takes place, then the second phase of the excerise that’ll be done — later on in the year, probably — picks it up at that point: the stockpiling. They’ll be made aware of that so that, if you are told to evacuate, we are starting to stockpile things that people need.”

Trotter said the evacuation will not cause a “considerable disruption” in the central business district. But it will cover an area “large enough so that we can get a good sampling” of where Chicago stands.

“Yes, we have a plan. Yes, we understand the plan. Yes, we believe that it will work well. We’re going to test it and make sure that it does and, if it needs to be tweaked, then we’ll do it…We had a recent power outage on the South Side. As a result of the evacuation that took place there, we’ve learned some things. We’ve tweaked the plan. Now, we’re bringing it downtown. Once we do it here, we’re going back to the neighborhoods,” he said.

Although building owners and managers have been notified, Mayor Daley said it’s pivotal not to reveal too many details about the drill in advance.

“You can’t say, ‘Everybody has to do this. Now, we’ll give everybody an alert. Here’s what you have to do.’ That’s not an evacuation plan. This has to be spontaneous….I’m not going to have people there two days before getting ready for an evacuation plan. You don’t do that. There has to be some chaos. People get frightened. They get upset,” he said.

But what about pedestrians and other innocent bystanders who have no idea that it’s only a drill? Isn’t there at least some danger of a War of the Worlds scenario, where passersby believe that it’s all for real and start panicking?

“Let’s hope not. Let’s hope that there’s enough interest and enough chaos to let us evaluate what would happen. But I doubt we would get into a War of the Worlds [panic] over just a few people,” Trotter said.

The Loop evacuation drill is just one of several activities planned for National Preparedness Month. City Hall is also planning public service announcements and presentations at schools and senior citizen centers to spread the word about disaster preparedness and the need to make advance plans to protect children, the elderly and pets.

Daley was joined at Monday’s news conference by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Durbin has inserted proposed language into the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 that would provide grants to cities and states to develop evacuation plans, conduct drills and stockpile materials to supply emergency shelters.

The bill, now before a House-Senate conference committee, would not allow Chicago to apply for reimbursement for the Loop evacuation drill after the fact. But it would be available to finance future drills, the senator said.

“You know what happens to our kids when they go to school? They have fire drills. They tell kids what you have to do to get out of the building safely — and we’re glad they do this. Well, we need to have the same fire drill mentality. We have to know the right escape routes, the right exits, who to watch for, whom we can trust, where we can go,” Durbin said.

(source)

Also see:

Sears Tower: 60606
Chicago “9/12″?: Pick a Number between 6 and 6
Chicago’s Hancock Center heads for sale block
“Sears Tower Attack Foiled”: 7 Arrested

NEW YORK — CNN will mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by replaying on the Internet the cable network’s coverage of that day’s events.

Viewers can watch how events unfolded starting at 8:30 a.m., minutes before the first reports of an airplane hitting the World Trade Center. The feed will run in real time, as the network showed it five years ago, until midnight.

For the day, CNN will make its online video service, CNN Pipeline, available for free. Normally, viewers pay $2.95 a month or $24.95 a year for four separate video feeds.

Online viewers will be able to watch live reports of memorial services through one of the feeds. So that viewers won’t accidentally stumble upon graphic footage from 2001, the replay feed will be covered with a notice instructing users to click only if they want to watch.

“Our users may choose to view the stream of coverage from Sept. 11, 2001, or live coverage of memorial services at Ground Zero, or they may click through the numerous interactive elements on the site,” said David Payne, senior vice president and general manager of CNN.com. “They have the power to determine the best way for them to remember the anniversary.”

CNN is a unit of Time Warner Inc.

(source)

Voice of the Northern Berkshires
August 14, 2006

WASHINGTON — The sudden collapse, the seamless downward cascade of the crumbling World Trade Center towers planted doubt in Bruce Henry’s mind.

The way the buildings fell didn’t seem right. The implosionlike plummeting, the absence of central beams and girders refusing to fall, the speed of the collapse — all raised suspicion for the retired mathematics professor from Worcester.

“That was the seed,” said Henry, who taught at Worcester State College. “To me it seems so transparent with a minimal amount of reflection that there’s something catawampus,” or cockeyed, with the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Finally, he came to a shocking conclusion that runs counter to the accepted history of America’s darkest day: The towers, he believes, “were brought down by planted explosives.”

He’s not alone.

