heartbreaking new 9/11 eyewitness video

Prison Planet has posted a video just released through google. It was taken by some people just 500 yards from the North Tower. After all the docs, diaries, and politics these past few weeks, this is very intense to watch.
The video captures the surreal quality of the events that morning, opening with a nursery rhyme playing for the woman’s child in the background as she pans the North Tower, looking for the people she hopes to find making their way up to the roof. These parts are very difficult, as one hopes to spot any survivors up there or in the windows, in spite of the knowledge that they were all doomed, nonetheless.

We see the first Fire Engine pull up outside the North Tower—the one that Jules Naudet was riding in. Soon after, the soundtrack becomes quite chilling as NYC erupts with the sound of emergency vehicles piling into Lower Manhattan. She zooms in as the fire battalions pull up

At times, the witnesses seem quite calm about what they are witnessing, as if they are trying to make some sense of it all. The woman with the camera notes that they’ll need water-bombers to put the fire out (which seems a pretty reasonable assumption). As events unfold, the terror becomes quite clear. The South Tower is hidden from view by its twin, and when the second impact occurs, it is seen only as another very large explosion, the camera jerking suddenly with the surprise of it.¹ The same for the first collapse, which occurs just as she is zooming in on the area around the base of the North Tower. We see that horrible cloud of dust and smoke enveloping the streets, people running away, the exclamations of those in the room giving way to anguished appeals for those below to “run away, you peaople have to run away.” When the North Tower likewise collapses, we here their horror as she pans up and zooms out to capture that horrible scene, as well.

This is a very difficult film to watch. No, there are no bodies shown, no people jumping to their deaths. But, with that interminable searching of the upper storeys, and with hindsight, well, it’s quite chilling. The people responsible for it had resisted making it public all this time but have decided to release it to the Creative Commons and ask that it be used respectfully.

¹ Yes, they comment that “it was a military plane”, about the one that struck the South Tower. But there’s enough other footage of that to dismiss the comment. They were in a poor position (and it’s not on the video) given that the towers blocked their view, and the sun was shining towards them from the left that morning. Flight 175 probably appeared to be painted grey from their vantage.

GoDaddy.com officially condones torture

Kossack Bradford in Jax has posted this diary – Does your Web Host condone torture? GoDaddy.com does! – and i thought i’d cross-post it here. Send mojo to Bradford, please.

More below…

Godaddy owner Bob Parsons has posted a link to his blog on the company’s godaddy.com front page – Close Gitmo? No way!! Think our interrogation methods are tough? Prisoners in the Middle East talk quick. Here’s why.

In response to a hailstorm of criticism, Senator Durbin returned to the Senate floor and re-read his earlier “Nazi” and “Soviet gulag” comments verbatim. He then described what he felt were the alarming interrogation techniques being used on the detainees at Gitmo. He mentioned holding a detainee in such cold temperatures that he actually shivered, another was held in heat passing 100 degrees, some were left in isolation so long they “fouled theirselves” — and if this wasn’t enough, he told about a prisoner that was actually forced to listen to rap music. I can’t help but wonder how rappers like Snoop Dog would respond to the accusation that being forced to listen to their recordings, is an unacceptable form of torture.

Now, he’s entitled to his own opinion (indeed, from a reply to one of the comments: "So I’ve lost another customer. Addios."*). But when something like that appears on the company’s site they’ll have to take their licks. I’ve already submitted this to slashdot, as that site is heavily trafficked by geeks. Fellow kossack mrCurmudgeon has posted this to Metafilter as well.

See Branford’s diary if you need any info about switching domain registrars.

* Well, it seems somebody’s been doing some editing of the comments. That one and a few other of his dismissive replies are no longer there. Figures. Here’s a comment to him:

Bob, I’m not sure if you have any background of service, but I do. I served as a PSYOP specialist, and later PSYOP sergeant, in the US Army’s 7th POG. Let me assure you that everything I learned in my time in the service suggests that, even were it morally justifiable, torture does not work. People will say anything just to make it stop. So let’s first dispense with the notion that it’s necessary to torture people to prevent future acts of terror.

