Tuesday 4 August 2015

Vince Foster, PROMIS and the Branch Davidians



" Day 51 interviewed Davidian Wally Kennett, who stated the ATF was in actuality not looking for an illegal arsenal when they raided Mt. Carmel on February 28, 1993. This makes sense. It explains why the ATF went ahead with the raid on February 28, when they knew that most of the arsenal (a licensed gun shop, by the way) had been taken to Austin for a gun show that morning.

What the ATF was really looking for, Kennett says, was information stored on a computer--information which had been compiled by two Davidians--Jeff Little and Wayne Martin, both of whom were later killed in the final assault.

Jeff Little was known by the Davidians as a "computer expert" who had previously worked for the Yamaha Corporation, where he was involved in a project to modify a law enforcement software to contain a "trap door."

The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro, by Kenn Thomas and the late Jim Keith, details how the Reagan Justice Department stole PROMIS, a law enforcement software, from the firm INSLAW, and modified it to contain a "trap door." PROMIS was then sold by the government to various entities, such as foreign intelligence agencies. The trap door allowed outside monitoring of that agency's computer transactions.

The article "Fostergate" by Jim Norman--written for Forbes,then killed by Forbes board member Caspar Weinberger (but later published in Media By-Pass)--describes Vince Foster, the late White House Special Counsel and law partner of Hillary Clinton, as the overseer of a National Security Agency project to install the modified PROMIS in the banking industry. This was done through Foster's involvement with the Arkansas bank data company Systematics, a company connected with the NSA and CIA.

Later, the story goes, Foster fell victim to a group of CIA renegades known as the Fifth Column who were working to eradicate government corruption. Supposedly, Fifth Column operatives were using the modified PROMIS to empty the Swiss bank accounts of government officials.

Foster was one of their victims. One day he checked the balance of his Swiss account and found it empty, and knew he was in trouble. Formerly this account had held money he was paid for his role in the October Surprise affair.

The October Surprise was to have been Jimmy Carter's ticket to reelection in the campaign against Ronald Reagan. As has been well documented, a deal had been worked out with the Iranian government which would have released the hostages in the U.S. Embassy a month before the election.

When the Reagan-Bush camp learned about the plan, George Bush and Caspar Weinberger made their own deal with the Iranians to delay the hostage release till after the election. Israel mediated this deal, and, after Ronald Reagan's election, were paid. This was Foster's role. Acting under the auspices of Bush and Weinberger, Foster arranged for the transfer of nuclear launch codes to Israel--a deeply treasonous offense which, if exposed by the Fifth Column, would destroy Foster and anyone connected to him, including the Clinton administration.

Foster died under mysterious circumstances. Officially, it was a suicide. Yet the evidence--gun in the wrong hand, a body that had been clearly been moved from somewhere else, and much more--clearly supports murder.

Numerous parties may have had reason to kill Foster, in order to prevent the spy scandal that was about to break. Some say it was the Clinton administration, others say Israeli intelligence--or both. It has been claimed that surveillance video shows Mossad agents leaving Foster's apartment on the day of his death.

Vince Foster's widow, interestingly, has stated his death had something to do with the Waco incident, which had occurred a few months before. In an Associated Press story, she said he felt responsible for Waco, and killed himself out of guilt.

If it is true that Foster's story intersects with that of PROMIS, and if it is true that Jeff Little was involved in a government project which sounds an awful lot like PROMIS, then it would seem we have found another, deeper link between Foster and Waco.

*****

Israel did figure prominently in Koresh's life. It was while on a trip to Israel in the 1980s that he received a "vision" which began his career as spiritual leader. He went to Israel under the name Vernon Howell; he came back with the name David Koresh. The book Why Waco? reports that Koresh continued to receive visions after returning to the U.S.; the inspiration for a sermons always originated as a picture beamed into his head.

This is reminiscent of the visions experienced by late science fiction author Philip K. Dick, who claimed that Gnostic imagery was being beamed into his head by an external entity. Perhaps Dick's and Koresh's "visions" originated from God, perhaps from extraterrestrials, perhaps from their own minds, or perhaps they were delivered by microwave. Dick might have been a mind control victim. Koresh might have been one too. The technology certain exists; it has not been for nothing that, over the years, billions of black budget dollars have been poured into what the Pentagon calls "non-lethal weaponry."
Whatever the explanation for Koresh's visions, his leadership represented a new era for the church. There is no evidence speed, or sarin, was manufactured during his tenure at Waco. But we do have evidence, from surviving Davidians, that there computer espionage there.

So, what might have been the nature of Martin and Little's investigation?

In Day 51, Mosley suggested it was information injurious to Bill Clinton and the New World Order, such as ATF-sponsored illegal arms distributions to urban street gangs.

Or it could have been evidence on cocaine smuggling at Mena, Arkanas? According to books such as Compromised and articles in The Wall Street Journal and London Daily Telegraph [by MI6 Washington Chief of Station Ambrose Evans-Pritchard] this activity was sponsored by the Iran/Contra gang (Bush, Weinberger, Oliver North). Weapons were shipped to Nicaragua out of the Mena airport, in exchange for cocaine which was brought back to Mena, then distributed to the nation. As governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton is alleged to have received a hefty amount of cash for looking the other way.