Henry and several other Bay State residents are members of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, a controversial group that claims elements of the U.S. government, not Osama bin Laden, masterminded the deadly attacks that killed almost 3,000 Americans.

Members of the group, including about 80 professors nationwide, generally believe the attacks were designed around building support for an aggressive U.S. strategy in the Middle East.

Members point to a string of what they describe as discrepancies in the accepted history of the attacks, including continuing uncertainty about why a third World Trade Center tower, known as Building 7, collapsed without being struck by a plane.

“There is something hugely wrong with the official story,” said Gwendolyn Atwood, 45, of Lincoln, a clinical psychologist trained at Harvard University and a group member.

The group’s theories collide with the findings of the 9/11 Commission and an exhaustive investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a government agency, launched to determine the cause of the buildings’ collapse.

Fires resulting from the impact of the fuel-laden airliners destroyed the twin towers, according to reports by the NIST, which assigned 200 employees to the two-year investigation.

(more…)

August 14th, 2006
by Culhavoc

Deconstructing a False-Flag Operation

When one examines the dates on which many terror attacks have occurred, it becomes obvious that these dates not only show a pattern, but also appear to be chosen for political impact. Readers who wish to dismiss this blog entry as a wacky theory please note that I am not fascinated with numbers, however, it appears that the planners of these attacks are.

Consider the following historical dates:

• 12/11: Ramzi Yousef detonates a bomb on a Philipine flight to Tokyo
• 9/11: Airline attack on the United States
• 3/11: Madrid Train Bombings (911 days after 9/11/2001)
• 7/7: London Train/Bus Bombings
• 7/11: Mumbai India Train Bombings

In my piece entitled “Sears Tower: 60606” I pointed to speculation on behalf of myself and others that June 6th, 2006 or 6/6/6 was a date that terror plotters might find to be irresistible. Additionally, I pointed to two zip codes, which may also be of interest:

• 60606: Sears Tower
• 60666: Chicago’s O’Hare Airport

I’m the first to admit that I may have gotten a bit carried away when I noted that the Illinois lottery’s Pick Three numbers on 6/6/6 were 912. 9/12 is a term many researchers use to describe the next 9/11 attack. If I were to really go out on a limb I might speculate that this could have been a coded signal that the next 9/11 would take place in Illinois or more specifically in Chicago. Needless to say, this could only be made possible provided the terror plotters have the ability to fix the results of the lottery. I realize this seems like a stretch, but take into consideration that on the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks the New York lottery results were 911.

With this in mind, I would like to point to another item of interest. On August 11th, 2006 (8/11), one month prior to the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Illinois lottery results for the Pick Three and Pick Four were as follows:

• 999
• 0666

Does anyone else see a pattern?

More Chicago items:

• Mayor Daley backed into a corner regarding the Burge/Torture scandal
• Chicago is a top candidate to host the 2016 Olympics
• 311 S. Wacker Dr. Changes Hands

Also see:

Sears Tower: 60606
Chicago’s Hancock Center heads for sale block
“Sears Tower Attack Foiled”: 7 Arrested

-Culhavoc

August 11th, 2006
by Culhavoc

Deconstructing a False-Flag Operation

This may be something to keep an eye on. The owners of Chicago’s John Hancock Building are considering selling the property. It’s the third-tallest skyscraper in Chicago and the fourth-tallest in the US.

Like the WTC and Sears Tower, the Hancock is loaded with asbestos, which is extremely costly to remove.

I recommend keeping a watchful eye for shadowy investors/purchasors.

See “Monsters in the Closet” - Time Magazine

Chicago’s Hancock Center heads for sale block

Crain’s — The owner of the John Hancock Center is taking the first step toward putting the iconic Michigan Avenue skyscraper up for sale.

Shorenstein Properties LLC has hired New York real estate firm Eastdil Secured LLC to study options, including a possible sale, for the 100-story tower, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based investment company confirms. The move comes after San Francisco-based Shorenstein entertained offers from developers earlier this year for a hotel conversion of some of the building’s 888,500 square feet of office space.

“Once that evaluation comes in, Shorenstein will make a decision about whether to hold, to entertain these offers, to sell or whatever other possibilities the Eastdil report gives,” the spokeswoman says. The study is expected to be completed next month, she said.

Stephen J. Livaditis, senior managing director in the Chicago office of Eastdil Secured, declines comment.
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The possible sale comes amid signs that the investment market for downtown office towers may be peaking.