Far more important, and what I think you miss utterly in your commentary, is that torture is a symptom of a government that has taken a terrible wrong turn somewhere. It is shocking to me that people who claim to love America would defend it by pointing out that the torture we practice is not as bad as the torture practiced by Soviet Russia or Nazi Germany. I thought conservatives were supposed to deplore moral relativism!

Sadly, given the tenor of your responses to the comments of others, I anticipate your dismissal of what I am saying here. You should know, however, that in doing so you’re dismissing my custom and the business of those in my audience who will be equally shocked by your point of view.

I do hope that someday you remember what America is supposed to be all about.

#7 Adam Greenfield (http://www.v-2.org) on Jun 20 2005, 07:45 Reply

ACLU/FOIA: the big long page of abbreviations

Update [2005-6-10 6:25:32 by subtropolis]: I’ve moved all of this to the dkosopedia page FOIA:Acronym lists. Please refer to that as this diary will no longer be updated.

Hello all, subtropolis here.

I came across Oui’s post of abbreviations and decided to try to fill in a few. This morning there were a couple of requests to have this all diaried so here we are. A lot of this has been pulled straight from those other posts. I found a couple more things tonight, though, which i’ve included below. Some govt. lists have been copied more or less entirely, though i don’t feel there are any legal or moral issues in posting them here. I’m comfortable that this falls under fair use, and, besides will reduce the load on their server. I’ll post the links to both pages. If i should delete them just say so.

I’ll try to update this promptly if there are additions, corrections, or deletions in order. Post here or send a note to subtropolis.zijn * gmail D O T com

Update [2005-6-1 8:17:14 by subtropolis]:I’ve made some corrections provided by Oui. I’ve seen plover’s DKOSapedia entry; i’ll try to get to that when time permits. If anybody wants to handle that, it’s fine with me.

Susan suggested i cross-post this at DKOS, which i’ll do if it hasn’t already been done.

Update [2005-6-2 9:29:6 by subtropolis]: Thanks for contributions go out to rentogen, Ben Massel (great find!), and LimeLight, who had the brilliant idea to google "MILITARY ACRONYM" (slaps forehead). See below the fold for 2 great refs for DoD acronyms. I’ve also added couple of new abbreviations.

And here’s the accumulated stuff i could find both on this site and on those ‘internets’ out there.

MEDICAL TERM/ANALYSIS HELP:
lastlemming @ mac.com aka Pam
NOTE: Pam can help you with military and medical terminology. Pam is a physician, and ER-trained.
hiredman @ mac.com aka Tod
NOTE: Tod does medical research and can help you with medical terminology
paulbsonm @ yahoo.com aka Mike
NOTE: Mike is a physician.
vioblee @ yahoo.com also knows medical terminology

MILITARY TERMS & ACRONYMS:
lapin66us @ yahoo.com aka Lapin, a veteran, will gladly help you.
Sven suggests the Acronym Finder

DETAINEE HISTORIES, PHOTOS, etc.:
CAFL‘s detainee table will be very helpful to you. CAFL combines the FOIA doc links + the CagePrisoners.com info.

Here a couple of links which may be have something if what’s below doesn’t help. For military, be sure to check out the links in the next list after.

————————— ARMED FORCES/DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE —————————

LimeLight passes on links to 2 very helpful references:

Using these i was able to fill in the remaining blanks for this list. If you come across any new acronyms, etc. in any of the FOIA docs post them below and i will add them (whether you can locate the meaning or not).