Investigative journalist Sherman Skolnick has claimed that, prior to his death, Vince Foster had been tracking Clinton's money into offshore accounts--supposedly at the behest of First Lady Hillary Clinton who had her own reasons for wanting to know the whereabouts of her husband's money. If this is so, perhaps it was done with the modified PROMIS software; perhaps, too, Jeff Little and Wayne Martin were the operatives directly engaged in this activity. This, of course, is only a guess.

We may never know what was on the computer. Foster's Waco files could tell us, but they ended up in the possession of Mrs. Clinton after his death.

We do know it was a computer they were looking for, because the room ATF agents were seen breaking into during the raid was the computer room. The gun shop was in an entirely different part of the building--something the ATF agents would surely have troubled to learn. "

REPORT TO THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ON THE EVENTS AT WACO, TEXAS: THE AFTERMATH OF THE APRIL 19 FIRE



Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas 
February 28 to April 19, 1993

XIII. The Aftermath of the April 19 Fire
A. Introduction





Immediately following the April 19 fire the Texas Rangers, working with the FBI, arranged to take command of the remains of the compound for purposes of conducting a thorough crime scene search. In addition, an arson team consisting of experts from throughout the United States was assembled to determine the cause of the fire. The search lasted approximately three weeks. The arson report was completed on July 13, 1993. Autopsies were conducted on the bodies recovered from the scene.
Processing the scene was important for three primary reasons: (1) to locate the bodies of all those killed on April 19, so that autopsies could be performed; (2) to determine the cause of the fire; and (3) to search for evidence that could be used in prosecuting the surviving Davidians who were responsible for the deaths of the ATF agents on February 28.


B. Processing the Crime Scene
The Texas Rangers assumed primary responsibility for combing through the crime scene and recovering evidence. The FBI provided substantial assistance to the Rangers in performing this task. By Monday, May 3, 1993 the Rangers had recovered the remains of 75 bodies at the scene. When added to the nine persons who survived the fire, the 35 who had departed the compound during the standoff (between February 28 and March 23), and the five buried bodies of Davidians killed on or about February 28, this meant that approximately 124 persons were inside the compound at the time of the initial shootout,.leaving 84 remaining at the time of the fire on April 19. Details of the autopsies and causes of death of the Davidians who dies both in the initial ATF shootout and in the April 19 fire will be discussed below.

In addition, by May 3 the Texas Rangers had recovered 305 firearms from the compound, and approximately 1.9 million rounds of "cooked off" or spent ammunition. Among the firearms found were at least 20 fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles; at least 12 fully automatic AR-15 assault rifles; at least two .50 caliber semi-automatic rifles; and anti-tank armor-piercing ammunition.

The actual search of the remains of the compound was conducted systematically and methodically. The Rangers divided the physical area of the compound into sectors, rows and grids, then formed teams comprised of Rangers, FBI and other technicians, and other law enforcement agents. The teams combed through each sector, identifying each item they found and pinpointing its location by sector, row and grid number. Each item (or group of items found at a particular point) were assigned exhibit numbers and photographed. At the conclusion of each search a crime scene report was prepared listing all the items found in the search of that particular team's sector.

The search of the compound area turned up thousands of items, including hundreds of exploded shells, fired shells, and bullets; Kevlar helmets and vests; camouflage outfits; hand grenades; pistols; rifles; shotguns; rocket projectiles; gas masks; chemical warfare suits; military assault knives; and fuel cans. Perhaps the most important area searched was the bunker, where a large concentration of bodies, weapons and ammunition were found. The Texas Ranger's report of the search of the Bunker is jarring in its recounting of what the search team found. Following are excerpts from that report:

"1. . . . The interior of the concrete-bunker was used as storage for ammunition, weapons, explosive devices, and water.

2. The entire interior was approximately three feet deep in expended and non-expended rounds of various caliber ammunition. Due to the magnitude of the cook-off rounds, counting the individual rounds would be monumental and not feasible, therefore, the rounds were removed by grain scoops (shovels).

7. The live ammunition . . . is not included in this count. Several fully loaded thirty round clips were located.

8. The predominate caliber was .223, although several containers of .50 caliber shells were located.

9. In addition to the ammunition, a live grenade was located on the floor in the same area as the remains of several bodies.

10. Also located and submitted for analysis were several knives, bayonets and gas masks. . . .

11. As the ammunition was removed, the remains of human bodies which had been underneath the cooked off rounds was discovered. . . . A total of thirty-two bodies were removed from the bunker.

12. The remains were that of men, women and children. . . .

13. During the actual search, several firearms were located and submitted, which included rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic and revolver handguns.

14. The west wall . . . was the primary location of the firearms. A wooden gunrack which was destroyed by fire ran the entire length of the wall. . . . one hundred and eleven firearms were located against the west wall . . . .

15. . . . At the conclusion of processing the floor [of the bunker], an additional 22 firearms were located.

16. The east wall had a large refrigerant cooler against it which was also destroyed by the fire. After removing the outer metal walls of the cooler, it was determined the cooler had been used to house water containers which held up to five gallons. In addition to the water containers, several of which still held water, there were several cases of one gallon apple juice bottles. . . ."

The most recent estimate is that 390,960 rounds of ammunition were found inside the compound.


C. Identification of Bodies/Medical Examiner Reports

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office, assisted by a team of anthropologists from the Smithsonian Institution, assisted in recovering the remains of the persons killed during the fire, as well as the remains of those Davidians killed during the February 28 shootout whose bodies had been buried just outside the compound. The remains were taken to the Medical Examiner's office, where autopsies and identifications were conducted.

