History Commons 2.0 — Your Thoughts and Opinions

We’re discussing how to make the History Commons more efficient and usable, both for users and contributors/editors. This is part of the much-discussed “History Commons 2.0” initiative.

What do you like about the way the HC web application works? What do you not like? How could it work better to suit your needs? What could we add? Fix? Drop entirely? We’re talking about navigation, searches, finding information, timeline/project organization, everything.

Your opinions will shape how HC 2.0 progresses, so please, be frank and be detailed. We want to know.

Thanks for your participation!

History Commons Projects, Update for June 25, 2009

Over the next few months, the History Commons will begin working towards making some dramatic upgrades in the website, including revamping the web application, and adding much more content and information. These changes will, we trust, make the History Commons a much more effective resource for you and your fellow users. While you may not see the results of these changes for some time, they will, when finished, completely transform the site to make it far more usable and comprehensive. To help move this process forward, we need your financial support like never before. We accept donations through PayPal, credit cards, and personal checks.

Please make your tax-deductible donation today.

We sincerely appreciate all you do to make the History Commons a viable resource for information and citizen activism.

You can help steer the transformation of the History Commons by making your comments and observations on this blog. Over the next few weeks, we will begin polling our users to determine what they want to see in the new and improved “History Commons 2.0.” You are a valuable part of the History Commons, and we want to know what you think. Look for posts soliciting your thoughts and opinions very soon — hopefully by the time you read this.

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About a dozen timelines have been updated in the past week, and one of the most active was the Economic Crisis project. One contributor points out that unemployment is already at 21 million peole in the European Union, whereas globally it could reach 51 million, according to the International Labor Organization. Another highlights the fictitious “light switch tax,” as well as much-needed tax cuts for millionaires.
Read more.

In the US Health Care Timeline, a contributor has started to cover the recent murder of late-term abortion provider George Tiller.
Read more.

In the Neoliberalism and Globalization Timeline, a contributor has started to document the cultural diversity movement, beginning with a group of entries about a UNESCO agreement on cultural diversity.
Read more.

A contributor to the Global Warming Timeline has added entries about recent comments by Republican Congressmen on global warming.
Read more.

Similarly, in the Domestic Propaganda Timeline a contributor has input more material about criticism of President Obama, and more about the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.
Read more.

Finally, in the Loss of Civil Liberties Timeline, a contributor highlights a recent statement by former Defense official Douglas Feith, who said he had nothing to do with the Bush administration’s torture policy.
Read more.

Kevin Fenton Is on Holiday

I will be on holiday practically for the whole month of July and will not always have access to the internet. Therefore, posting will be even more sporadic than usual, but should resume at the start of August.

How the 9/11 Commission’s Investigation of the EPA Got Started

A document paxvector found at the National Archives tells us how the 9/11 Commission’s investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) got started. The commission’s final report did not mention the EPA in its main text, but included a long endnote about it (No. 13 to Chapter 10). The document paxvector found comprises minutes from a commission meeting in the autumn of 2003, which has been posted to the 9/11 Document Archive at Scribd. They say:

EPA/CEQ Investigation. Commissioner Ben-Veniste inquired about the status of an offer to receive pro-bono work from a private law firm in order to investigate allegations of White House interference with EPA health warnings after the 9-11 attacks. The General Counsel stated that he was reluctant to use private law firms to conduct investigative work for the Commission, and furthermore, that the matter was a relatively small investigative piece that he believed could be handled by Commission staff. The Executive Director and General Counsel agreed to develop a plan on how the investigation would be staffed.

You can find that on page 17 of the .pdf file. The General Counsel was Daniel Marcus, the Executive Director was Philip Zelikow. This indicates that the commission may not have investigated the air quality and controversial statements made by the EPA had it not been for the law firm’s offer. AFAIK the commission’s investigation of this was led by Barbara Grewe of the Special Projects team.

All the documents we find about the EPA angle of the commission’s work are grouped here (not many yet, but I’m sure there must be more).

Miscellaneous Withdrawal Notices from the 9/11 Commission Files (last updated 10 January 2010)

This post lists withdrawal noices for documents moved from the 9/11 Commission’s files to the National Archives, but not released by the archives. The withdrawal notices  have been posted at the 9/11 Document Archive at Scribd. This post will be updated continuously.

You might wonder why we are posting withdrawal notices. It’s paxvector’s idea and we figure it will at least give people a decent idea of what is being kept secret.