Abbreviations

ABS – Automated Booking Station
ADM Church – Vice Admiral Church, Church Report ¹
AFOSI – Air Force Office of Special Investigations
AGC – Associated General Contractors of America
AGP – Abu Ghraib Prison
BAU – Behavorial Analysis Unit
BIF – Brigade Interrogation Facility
BOC – Base Operations Center
BOLO – Be On The Lookout
BSCT – Behavorial Science Consultation Team (Biscuit)
CDC – Centers for Disease Control??
CID – Criminal Investigative Division
CIRG – Critical Incident Response Group
CITF – Criminal Investigative Task Force
CJIS – Criminal Justice Information Services
CMU – Crisis Management Unit
CRM – Collection Requirements Management; Crew Resource Management
CTD – Common Technical Document
DCN – Detainee Communications Network
DD – Defense Department (form)²
DIF – Division Internment Facility
DOSC
DTF – Detainee Task Force
EC – Electronic Communication
EPW – Enemy Prisoners of War
Fly Team SA
Fly Team Conus Operations
HRT – Hostage Rescue Team
HVD – High Value Detainee
IAFIS – Integrated Automated Booking System
IAW – In Accordance With
ICSJU – Indian Country Special Jurisdiction Unit
ISG – Iraqi Survey Group
JABS – Joint Automated Booking Station
JCS – Joint Chiefs of Staff  
JIIF – Joint Intelligence Interrogation Facility
JTF – Joint Task Force
JTF-GTMO – Joint Task Force/Guantanamo
LHM – Letterhead Memorandum
LEO – Law Enforcement Officer
MFR – Memoranda For Record
MWD – Military Working Dogs
NCIS – Naval Criminal Investigative Service ³
NJSA – National Joint Strategic Assessment
NYPD – (inferred) New York Police Department  
OEF – Operation Enduring Freedom
OIF – Operation Iraqi Freedom
OFF – Oil for Food
OSD – Office of the Secretary of Defense
PENTBOMB – FBI Investigation of 9-11 events [Pentagon Bombing]
POJ – Pacific Ocean Japan
RFI – Rapid Fielding Initiative  
RFI – Request For Information  
SECDEF – Secretary of Defense  
SOP – Standard Operating Procedures
SOTF – Security Operations Training Facility (Ft. Bragg)
THF – Temporary Holding Facility
SJA – Staff Judge Advocate
SITREP – Situation Report
UC – may be short for UCMJ
UCMJ – Uniform Code of Military Justice
VBIED – Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device
WMD – Military Working Dogs

¹ ADM Church Vice Admiral Church, Church Report

Admiral’s report on prisoner abuse probes reveals nothing new

By Michael Gawenda, Herald Correspondent in Washington

March 12, 2005

Given that of his 368-page report on his review of 70 investigations by the Pentagon into prisoner abuse by US security forces in Iraq, 347 were classified, it is impossible to know just how rigorous were Vice Admiral Albert Church’s deliberations.

Most observers were not surprised that he found that neither Pentagon policies nor senior Defence Department officials caused the mistreatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

² DD Most likely DD on the bottom of a document followed by a number, as in "DD2450" means Defense Department (form), the number being the code for the particular form, such as travel authorization, medical records, promotion, etc. If you come across something similar, google it if you need to know what it is for. Of course, some may be classified, and thus not (supposed to be) available online.

³ NCIS threatened to end Guantanamo participation over detainee abuse

——————————– FBI ———————————-

Abbreviations
ASAC – Assistant Special Agent in Charge
ASAC – Aviation Security Advisory Committee
CD
CID – Counter Intelligence Division
CID – Criminal Investigative Division
CRM – Criminal Division (?)
CTC – Counter Terrorist Center
CTD – Counter Terrorism Division
CSRT – Combat Status Review Tribunal
DD – Deputy Director
DO
HPSCI – House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
IA – Intelligence Analyst
INSD – Inspection Division
ITMS – Information Technology Management Section
ITOs – International Terrorist Organizations
ITOS – International Terrorisme Operations Section
MLDU – Military Liason and Detainee Unit
NCAVC – National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
OCA – Office of Congressional Affairs
OGC – Office of General Counsel ⁴ . Caproni, Valerie E
OIO – Office of International Operations
OPR – Office of Professional Responsibility
ORS – Operational Response Section [is part of CTD headed by Frank Battle]
SA/LSSSA – Supervisory Special Agents
SC – Special Agent in Charge (?)
SDU – System’s Development Unit
SSA – Supervisory Special Agent
SSRA – Supervisory Senior Resident Agent
TDY – Temporary Duty
TJ – TJ Harrington, Ass’t DD-CTD
TICTU – FBI wiretap ⁵
UACB – Unless Advised to the Contrary by the Bureau
VCS – Violent Crimes Section
WF – Washington Field Office
WFO – Washington Field Office

OGC – Office of General Counsel: this may not denote the FBI’s Office. Specifically, it could refer to DOJ, DOD, and etc. Use your judgement from the context used.