The Medical Examiner has concluded that 75 persons died inside the compound during the April 19 fire, including 50 adults and 25 children under the age of 15. Positive identifications have been made for 35 of those persons, including 32 adults and 3 children. 40 bodies remain unidentified. For many of the' children it is possible to speculate as to their identity given the proximity of their bodies to specific adults (presumably their parent or parents), but positive identification may not be possible until further tests, including DNA tests, are conducted.

The Medical Examiner found no traces of narcotics or other controlled substances in any of the bodies recovered from the compound. Carbon Monoxide was found in 50 of the bodies, at saturation levels varying widely, from 10% to 79%. One body contained traces of benzene, a chemical found in gasoline, paint removers, and other commercial solvents. Benzene was also one of the chemicals comprising the CS tear gas. It is impossible to know how many of the persons inside the compound inhaled the tear gas, because the last gas insertions ended nearly an hour before the fire ended. That lapse of time would have been sufficient for the CS gas to have dissipated from any of the bodies in which it might have been present earlier.

1.  Branch Davidians Killed During February 28 Shootout
Regarding those Davidians who were killed in the February 28 ATF shootout, the results of the autopsies were as follows:

Peter Gent
Gent, an Australian citizen, died of a gunshot wound of the chest. Gent had been shooting at the ATF agents from the tower, when an ATF sniper shot him. His body was identified from dental records. He was 24 years old.

Winston Blake
Blake died of a high velocity, close range entry gunshot wound of the head. His body was identified from dental records. He was 28 years old.

Jaydean Wendel
Wendel died of a gunshot wound of the chest. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 34 years old.

Peter Hipsman
Hipsman died of multiple gunshot wounds of the head and abdomen. The two gunshot wounds to the head were close contact. His body was identified from dental records. He was 28 years old.

Perry Jones
Perry Jones died of a gunshot wound of the mouth. His body was identified from dental records. He was 64 years old.

2. Identified Branch Davidians From April 19 Fire
With regard to those Davidians who died on April 19, the results of the autopsies for those whose bodies could be positively identified were as follows:

David Koresh

Koresh died of gunshot wound to the forehead. His body was found in the communication room on the first floor of the building, nearby the door. A rifle barrel was found on the floor near his body. A piece of grenade shrapnel was also found in Koresh's body, but that wound probably occurred post-mortem, when ammunition was exploding during the fire. Koresh's body was identified from dental records. He was 33 years old.

Rachel Koresh
Rachel Koresh was buried alive inside the bunker. She died of suffocation. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 23 years old.

Steve Schneider
Schneider died of a gunshot wound to the mouth. His body was also found in the communication room. He was identified from dental records. He was 48 years old.

Judy Schneider
Judy Schneider was buried alive when the bunker collapsed. She died of suffocation. She was identified from fingerprints. She was 41 years old.

Ray Friesen
Friesen, a Canadian citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found in the stage area of the chapel. He was identified from dental records. He was 76 years old.

Floyd Houtman
Houtman died of smoke and burns from the fire. His body was found in the auditorium area. He was identified from dental records. He was 61 years old.

Livingstone Malcolm
Malcolm, a British citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found in the stage area near the chapel. He was identified from dental records. He was 26 years old.

Douglas Wayne Martin
Martin died of smoke inhalation and burns from the fire. His body was found in the auditorium area. He was identified from dental records. He was 32 years old.

Mark Wendel
Wendel died of burns from the fire. His body was found in the communications room, along with Koresh and Schneider. He was identified from X-rays. He was 37 years old.

Sonia Murray
Murray, a British citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 29 years old.

Jennifer Andrade
Andrade, a Canadian citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in front of the bunker. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 19 years old.

James Riddle
Riddle died of a gunshot wound of the forehead. His body was found in the kitchen area. He was identified from a fingerprint comparison. He was 32 years old.


Stephen Henry
Stephen Henry, a British citizen, died of a near contact gunshot wound of the forehead. His body was found by the stairs near the kitchen/serving area. His body was identified from dental records. He was 26 years old.


Philip Henry
Philip Henry, a British citizen, died of gunshot wounds of the chest and head. His body was found in the kitchen/serving area. His body was identified from dental records. He was 22 years old.

Susan Benta
Benta, a British citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the hallway west of the kitchen/serving area. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 31 years old.

Yvette Fagan
Yvette Fagan, a British citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the hallway near the men's quarters. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 30 years old.

Doris Fagan
Doris Fagan, a British citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the hallway near the men's quarters. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 60 years old.

Katherine Andrade
Katherine Andrade, a Canadian citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker. She was identified from dental records. She was 24 years old.

Alrick Bennett
Bennett, a British citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found on top of the bunker. He was identified from dental records. He was 35 years old.

Rebecca Saipaia
Saipaia died of burns from the fire. Her body was found on top of the bunker. She was identified from dental records. She was 24 years old.

Novellette Hipsman
Hipsman, a British citizen, died of gunshot wounds of the chest and head. Her body was found on top of the bunker. Her body was identified from dental records. She was 36 years old.

Neal Vaega
Vaega died of a gunshot wound of the head. His body was found on top of the bunker. His body was identified from dental records. He was 36 years old.