“Evidence is mounting that the investment market is calming,” according to a report by New York real estate research firm Real Capital Analytics Inc., citing in part rising interest rates.

“With the frenzy subsiding, institutional buyers are no longer paying such a premium on their acquisitions,” the July report says.

And Hancock Center, built in 1970 and located at 875 N. Michigan Ave., may face its own unique challenges.

Largely because of the unraveling in 2003 of a key tenant, insurance brokerage Near North National Group Inc., about 17% of the Hancock’s office space is available, according to real estate research firm CoStar Group Inc.

Even so, because of strong retail rents and revenues from broadcast antennas and parking, the Hancock Center could sell for $350 million, some sources estimated.

“If it turns out that the building trades at $350 million, that would mandate that the buyer have a solution for the vacancy,” says Chicago developer J. Paul Beitler, who made an unsolicited bid to buy the Hancock earlier this year. “It’s a gemstone building, but an enigma to investors” because of its varied income streams.

One of developers who expressed interest in a hotel redevelopment says he isn’t surprised by the move.

“I would do the same if I were in their shoes,” says John W. Rutledge, chairman and CEO of Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group LLC. He says he remains interested in a deal, “whether it be with the current owner or a new owner, but only if the economics make sense.”

Shorenstein purchased the building in 1998, paying $220 million from the namesake insurance company, now a unit of Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp.

As a part of the sale, Hancock retained naming rights under an agreement comes up for renewal in 2008.

Despite a weak office market along North Michigan Avenue, office rents only about for about a quarter of the building’s net operating income, some sources say. The building also includes nearly 152,900 square feet of retail space, a 23,900-square-foot observation deck, a 34,300-square-foot broadcast facility for the antennas on top of the tower, and a 716-car garage.

The potential Hancock sales comes just two months after Shorenstein completed the $470 million sale of Prudential Plaza, the 2-million-square-foot office complex overlooking Millennium Park. The company’s other Chicago asset is 500 W. Monroe St., a West Loop office tower.

(source)

Also see: Chicago’s Sears Tower: 60606

-Culhavoc

August 9th, 2006

From npr.org…

“Morning Edition, August 9, 2006 · Conspiracy theories surrounding the events of Sept. 11 are popping up on the Internet. The documentary Loose Change is an Internet sensation that explores many of these theories. Renee Montagne talks to Dylan Avery, director and narrator of Loose Change. She also talks to historian Timothy Naftali to understand what’s behind the fascination with conspiracy theories.

(download mp3)

-Culhavoc

August 6th, 2006
Associated Press

Kevin Barrett believes the U.S. government might have destroyed the World Trade Center. Steven Jones is researching what he calls evidence that the twin towers were brought down by explosives detonated inside them, not by hijacked airliners.

These men aren’t uneducated junk scientists: Barrett will teach a class on Islam at the University of Wisconsin this fall, over the protests of more than 60 state legislators. Jones is a tenured physicist at Brigham Young University whose mainstream academic job has made him a hero to conspiracy theorists.

Five years after the terrorist attacks, a community that believes widely discredited ideas about what happened on September 11, 2001, persists and even thrives. Members trade their ideas on the Internet and in self-published papers and in books. About 500 of them attended a recent conference in Chicago, Illinois.

The movement claims to be drawing fresh energy and credibility from a recently formed group called Scholars for 9/11 Truth.

The organization says publicity over Barrett’s case has helped boost membership to about 75 academics. They are a tiny minority of the 1 million part- and full-time faculty nationwide, and some have no university affiliation. Most aren’t experts in relevant fields.

But some are well educated, with degrees from elite universities such as Princeton and Stanford and jobs at schools including Rice, Indiana and the University of Texas.

“Things are happening,” said co-founder James Fetzer, a retired philosophy professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, who maintains, among other claims, that some of the hijackers are still alive. “We’re going to continue to do this. Our role is to establish what really happened on 9/11.”

What really happened, the national September 11 commission concluded after 1,200 interviews, was that hijackers crashed planes into the twin towers.

(more…)

From 911blogger.com…

“…Mike Malloy just announced that Webster Tarpley will be a guest on his program on Thursday night. Malloy airs from 10pm - 1am EST (Tarpley scheduled for 10:30)

Air America main page.

Please pass this around, as word-of-mouth will be the only advertising for this appearance.”

Thanks to reprehensor at 911blogger.com for the tip!

[UPDATE]

(Malloy show download)