TICTU: I found only 2 refs for this, one was a technical writing sample which mentioned “acquisition strategies of information technology systems” in relation to the FBI. It may be a unit responsible for taps, the tap itself, or the intelligence gained from one. And there’s this this transcript:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
AHMED ABDEL SATTAR, a/k/a “Abu Omar,” a/k/a “Dr. Ahmed,”
LYNNE STEWART, and MOHAMMED YOUSRY,


18    understanding that before it’s displayed to the jury, we’ll
19    redact the sentence, the material that begins, the TICTU
.
20    THE COURT:  OK.  All right.  With that redaction
21    LS1022 received in evidence.

[emphasis mine]

Then there’s this handy FBI document, The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Efforts to Improve the Sharing of Intelligence and Other Information, Audit Report 04-10, December 2003. Go to that link for the TOC. I’ll represent two pages below as they are directly of consequence to this diary.

NOTE TO FBI USDoJ: we’re trying to save you bandwidth costs. Oh yeah, and you’re really not taking full advantage of disseminating your documents with that lame markup.

Counterterroism Division Organizational Chart.
Spot your abbreviations; think of it as the opposite of the Jumble(tm).

Assistant Director – Counterterroism Division
    Executive Staff
    Deputy Assistant Director CT Operations Branch

        Terrorist Financing Operations Section
            Radical Fundamentalist Financial Investigative Unit
            Domestic WMD and Global Financial Investigative Unit
            Global Extremist Financial Investigative Unit
            Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit

        Domestic Terrorism Operations Section
            Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit
            WMD Unconventional Threats Operations Unit
            Special Events Unit
            WMD Unconventional Threat Countermeasures Unit

        International Terrorism Operations Section I
            Regional Extraterritorial Unit
            Conus I
            Conus II

        International Terrorism Operations Section II
            Global Operations Unit
            Middle East Operations Unit
            Iran/Hizballah Unit

        Terrorism Reports and Requirements Section
            Reports Policy and Asset Vetting Unit
            Radical Fundamentalist Extremist Collection, Evaluation, Dissemination Unit
            Global Middle East Extremist Collection, Evaluation, Dissemination Unit
            WMD Unconventional Threat Collection, Evaluation, Dissemination Unit
            Domestice Collection, Evaluation, Dissemination Unit

    Deputy Assistant Director Operational Support Branch

        CT Administrative Resource Unit

        Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force

        FBI Detailees to Other Government Agencies

        CT Operational Response Section
            National Joint Terrorism Task Force
            Fly Away Rapid Deployment Team Unit
            Military Liaision & Detainee Unit

        National Threat Center Staff
            CT Watch Unit
            Terrorist Watch and Warning Unit
            Threat Monitoring Unit

    Deputy Assistant Director CT Analysis Branch

        Strategic Assessment and Analysis Unit

        Presidential Support Group

        Production and Publications Unit

        Counterterrorism Analysis Section
            Domestic Sunni Extremist Unit
            Shia/Middle East Analysis Unit
            Foreign Links/Global Targets Analysis Unit
            Domestic Terrorism Analysis Unit
            WMD and Emerging Weapons Threat Unit

        Communications Analysis Section
            Document Exploitation Unit
            Communications Analysis Unit
            Electronic Analysis Unit
            Digital Media Exploitation Unit

[editor’s note, by subtropolis] Note the 2 entries [CLASSIFIED INFORMATION REDACTED]. If you come across any FBI-specific acronyms/abbreviations which fit there alphabetically, EMAIL ME and we can flag them especially.