Pablo Cohen
Cohen, an Israeli citizen, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found on top of the bunker. His body was identified from dental records. He was 28 years old.

Lisa Marie Farris
Farris died of a gunshot wound of the head. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area. H er body was identified from dental records. She was 24 years old.

Mary Jean Borst
Borst died of a gunshot wound of the back. Her body was found in front of the bunker. She was identified from dental records. She was 39 years old.

Martin Wayne
Wayne died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found in the bunker. He was identified from dental records. He was 20 years old.

Michelle Jones
Jones died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker. She was identified from dental records. She was 28 years old.

Joseph Martinez
Joseph Martinez died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found inside the bunker. His body was identified from dental records. He was 8 years old.

Juliette Martinez
Juliette Martinez died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found inside the bunker. She was identified from dental records and fingerprint comparisons. She was 30 years old.

Audrey Martinez
Audrey Martinez was buried alive inside the bunker. She died of suffocation. She was identified from dental records. She was 13 years old.

Abigail Martinez
Abigail Martinez died of a gunshot wound of the head. Her body was found inside the bunker. She was identified from dental records. She was 11 years old.

Rosemary Morrison
Morrison, a British citizen, was buried alive inside the bunker. She died of suffocation. She was identified from a fingerprint comparison. She was 29 years old.

3. Unidentified Branch Davidians From April 19 Fire

The following bodies remain unidentified as of the date~of this report. The bodies are referred to by the numbers assigned them upon their discovery at the compound.

Doe 4
Doe 4, a 30-45 year old male, died of smoke inhalation and burns from the fire. His body was found in the auditorium area.

Doe 9
Doe 9, an approximately 50 year old male, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 11
Doe 11, a 25-35 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 13
Doe 13, a 30-50 year old female, died of multiple fractures of the cervical spine, caused by blunt force trauma probably associated with a fall. Her body was found in front of the bunker.

Doe 14
Doe 14, a 30-39 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 15
Doe 15, a 35-50 year old male, died of burns from the fire. His body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 16
Doe 16, a 22-28 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 17
Doe 17, a 22-40 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 18
Doe 18, a 17-35 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 19
Doe 19, a 35-50 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 24
Doe 24, a 20-50 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in a hallway.

Doe 26
Doe 26, a 15-19 year old female, died of burns from the fire. Her body was found in a hallway.

Doe 28
Doe 28, an approximately 50 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in a hallway.

Doe 29
Doe 29, a 25-35 year old female, died of burns from the fire. Her body was found in a hallway.

Doe 31A
Doe 31B, a 15-20 year old female, died of a gunshot wound of the left chest. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 31DE
Doe 31DE, an 11-14 year old (sex undetermined), died of gunshot wounds of the left head.

Doe 32
Doe 32, a 25-45 year old male, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. His body was found in the bunker.

Doe 33
Doe 33, a 2-3 year old boy, died of a stab wound to the left chest. His body was found in the bunker.

Doe 40
Doe 40, a 27-40 year old male, died of burns from the fire. His body was found on top of the bunker.

Doe 44
Doe 44, a 27-40 year old male, died of a gunshot wound of the left chest. His body was found in the kitchen/serving area.

Doe 47A
Doe 47A, a 22-28 year old male, died of a gunshot wound of the head. His body was found in the bunker.

Doe 51A
Doe 51A, a two year old girl, died of smoke inhalation. She was found in the bunker, adjacent to Judy Schneider's body.

Doe 53
Doe 53, a 5-6 year old girl, died of a gunshot wound of the left chest. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 57
Doe 57, a 6 year old girl, suffocated inside the bunker.

Doe 59
Doe 59, a 14-19 year old girl, died of blunt force craniocerebral trauma. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 62
Doe 62, a one year old child (sex undetermined), suffocated in the bunker.

Doe 63
Doe 63, a one year old girl, died of craniocerebral trauma due to a blunt force injury. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 64
Doe 64, a one year old girl, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 65
Doe 65, a baby girl, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 66
Doe 66, a 30-50 year old female, died of multiple gunshot wounds of the left back and thorax. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 67-1
Doe 67-1, a 5-6 year old girl, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 67-2
Doe 67-2, a 7-8 year old boy, was buried alive and suffocated in the bunker.

Doe 67-4
Doe 67-4, a 1-2 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 67-5
Doe 67-5, a one year old girl, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker.

Doe 67-6
Doe 67-6, a 14-18 year old girl, was buried alive and suffocated in the bunker.

Doe 67-7
Doe 67, a two year old child (sex undetermined), died of uncertain causes, probably trauma, asphyxia, or suffocation. The body was found in the bunker.

Doe 67-8
Doe 67-8, an infant (sex undetermined), died of a gunshot wound of the head. The body was found in the bunker.

Doe 69
Doe 69, a one year old baby (sex undetermined), died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. The body was found in the bunker.

Doe 70
Doe 70, a 2-3 year old female, died of suffocation in the bunker.

Doe 74
Doe 74, a 7-8 year old child (sex undetermined), died of unknown causes. The body was found in the bunker.

Doe 75
Doe 75, a 25-35 year old female, died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation. Her body was found in the bunker.

