General Hayden on Search and Seizure

Almost three years ago, General Michael Hayden (then Deputy Director for National Intelligence, formerly NSA Director, now CIA Director) had a famous exchange with Jonathan Landay of Knight-Ridder (now McClatchy) about the US constitution’s 4th amendment ensuring that search and seizure requires a warrant (or doesn’t, depending on your point of view).

Former FBI Director: 9/11 Hijacker’s Phone Played “Integral Role” in Cole Investigation

At the 9/11 Commission hearing on Law Enforcement and the Intelligence Community in April 2004, in response to a question about the FBI’s failings from commissioner Tim Roemer, former FBI Director Louis Freeh said:

… It would have been helpful — it would have been helpful — for the FBI at that particular point in time to know the names of those two individuals [Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi]; that the information which was generated in the January 2000 physical surveillance, not by the CIA but by a liaison agency [Malaysia’s Special Branch] — if that information and the initiation for that surveillance, which were phone calls to a central number, which you’re well aware of, which plays a integral role not only in the East African bombings case but also in the Cole investigation;…

Merry Christmas, all!

Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays (tossed in to make Bill O’Reilly think he’s found more evidence of that War on Christmas), Blessed Yule, and/or Merry Festivus for the Rest of Us. Check in and let us know what you’re doing over the holidays.

Too big to post here….

‘Fashionably Late:’ The Last of our Grant Recipients

The last of our seven grant recipients checks in with info. He poked a little fun at himself in his e-mail to me, calling himself “fashionably late.” He makes up for it with a truly impressive bio and proposal. Take it away….

All hell’s breaking loose…

in the news. Economic meltdowns, Blagojevich going psycho in Illinois, torture revelations coming thick and fast, Bush sneaking new regulations in under the wire, and more. And I read that after Obama takes office in January, former Bush officials and confidantes are preparing to let loose with a mudslide of revelations that will bury us all. Are we ready to handle this? Aside from everything else on our plates, how are we going to try to keep up with some of this info? Contributors, users, just plain folks, your thoughts are very welcome.

I’m sticking this to the front page to keep it going.

Meet the Mini-Grant Recipients, Part IV

The latest in our intro series features two more grant recipients, Karen Wehrstein and Michael Pollock. Ladies first….

Mini-Grant Recipients: Part III

You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m posting the new grant recipients’ intros as I get them e-mailed to me. Batting fourth and posting under the moniker “River Ledger,” I’ll let him speak for himself from here on out.

Meet the Grant Recipients, Part II

Today we have the next of our recipients to take a bow. I’ll reprint what she sent me for posting:

Yvonne Shine (HC username 99 Percent Pure) is a freelance researcher/writer living in Los Angeles. Yvonne will be documenting the Events Leading Up to and Contributing to the Current Financial Crisis. Yvonne’s first timeline post, Royal Bank of Scotland Warns of Global Stock and Credit Crash can be viewed under the 2008 Credit Crisis timeline.

We’re glad that Yvonne chose to share her talents for investigation and writing with us. Keep an eye on the Credit Crisis timeline for more of her work.

Meet the Grant Recipients, Part I

We have seven new members who were selected to receive mini-grants from the History Commons for their excellent proposals. Let’s meet two of them now.

Inputting Entries for Newbies

I understand that some new people are going to start inputting entries due to the grants thing. I thought that this would be a good time to post on this blog a guide I wrote, probably over a year ago now, for people who are gearing up to do battle with the add entry wizard. Guys, you might find this useful; then again, you might not.