Abbreviations
ACS – Automated Case File System
BOLO – Be On The Lookout For
CIA – Central Intelligence Agency
CONUS – Continental United States
[CLASSIFIED INFORMATION REDACTED]
CTC – CIA Counterterrorist Center
CTD – Counterterrorism Division
DCI – Director of Central Intelligence
DCID – Director of Central Intelligence Directive
DHS – Department of Homeland Security
DOD – Department of Defense
DOJ – Department of Justice
DTOS – Domestic Terrorism Operations Section
EC – Electronic Communication
FISA – Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
GAO – General Accounting Office
GS – General Schedule
IIR – Intelligence Information Reports
INS – Immigration and Naturalization Service
IT – Information Technology
ITOS – International Terrorism Operations Section
JTTF – Joint Terrorism Task Force
JWICS – Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System
LAN – Local Area Network
LEO – Law Enforcement Online
NCIC – National Crime Information Center
NJTTF – National Joint Terrorism Task Force
NLETS – National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System
NSA – National Security Agency
NTCS – National Threat Center Section
OCONUS – Outside Continental United States
OI – Office of Intelligence
OIG – Office of the Inspector General
OLEC – Office of Law Enforcement Coordination
OLP – Office of Legal Policy
ORCON – Originator Controlled
PDD – Presidential Decision Directive
PENTTBOM – Pentagon/Trade Towers Bombing Investigations
SCI – Sensitive Compartmented Information
SCOPE – Secure Counterterrorism Operational Prototype Environment
SIOC – Strategic Information and Operations Center
[CLASSIFIED INFORMATION REDACTED]
SVTS – Secure Video Teleconferencing System
TFOS – Terrorist Financing Operations Section
TRRS – Terrorism Reports and Requirements Section
TS/SCI LAN – Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information Local Area Network
TTIC – Terrorist Threat Integration Center
WMD – Weapons of Mass Destruction

—————————- DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE —————————-

Abbreviations
AUSA  – Assistant US Attorney . Dana Biehl – Bruce Pagel
EDVA – Eastern District of Virginia [Terrorism and National Security Unit – US Attorney]
ODAG – Office of the Deputy Attorney General

From U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

PRACTICE AREA CHART (PDF):

KEY TO DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS
ATF — Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
ATR — Antitrust Division
BOP — Federal Bureau of Prisons
CIV — Civil Division
COPS — Community Oriented Policing Services
CRM — Criminal Division
CRS — Community Relations Service
CRT — Civil Rights Division
DEA — Drug Enforcement Administration
ENRD — Environment and Natural Resources Division
EOIR — Executive Office for Immigration Review
FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation
FCSC — Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
JMD — Justice Management Division
NDIC — National Drug Intelligence Center
OIG — Office of the Inspector General
OIP — Office of Information and Privacy
OIPR — Office of Intelligence Policy and Review
OIPL — Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
OJP — Office of Justice Programs
OLC — Office of Legal Counsel
OLP — Office of Legal Policy
OPA — Office of the Pardon Attorney
OPR — Office of Professional Responsibility
OSG — Office of the Solicitor General
OTJ — Office of Tribal Justice
OVW — Office on Violence Against Women
PRAO — Professional Responsibility Advisory Office
TAX — Tax Division
USAO — U.S. Attorneys’ Offices
USMS — U.S. Marshals Service
USPC — U.S. Parole Commission
USTP — U.S. Trustee Program

——————————– CHAIN OF COMMAND ———————————-

CENTCOM – Baghdad
SOUTHCOM – Miami, Florida
JTF GITMO – General Miller
IRAQ AGP – General Miller Oct-Nov 2003

These next ones i don’t know much about.

——————————– LOCATIONS ———————————-

ARNG Phoenix Arizona
CAMP Bucca
CAMP Slayer
Detention Centra [sic]
FlyAway Centra [sic]
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Fort Bragg
Interrogation Centra [sic]
Medical Facilities and OR Theater
Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston, SC
St. Mere FOB Fallujah, Iraq

——————————– DRAFTS and REPORTS ———————————-

Draft Concept for Utilization of Cooperating Source

——————————– PEOPLE ———————————-

SC Frank Battle, SSA-CTD – "Supervisory Special Agent Frank Battle, Chief of the FBI Counter Terrorism Division’s Operational Response Section, reviewed the FBI’s involvement in homeland security operations in his presentation, Neutralizing National Security Threats in the US."
THE GLOBALHOMELAND: International Perspectives on Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, By Professor Bert Tussing, Center for Strategic Leadership, U.S. Army War College

Do you know the secret code word?