D. The Arson Investigation

1. Introduction
Immediately after the April 19 fire the Texas Rangers assembled a team of independent arson investigator to conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. The team consisted of Paul Gray (Houston Fire Department); William Cass (Los Angeles Fire Department); John Ricketts (San Francisco Fire Department); 4nd Thomas Hitching (Alleghany County, Pennsylvania Fire Department). The team also used a specially trained chemical accelerant detection dog (and two dog handlers) from the Alleghany County Fire Department. A Texas Ranger Sergeant assisted the team.

The team based its conclusions on their examination of the scene, the dog alerts to various items of evidence found at the scene and to various items of clothing worn by survivors of the fire, and videotapes of the fire provided by the FBI, including an infrared aerial video. The arson investigators released their report on July 13, 1993.

The arson team concluded that the fire was deliberately set by one or more persons inside the compound. The fire had three separate points of origin. The arson investigation established that those fires occurred in areas significantly distant from one another, but within such a short time frame that it was not possible for the fire to have been accidentally set or for it to have been caused by a single ignition.

2. The Arson Report

The arson report identifies three points of origin for the fire. The investigators were able to determine these points 6f origin based on the videotapes of the fire., including the infrared aerial tape, provided by the FBI. The items found at the scene, including the presence of fuel containers in certain locations and the presence of chemical accelerants, confirmed the finding of three separate points of origin.

The report identifies the three points of origin as follows:
-- Point of origin 1 was the second floor, front section of the building, southeast corner.

-- Point of origin 2 was the first floor, mid-section of the building in or near the area identified as the dining room.

-- Point of origin 3 was the first floor, right side (east side) of the building in the area identified as the chapel.

According to the report, the fire started at each point of origin, and intensified, at the following times (all times are Central Time):

12:07:41 -- Incipient fire first observed at point of origin number one.

12:08:49 -- Fire observed at point of origin number two. This fire was already beyond the incipient stage when it was first observed, indicating that it had started some moments earlier.

12:09:30 -- The fire at point of origin number one had increased in intensity, to the point of full room involvement.

12:09:42 -- Flames at point of origin number one were observed venting through windows on the second floor.

12:09:45 -- Fire was visible at point of origin number three.  The fire was at the incipient stage when first seen, but it rapidly intensified to the point that the fire had a visible flame extending beyond the room in which it started.

12:10:22 -- Point of origin number three had spread rapidly, and now had fully involved the gymnasium.

12:11:00 -- The fire was spreading rapidly throughout the entire building.

Given this short lapse of time, and the distance between the three separate points of origin, the arson team concluded that the fire could not have been caused at a single point of origin or by accident.

The arson team then discussed those factors that enhanced the spread of the fire. First, the team noted that the compound building had been poorly construction, with apparently no attention to fire safety. The team noted that the building "appears to have been built with a total disregard to any reasonable concern for fire prevention, especially considering its intended use as living quarters for numerous people."
Second, the arson team attributed the rapid spread of the fire to the strong winds prevailing on April 19.

Third, the arson team found that the openings created in the building's structure by the FBI during the six hours of the tear gas operation also helped vent the fire. However, the team also noted that the FBI's actions would have allowed more fresh air to flow through the structure while it was burning, thereby reducing the concentration of carbon monoxide and permitting more "breathable" air to reach those trapped inside.

Fourth, the unusually large amount of combustible material stored inside the compound contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.

Finally, the absence of fire suppression was a minor factor. The arson team explained that given a fire of this intensity and magnitude, it would have been difficult for a fire fighting team to have halted the fire.

The arson team also discussed the efforts of the arson detection dog. The dog alerted to the presence of chemical accelerants at numerous points throughout the compound, including at the three points of origin. The dog was also exposed to various items of clothing taken from the survivors of the fire, and the dog alerted to the presence of chemical accelerants on several pieces of that clothing.

The team submitted 100 samples of fire debris and clothing to which the dog had alerted to a laboratory for chemical analysis. The laboratory items consisted of various items of clothing taken from the survivors, as well as debris recovered from the remains of the compound. The laboratory tests found kerosene on Misty Ferguson's shoes; camp stove fuel on Clive Doyle's shoes; camp stove fuel and kerosene on Derek Lovelock's clothing and shoes; kerosene and gasoline on Graeme Craddock's left shoe; and camp stove fuel on Jaime Castillo's shoes. From the other items of debris found in the fire the laboratory tests determined the presence of gasoline, charcoal lighter fluid, kerosene, and a heavy petroleum distillate.

Finally, the arson team addressed whether the fire could have been started by the FBI's deployment of tear gas into the compound. The team concluded that "the fire was not caused by nor was it intensified by any chemicals present in the tear-gassing operations." The team noted that the two methods used to deliver the gas were non-incendiary. The pressurized gas delivered through the combat engineering vehicles was sprayed through a nozzle using carbon dioxide as the propellant. The team noted that carbon dioxide would be incapable of igniting, and might even have acted as a fire inhibiting agent. The other method -- 40 mm Ferret cartridges delivered by an M79 hand-held launcher containing a nonburning, nonexplosive liquid agent containing methylene chloride as the carrier -- could not have had any incendiary effect either.

The arson team likewise concluded that, given the multiple simultaneous points of origin, the fire could not possibly have been started by a ferret round entering a window and knocking over a container of flammable liquid. Moreover, the arson team concluded (contrary to a theory that has been advanced by certain people) that the fire could not have been started by one of the combat engineering vehicles rupturing a propane container and igniting it. If that had happened, according to the report, "an immediate vapor air explosion or flash fire would have occurred involving the vehicle itself. It did not happen."
The arson team noted that the tear, gas delivery methods that had been selected evidenced the FBI's concern for eliminating potential fire hazards. The team concluded, however, that:





In choosing the products selected, a significant degree of effectiveness may have been sacrificed in favor of safety. In fact, when all factors are considered, including the strong winds, the large openings in the building as a result of the CEV operations, the relative weakness of the tear gas selected, and the use of gas masks by the occupants, the entire gassing operation may be viewed as a failure with the possible exception of a psychological effect. Nevertheless, we are of the opinion that these operations did not contribute to the ignition or spread of the fire. 
Finally, the team noted that, based on its investigation, "a great many of the occupants could have escaped to the outside of the compound even as the building burned. . . . [C]onsidering the observable means of exit available, we must assume that many of the occupants were either denied escape from within or refused to leave until escape was not an option."

3. The Fire Development Analysis
In addition to the arson investigation, which focused on the cause and origin of the fire, two experts from the University of Maryland's Department of Fire Protection Engineering traveled to Waco to investigate how the fire had developed and spread. 

Those two experts prepared a written "Fire Development Analysis" dated September 8, 1993. They reached the following conclusions:

1. The fires in each of the three points of origin grew very quickly, each resulting in full room involvement within two minutes of initiation.

2. The rapid growth rates of the fires resulted from an ignition source, probably liquid fuel, deliberately placed in each of the three points of origin.

3. The rapid growth rates of the fires could not have been caused by a CEV accidentally tipping a lantern, nor by the chemical (methylene chloride) used as the dispersal agent for the CS tear gas.

4. The strong winds did not significantly affect the fire growth rates inside the compound. The wind affected the external spread of flames, but not the initial rapid growth of the three fires to full room involvement.

5. The tank-made openings on the first floor of the compound could have had some effect on the fire growth, but more likely provided fresh air to areas of refuge for some of the occupants.

6. The compound residents had sufficient time to escape the fire, if they had so desired.

Who Will Guard Against The Gatekeepers...?


I can't say for certain whether this was in fact a planted question put to Canadian author and journalistic tool, Johnathan Kaye at the Washington Spy Museum event in 2013, during the Q&A session of his "debate" (so-called) up against Webster Tarpley - I stress the "so-called" aspect, since to call it debate implies some competitive desire to make the better case, to change minds and influence others to do so, all traceable back to at least a basic nominal desire, or even mere vague intent to win it - Mr. Kaye showed no indication of maintaining such an attitude, and remained throughout as unengaged, condescending and charmless as may be seen here.



LARRY ELDER: AN ELEGY
Posted by David Cole Stein

Larry Elder, the conservative/libertarian author and talk show host, has been fired by KABC radio in L.A., where, until yesterday, he’d presided over the coveted 3pm – 6pm drive-time slot. KABC’s operations manager Drew Hayes claimed (in an internal memo obtained by the Hollywood Reporter) that getting rid of Larry was part of his program of making “improvements” at the station. According to Southern California public radio station KPCC, Larry’s ratings had been in free-fall, plummeting his program to #32 in the L.A. drive-time slot.

Ouch.

And now he’s doing a podcast. Good luck being the next Adam Carolla, Larry. You’ll need the luck, because you don’t have the skills for that kind of thing. So I’m here both to bury and praise you, old friend..."


http://www.countercontempt.com/archives/5476




"The periodicals in which From Time Immemorial had already been favorably reviewed refused to run any critical correspondence (e.g. The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, Commentary). Periodicals that had yet to review the book rejected a manuscript on the subject as of little or no consequence (e.g. The Village Voice, Dissent, The New York Review of Books). Not a single national newspaper or columnist contacted found newsworthy that a best-selling, effusively praised 'study' of the Middle East conflict was a threadbare hoax." - Finkelstein




Chased by a Klezmer

By Gilad Atzmon


I am amused that as the Zionist smear campaign against me and my work has faded, the so called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists, A.K.A AZZ (anti Zionist Zionists), are ever more infuriated by my thoughts. They are desperate to silence me. They don’t have a chance, but, let’s face it, they have some really good reasons.

The recent events in Palestine have proved beyond any doubt my interpretation of Jewish nationalism and Jewish identity politics. It is not a coincidence that I was the only one to predict the Israeli defeat even before the first Israeli soldier entered Gaza. Since Israel defines itself as the Jewish State, its actions and atrocities must be understood within the context of Jewish culture and heritage. This is my line of thought and this is what I am known for.

Leading commentator, Jeff Blankfort, argued recently that the Jewish Left is not the solution, it is actually a continuation of the problem. I believe that the Jewish Left is not merely a continuation of the problem, it is actually at the heart of the problem. Jewish power, as I see it, is the capacity to silence criticism of Jewish power. In that regard, AIPAC and the Jewish Lobby are not ‘Jewish power,’ they are symptoms of Jewish power. The institutional attempt to silence any debate about Jewish power is provided by the Jewish Left and the so called Jewish anti Zionist network (JVP, Mondowiess, Chomsky, Blumenthal, etc.). It is the Jewish Left that attempts to set the boundaries of the discussion and dictates what can and cannot be said.

For instance, we may talk about Zionism and Israel but we must never elaborate on the Jewishness of the Jewish state. Israel defines itself as the Jewish State, it attests to its affinity to Jewish history, and it draws its vile inception from the Old Testament, yet, the Jewish pro Palestinian outlet Mondoweiss, changed its comment policy to ban discussion of Jewish culture in the context of criticizing Israel. To sum it all up, I am not just an anti Zionist, I am actually critical of all forms of Jewish politics, both Zionist and Anti. I contend that all forms of Jewish politics are ethno-centric and to a certain extent, racially driven. And in my latest book The Wandering Who I substantiate this point and yet to see any attempt to prove me wrong.

In the last few days I have came across several attempts to defame me. I am cheered by each of them. I tend to see these attempts as an acknowledgment of the importance of my contribution to the discourse.

Earlier today I read a clumsy diatribe written by Nick Cooper, a Jewish ethnic campaigner as well as a Klezmer artist from Texas. In his article,Why Other Critics of Israel Won’t Work With Gilad Atzmon Anymore, Klezmer Cooper engages in a Dershowitz like cherry-picking exercise but, instead of exposing me, he conveniently provides us with an example of morbid Jewish Left ideology and tactics.

Ali Abunimah Did Ask Me To Lie

Cooper is convinced that my words are too often “defamatory, inaccurate, and self-aggrandizing.” He accuses me of “fabricating” a statement by Ali Abunimah. Cooper quotes a line of mine from an email exchange. “Abunimah,” I wrote, “calls Israelis Zionists because he needs the so called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists to support his operation. The last time I communicated with Ali Abunimah he wrote to me, ‘Just refer to Zionism instead of Jewish identity and everything would be fine’. He basically asked me to lie.. I obviously refused’…”

If Cooper bothered with even minimal research he would find out that Mr Abunimah admitted that he sent me a message along this exact line. The email is available on Ali Abuimah’s web site:

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/response-recent-efforts-cast-me-racist
From: Ali Abunimah

November 30, 2010 at 5:16 pm

Dear Gilad, I appreciate your note… What you describe as “Jewish” might perhaps be more accurately described as “Zionist,”- and then we might find grounds for a lot of agreement..
Rather than ‘fabricating’ Abunimah’s words, I described his embarrassing non- ethical offer pretty accurately.

Jewish Exclusivity


Klezmer Cooper is correct in claiming that in our correspondence I told him that he wasn’t intelligent enough to grasp the relatively simple argument that Jewish ‘anti’ Zionist organizations are exclusive to Jews. No doubt, Jewish organizations are happy to collect subscription fees from Goyim (gentiles). But can a Goy become the secretary of Jewish Voice for Peace or the spokesperson for the Jewish Anti-Zionist Network? Not really, and why? Is it because the Goyim aren’t racially qualified or is it because they are ethnically unfit for the job? The answer should be embarrassing to the Jewish Left, as it seems even the Israeli Knesset is more tolerant than Western Jewish ‘anti’ Zionist organizations.

Truthfulness

Cooper is also correct that I see “Jewish exclusivity everywhere.”



How Gerald Posner Got Rich and Famous: Or,
Bob Loomis and the Anti-Conspiracy Posse


Although Gerald Posner had written several books prior to 1993's Case Closed, he had never achieved any kind of broad notoriety, broadcast exposure, or large sales prior to that book. And although there had been other Warren Commission volumes circulating at the time, e.g. Jim Moore's Conspiracy of One, none ever became nearly as famous, or infamous, as Posner's. Why?
The answer is: Robert Loomis.

To understand who Loomis is and how far his reach extends in the publishing business, one must go back and study the origins and sad end of one of the very best books written on the Robert Kennedy assassination. That book --- The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy --- was written by Bill Turner and Jonn Christian and was published in 1978 by Random House. The book had been a special project of Jason Epstein, one of the more literate, intelligent, and creative editors on the publishing scene. The book that emerged was an excellent one in the field. Epstein was quite content with the result. He wrote attorney Vincent Bugliosi, who played a feature role in the book, "I hope you are as pleased as we are with the way it turned out. The jacket looks great, but more important is the tough case that is made between the covers." And Epstein had plans for a good publicity campaign, which never really materialized.

In an unexpected reversal the book, for all intents and purposes, was withdrawn from circulation. No paperback rights were sold. Random House used the possibility of a lawsuit by an organized crime figure mentioned in the book as the excuse. But the book had already been vetted by Random House's lawyers for libel and the lawsuit never was filed. When a friend of Turner's, Betsy Langman, called Epstein about the book's reversal of fortune, he replied, "I don't want to talk about it."

But someone at Random House did know what happened to the book. He was the man who had shepherded Robert Houghton's previous book on the case, entitled Special Unit Senator, through Random House. Houghton had been in charge of the secret investigation of the RFK case inside of LAPD. An investigation that, by any objective standard, was a complete and shameful cover-up of the true facts of that murder. Houghton's sponsor at Random House was named Robert Loomis. Loomis had told others that the Turner/Christian book had been withdrawn and burned. When alerted to the possibility of a lawsuit, he brushed it off cavalierly with words to the effect of: "So what?"

Perhaps no other person in the publishing world has been more vigilant against any real investigation of the assassinations of the sixties, or of exposes of conspiracies in general, than Robert Loomis. Another client of his was the late James Phelan. Phelan was always friendly with the intelligence community and was exposed in the nineties as having done journalistic assignments for the government, like informing on Jim Garrison to the FBI. In the seventies, he did a book for Loomis entitled Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years. There had always been rumors and indications that Hughes had been working closely with the CIA, so many were interested as to what had happened to the eccentric millionaire in his later years and the odd circumstances of his death. Loomis made Phelan's book a top secret project for Random House. Only Loomis and one other person at the firm knew about it. All dealings between New York City, and Naples, California (where Phelan rented a cottage to write the book) were done either in person or by hand-delivery. There was no mail or phone contact. The two mains sources for Phelan were two lower level employees in the Hughes empire.

Phelan's book is pretty much worthless today. It basically set the rather deceiving model of the bizarre lifestyle of the long-haired fruity Hughes who got more and more neurotic as time went on. None of the intricate ties between Hughes and the CIA, for example, in regard to the use of an island for Cuban exile training, or, another example, his connection to the Watergate scandal is touched upon. Phelan wrote another book for Loomis called Scandals, Scamps, and Scoundrels, an anthology of essays which includes a section on the JFK case which is basically a rehash of his anti-Garrison writings that had appeared in 1967.
In the nineties, four more books emerged dealing with Oswald and the Kennedy assassination, Kennedy's presidency, and the death of Martin Luther King. All were sponsored by or directly related to Loomis and his clients. All received a lot of hype, which the Turner-Christian book did not. Loomis sponsored Case Closed for Random House. He apparently knew Posner through an earlier effort of his entitled Hitler's Children. As one can clearly discern through reading the footnotes, Posner's Kennedy assassination book was a rush job that was done in the wake of the furor surrounding Oliver Stone's 1991 movie JFK. Posner told Jim Marrs after a debate in Dallas that Loomis approached him about the book at that time and told him he would have the cooperation of the CIA on the project. This explains how Posner got access to KGB turncoat Yuri Nosenko, who was put on a CIA retainer in the late seventies. The book was timed for release on the 30th anniversary of JFK's death which explains why it was such a clear hurry-up job. (See attached articles for a chronicle of only some of the many, many errors is this hapless book.) 

Loomis also commissioned Norman Mailer's concoction of a book Oswald's Tale, done with longtime FBI informant on the Kennedy case Lawrence Schiller. Mailer tried to make the case that the book was warranted by his access to some of the Russian files on Oswald that he had access to from the newly formed government of Belarus. Yet, according to John Tunheim of the ARRB, there is an approximately five foot high stack of documents that no one has seen on Oswald. Not even the ARRB. Mailer got nowhere near the majority of these files. Predictably, Mailer's book presented the probability of the case against Oswald as the lone assassin.

Further on into the nineties, Posner came out with another book on an infamous assassination of the sixties. This one was on the Martin Luther King case. It was called Killing the Dream and also made the same single-minded case against James Earl Ray as Posner did against Lee Harvey Oswald. He told one interviewer: "There is no question. Ray was the shooter. That's how I see the evidence, how anybody objective has to see the evidence." To put it mildly, this is a rather gross overstatement as can be seen by reading any credible book on the King murder, like say Harold Weisberg's Frame-Up or Ray's own Who Killed Martin Luther King? Let us not forget that in the only two real trials of this case, the jury decided for conspiracy; namely the HBO mock trial in 1993, and the civil trial held in Memphis by the King family vs. Loyd Jowers in 1999.

Finally, let us consider Seymour Hersh and his embarrassment of a book on the Kennedy presidency, The Dark Side of Camelot. Hersh is a darling of the so-called liberal print media. People like Jacob Weisberg and Eric Alterman defended his career and his awful book when it was being attacked in so many quarters when it came out in 1997. These commentators, and just about everyone else, ignored the fact that Hersh's career has always been quite questionable in his relationship to the CIA and his reliance on sources there. Also, that from the beginning Hersh's book publishing career has been advanced by Bob Loomis. This whole rather strange career with Loomis and the questionable judgments and maneuvers Hersh has done in that career are examined in The Assassinations: Probe Magazine on JFK, MLK, RFK, and Malcolm X (pgs. 364-373).

If one calls Loomis' office one will learn from his secretary that he spends a lot of time in Washington D.C., even though Random House's main offices are in New York. This probably began because his former wife Gloria had once worked for the CIA. She was the personal secretary to none other than James Angleton, the legendary counter-intelligence chief of the Agency for 20 years. He is also the man who many writers and researchers, like John Newman and Lisa Pease, believe was handling the Oswald file in the CIA. This undisclosed fact would then explain how Posner got the CIA clearances to talk to people no one has access to. It also helps explain why Loomis does what he does. But wouldn't it have been more honest to the reader of Posner's book if he would have explained that it had been commissioned by someone whose former wife had worked for the man who was probably running Oswald as an intelligence agent?

Did Posner make a Faustian deal with Loomis? A quid pro quo in political parlance? Consider the similarities between these two quotes dug up by attorney and longtime Kennedy researcher Roger Feinman: "All the conspiracy theories have undermined the public's belief in the government, and that, to me, is a crime." (Bob Loomis, Publisher's Weekly, 5/3/93) "But I also think that the conspiracy theorists have made us lose faith in government." (Gerald Posner, Dallas Morning News, 11/21/93).

Coincidence or conspiracy?


---Jim DiEugenio